The Highs and Lows of 2025: Hikes, mountain biking and van conversions!

It seems fitting that the first post of the year is a recap of 2025. It was a year of highs and lows, excitment and disappointment too. But regardless, we managed another year of getting outdoors regularly with the family, which was always the point of this blog!

The Lows

I made some bold plans this year. I bought a Ford Transit Custom van in January 2025 and with some careful planning and budgeting I was sure we would convert it in the next 12 months. Thanks to some dodgy van converters, chasing a persistent oil leak and a failing turbo, the money soon disappeared. Our van is only half converted and with a lack of funds I can’t see it being finished any time soon, but it is usable and despite the negatives, having her in our life has opened up the world of mountain biking and, if I’m honest, easier outdoor activities period! (Yes, it’s so much easier to get wet and muddy knowing you have space to dry off and make a warm drink afterwards, like we did in the Peak District – it really has been a game changer).

I also had a plan to walk each of the National Parks with my boys. I thought it would be a fab way to get us to visit new places – unfortunately the money hungry van ate any spare cash we could’ve used to do this, so maybe one year, but not this one. Of course I like to see the positive in everything, and whilst we failed miserably at this goal (we only managed a National Park in England), it introduced me to Adventure Mind, which offers grants to help fund adventures – we had applied and planned to use it to fund our National Parks walk. We didn’t win, but we did get tickets to a Go Ape adventure! It’s something we wouldn’t ordinarily have done with the boys (it’s expensive!) so it was a real treat for all, and a day that the boys still talk about (and want to do again!)

Perhaps the final low of 2025 was my own lack of enthusiasm for keeping up with the blog (I’m sorry!). I have, for over a year, posted at least once a week consistently, and I’m pretty proud of myself (I usually have wild ideas that quickly fizzle out, but I was really into getting us all outside on a budget, and so I always had a lot to write). However in the last couple of months the weather had turned, and we had constant rain every. Single. Weekend. I just had no enthusiasm to write, we had no new bike rides or walks to write about, and I couldn’t even bring myself to write my ‘helpful’ blogs. I was also finding myself overwhelmed with work, and avoiding even my personal inbox, and every reason to be glued to a screen – so apologies to all my regulars, I have a tonne of posts to catch up on this year. Of course, with a new year comes a new vigour, and I’m excited to get back into the swing of things for 2026, and ensure a better work life balance to go with it!

The Highs

Well, I think it’s safe to say that many of the highs from this year were the Ying to the Yang of my lows!

Having the van has been a game changer in many ways. It’s been the perfect vehicle for us to discover mountain biking. The addition of the tow bar and bike rack has meant we could take our lads to some safe places to enjoy their bikes. We discovered pump tracks and local trails in a nearby woods. We also found and became pretty fond of Cannock Chase, and Llandegla too, all thanks to Vangelina! She’s given us a space to change out of dirty or wet clothes after our activities, somewhere dry to eat our lunch or tea, and on one occasion, almost a whole night’s sleep was had in her 😂. She’s been a challenge but I’m so grateful to have her in our life!

And of course our joy for mountain biking was cemented due to the ability to get to new places with our bikes. I watched our boys grow from cautious (but always willing to try) mountain bikers, to daring little dudes tackling jumps and drops and steep downhills. I’ve been so proud of their progress, but always watching with my heart in my mouth! It’s been an activity we can all enjoy, and we’ve gotten stronger friendships with like minded friends, and enjoyed some brilliant days with those other families too. It’s something the boys always look forward to, and that’s a winner in my eyes! I have missed walking, but honestly I don’t care what we do, so long as it’s together and outside!

I’m setting no wild ambitions for 2026, I’m just hoping to do more of what we did in 2025. 😀

What about you?