A
fter 18 months of serious
consideration, Ann Knight decided
that it was time for dramatic
change. Having lost her enthusiasm for life
and faith in mankind, and after watching
her dad die in the grip of dementia in
2015, she realised she needed to stop
and re-evaluate.
In her mid-fi fties, she wanted to do
something daring enough to terrify her, so
she bought a secondhand motorhome and
has embarked on a year-long adventure
exploring the British coastline, taking each
day as it comes in an attempt to fi nd the
meaning of life.
Before she could start her journey
hopping between campsites, she had to
take a massive leap of faith and get rid
of most of her lifelong possessions. She
recalls: “I had six weeks to sell everything.
I went to car boots, took my things to
charity shops, and sold items on eBay
— I kept the essentials (including one
wine glass!) and some sentimental items,
like a picture of me and my daughters.”
One thing Ann defi nitely wasn’t
prepared to part with was the love of
her life, a four-year-old Beagle calledGrumpus. Although he didn’t have many
possessions to pack into the 22-year-old
van, Ann was apprehensive about what
mischief her travel companion could get
up to.
She explains: “Being a Beagle, Grumpus
isn’t the easiest dog in the world — I’ve
had three German Shepherds at once and
they were only a fraction of the trouble!
I’ve even consulted a few trainers in
the past who couldn’t help him with his
disobedience. I wasn’t exactly sure how
he’d cope with change, but we’d been
camping before and he loved it.”THE JOURNEY BEGINS
Once Ann sold up in February 2017, and
fi nally left the idyllic Cornish village she
had once called home, her fi rst sticking
point came less than a day into her
journey. She recalls: “On my fi rst night,
I arrived in the dark at the campsite in
Woolacombe, North Devon, very tired and
stressed. I crashed into their access control
system, which ended up underneath my
van and had to be replaced at a cost of
£800. I also had to spend another £200
repairing the damage to my van!”However, it’s mainly been the escapades
of Grumpus that have kept Ann on her
toes. She says: “The reason I chose to do
a tour of the British coastline was because
beaches are the best place for Grumpus to
run off-lead, as they’re generally enclosed
and I don’t have to worry so much about
him chasing wildlife. Although he’s mostly
been a joy, I take a calculated risk every
time I let him off-lead and he has got
himself into some trouble.
“One of the places I chose to visit
was Harlech in North Wales; I headed
there because it said the campsite was
a fi ve-minute walk from a ten-mile beach,
which I thought would be ideal,” recalls
Ann. “But, on the third day, he ran off into
the sand dunes and on to the grounds of
the Royal St David’s Golf Club! He raced
around the green and the signs which
read: ‘No dogs allowed’, and you could
hear all the golfers saying: ‘Whose dog is
this?’. I hid, embarrassed, and waited two
hours for him to eventually return!”
She continues: “There was also an
occasion in West Scotland where he did
a disappearing act. I stayed in the spot
where I’d last seen him, holding his lead,
and someone came up to me and told me
he was back at their campsite’s BBQ being
fed sausages!”READERS’ DOGS
When Ann Knight hit a major crossroads
in her life, she decided to embark on an
adventure with her beloved Beagle.
The voyage
of the Beagle
74 Your Dog November 2017 http://www.yourdog.co.ukGrumpus enjoying the
isolated beach in Durness.Ann and Grumpus.74-75 yd readers dogs MJ EWCC.indd 74 19/09/2017 10:26