TraceysTrek

It’s been just over seven months since I completed my epic trek around the coast of mainland Britain. My journey covered 5,108 miles and more than 11.2 million steps, and it took my body about three months to recover from the physical battering it endured—especially my feet!

The adjustment afterwards has been much harder than I expected. One day I was living in Priscilla, my motorhome, waking up somewhere new every morning. The next, I was back in my large house, just me and Poppy.

It didn’t take long to realise how big the house felt—and how much stuff filled it. So much of it had gone completely unnoticed during my year on the road. As the weeks passed, I found myself rattling around in rooms I barely used, surrounded by possessions I hadn’t missed once while I was away.

Just after New Year, I made a decision. I would sell the house and live in Priscilla for a while, giving myself time and space to decide what comes next.

And so began the great declutter.

We have lived in this house for 21 years and, like most people, gradually expanded to fill every available corner. Cupboards, drawers, loft spaces, sheds—each one packed with a lifetime of accumulated possessions.

As I sorted through everything, I realised that most of it was exactly that: stuff. When I gathered together the things that were truly precious to me, they fitted into a single small cardboard box. Everything else was replaceable.

That was both liberating and unsettling.

The question then became: what do I do with everything else?

The past few months have been spent sorting, gifting treasured items to family and friends, donating to charity, recycling wherever possible, and making countless trips to the local recycling centre. It has made me realise how easy it is to acquire things and how difficult it can be to part with them when they are no longer needed.

It has also been an emotional rollercoaster. Every box opened and every item handled seemed to unlock a memory. Some brought smiles, others sadness, and many transported me back to moments I had long forgotten.

The decluttering was only part of the job. I have painted every wall in the house and, with help from Will, even tackled the outside gable end. That was a physical challenge in itself. Along the way I’ve finally completed the hundreds of little jobs that had been postponed for years, both inside the house and out in the garden.

In many ways, the last few months have been almost as physically and emotionally demanding as the walk itself. Who would have thought it?

At last, though, the jobs are finished. The house is ready, and for the first time in a long while I’ve found the space to sit down and write this blog.

Soon I’ll be heading back out on the road in Priscilla for around four weeks while the house is on the market. It may even be sold by the time I return.

This feels like the beginning of another new chapter. One that I haven’t fully mapped out yet.

I hope you’ll continue to follow the journey.

I’m looking forward to having the time to finally start writing the book about my trek around Britain—a story that has been waiting patiently to be told.

Until then, see you soon in a blog near you.

And who knows… I might just turn up on your doorstep.