Peterborough couple hope to inspire others after quitting jobs and selling home to tour Europe

Luke Ferguson and Kirsty Wislawski (known as Wizz) from Helpston waved goodbye to Peterborough last month before heading off to mainland Europe.

Accountant Luke (35) and Wizz (30), who was a manager at children’s nursery, quit their jobs and sold their house within a matter of weeks before picking up a motorhome to begin their escapade.

Explaining why they decided to embark on their travels, Luke said: “Over the years we’ve always find reasons not to do it.

“We’ve had problems with infertility and went down the IVF route. That became the catalyst - we thought ‘let’s just get away from it all’.

“We had always talked about it, and a couple of years ago we hired a camper van and toured the bottom of the UK. We loved it.

“It’s one of those conversations you have over a pint or two and it never really goes anywhere, but recently it has.”

The couple, who have been together for eight years, picked up their motorhome on September 13 and travelled around the UK, before returning to Peterborough so Wizz could take part in the Great Eastern Run on October 14.

After that they took the ferry to Calais then drove to Belgium, before heading on to the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg City and France, with the aim of spending Christmas with Wizz’s dad in Spain.

The plan is then to go through Portugal, Italy and Eastern Europe before heading home, with the final country tally expected to be 17, excluding the UK.

So far they have been pleasantly surprised by Luxembourg City and Rotterdam, and they enjoyed their time in the Belgium city of Kortrijk which was hosting an arts festival when they were there.

“It was such a surprise as that was a place we hadn’t really know about,” said Luke.

“We visited all the World War One sites in Belgium and visited the museums. It was quite touching.”

The couple’s step count has rocketed up as they tour the different cities, but there has been time to enjoy a local beer and to try the different food on offer.

The pair expect to return to Peterborough on July 31 next year, but as for what they will do then there are currently no plans.

“We will have to get jobs, but at the moment it’s almost like living in the moment and doing what we are doing now,” added Luke

To follow the pair’s adventure, search for @one_yearoff on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.