Molly, Ops Manager
Growing up in a cottage in a far corner of Pembrokeshire in South West Wales, Molly’s time was often spent outdoors, and these early beginnings cemented a love of adventure. The call of the wild and remote led her to move to New Zealand, where she developed a love of the mountains, taking in as many multi-day routes as she could, and buying a ski pass and snowboard for a season before having ever stepped on snow. It was here she also had her first introduction to vanlife, spending the year living in a rusty Toyota Liteace.
Molly’s organisational skills became evident by the age of five, when she complained that the school nativity was disorganised and had no direction at all! She has since taken these organisational skills across the globe, and has enjoyed an eclectic career that has also enabled her to continue to fulfil her wanderlust – running chalets in France, managing events in a chateau in New Zealand and teaching English in Cambodia. A chance encounter led her to take on a franchise for a festival catering business, where she took care of all the logistics and hands-on setting up, recruiting and managing a large staff group throughout the summer months.
Having had enough of living in a tent between festival fields after a particularly wet British summer, she made the upgrade back into the van world. This van spent more time at the side of the road waiting for the breakdown assistance than on the road, but she wasn’t deterred and went on to convert another with her partner Paul, as the perfect home from home in the summer months, and weekend adventure wagon throughout the winter.
After 10 summers spent in muddy fields, and needing a new challenge, she decided to hang up her wellies in favour of the 9 –5 in the third sector. She took on an operations role for a food redistribution charity, saving food from landfill by redistributing it – an issue close to her heart – and oversaw the redistribution of 3 tonnes of surplus food every. With Cardiff as a base to explore the coast and mountains in her downtime, she took up mountain biking, and was even coaxed into spending a few winters paddling on the chilly Welsh white water.
However, working seasonally had always allowed time to go on bold adventures. She had found her ‘happy’ by taking on long-distance and often high-altitude treks in Nepal, Peru, Myanmar, and completing two pilgrimage routes in Spain and Portugal. This is something that was missing in the 9-5 life, with too many adventures to squeeze into measly annual leave. So, she convinced Paul to convert a bigger van into their full-time home.
They converted Big T throughout lockdown, and in September 2020 they moved in. Their van build was based around trying to fit as many of their toys in as possible, whilst still allowing a comfortable living space. Having already spent so much time in their previous vans, they knew what they needed from their tiny space, and are still happy with their colourful off-grid home (which is lucky, as Molly isn’t keen on the idea of another conversion just yet!).
I feel exceptionally lucky to be able to have a different office view almost every day, and to be able to work so flexibly around what I enjoy doing is invaluable.
Molly Jones, Ops Manager
They are currently travelling Europe and Asia – Big T has taken them from the erupting slopes of Mount Etna, to ski resorts in Turkey and the remote fjords of Norway – and they are forever adding more places to a seemingly endless bucket list.
Molly is always in search of ways to live more sustainably, and can often be found experimenting with recipes with natural ingredients, trying to minimise her waste, or upcycling something old to give it a new lease of life.
Campervan electrics leaving you confused?
