Our love of Road Trips & Hastings Giveaway

Growing up in South Africa and competing in sport at a national level meant lots of travel across the country. Unlike the UK, the nearest big city from Cape Town was around an 8hr drive so getting used to hitting the road became the norm and it's something I absolutely love to do. Driving no matter how far gives me a real sense of freedom and, since moving to the UK, my family and I have explored many parts of it - all the way down to Lands End and as high up as the Isle of Skye! We’ve also driven around France and have many more driving adventures planned in the future (such as Italy and up to Sweden).


I find it really exciting and have always felt travelling is as much about getting there as it is about the destination itself. Of course, things are not always plain sailing. We once broke down on a hot summer day en-route to Penzance to catch a plane to the Isle of Scilly. Our car was towed to a tiny garage in the middle of nowhere were we had to wait 4hrs for a hire car company to come collect us. All the shops were closed and there was nowhere to get food, but we had a lot of fun entertaining ourselves and it turned out to be one of the best trips we’ve had.

Exploring Mid Wales on a recent roadtrip from Cardiff to Snowdonia

We had an eventful road trip to the Isles of Scilly 

I once nearly came face to face with a stag, which had been stunned by my headlights in the night in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, I’ve got stuck on roundabouts while navigating driving on the left hand side of the road in Europe and I’ve got lost more times than I can remember. Despite all this, the rewards have always been worth it. What I love about road trips is that the possibilities are limitless and it's more accessible than other forms of transport, which can be very costly. If you have a sense of adventure, a semi-reliable car and a sense of wanderlust then you’re halfway there. And you know what? Kids adapt. Mine have done very long trips (obviously broken up with lots of stops) and despite some sibling arguments and a few meltdowns here and there, we’ve always come back feeling closer and full of memories.

Some of my favourite road trip memories are wild - camping overnight next to a Loch in Scotland and waking up and going for a swim. Exploring Wales and Snowdonia with the kids and seeing the breathtaking landscapes together. The excitement we all feel when we drive our car on to a ferry, not knowing what to expect on the other side. Exploring all the small fishing villages in Cornwall and quaint hill towns in the South of France and discovering the garden route in South Africa. We’ve laughed so much and learned so much with each of our trips and are hoping to head back up North this year, as well as heading on to the continent.

If you love road trips as much as I do, why not share your photos, destinations and memories from your summer road trips to be in a chance to win a £100 prepaid card to fuel another one with Hastings Direct? To enter all you need to do is leave a comment and include the hashtag #SummerRoadTrip on one of the competition posts on Hastings Direct’s Twitter or Facebook account. You can find Hastings Direct on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/HastingsDirect/ or on Twitter using @HastingsDirect.

Competition entries must be submitted before midnight on 17th July.