Family near Peterborough kept from travelling world after recent increases in mortgage rates

A family-of-three from Warmington have put their ambitious plans to travel the world in a motorhome on hold – after struggling to sell their house .

Gillian Beeby, 50, her husband John Godsland, 51, and their son Oscar, 10, are ready to fulfil their dream – but the slow in the housing market has threatened their plans.

In order to get underway they need to sell their home in the village of Warmington, however, with the recent increase in mortgage rates affecting the housing market interest in their house has waned.

“We need to sell the house so we can fund our trip,” said Gillian. “As a normal family it is not possible to afford to run a home, pay for ever increasing energy costs, pay the mortgage, and travel at the same time.”The four-bedroom, detached house generated a flurry of viewings when it was first listed, but interest has slowed as soon as mortgage rates have risen.

“We love our house and have had lots of compliments about it, so expected it to sell quickly” said Gillian, “but as soon as the news broke of mortgage companies stopping products and then the rise of interest rates all of the viewings stopped.”

The family are hoping that the uncertainty in the housing market will settle down and that interest in their house will rise again.

“People are worried for their future, so they are reluctant to commit which we think is affecting interest in our property” said John, who runs his own IT business.The couple believe that anyone buying their home is likely to need a mortgage and the uncertainty created by the current turmoil in the market is putting people off buying.

‘Brilliant getaway’

“We see articles in the news every day about how the mortgage rates might go up even more,” said Gillian. “That scares people into staying where they are and not moving.”The family have bold plans for travelling in Europe in their motorhome that they have nicknamed ‘Morag’.

“I went to the North of Scotland to collect the motorhome so the name seemed fitting” explained John.

Following in the footsteps of people who have already done something similar, such as Tread the Globe and Van Journey – the family have already set up a YouTube Channel, Instagram and Facebook profile under their travel name 'Brilliant Getaway'.

"I chose the name", Oscar said, "because we are known as the BGs, so it's the BG's (Beeby-Godsland's) BG (Brilliant Getaway)".Once the family are underway they plan to spend at least six months in Europe with visits to culturally important sites high on their list.

“We home educate Oscar” explained Gillian, “so travel will be about broadening his knowledge of ancient and modern culture, as well as visiting places that were important to our distant ancestors.”

First on the list is a trip to the beaches of Normandy to learn about the allied invasion of Europe in World War II.

After that will be a visit to some of the monuments to those lost in World War I. Then, it will be on to Paris and South to Italy to visit Naples, both to see the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

"This is not a holiday, but a chance to experience the diversity of life across the continent and immerse ourselves in the language and culture,” said Gillian.

John added: “We will be living full time in the motorhome and I will be working while we travel so we will spend time living in communities away from traditional tourist destinations.”