You know what they always say: all good things have to come to an end, and - so terribly sadly - this life was no exception. In the space of only a few weeks, after a shock discovery, a nearly thirty five year friendship, a true love story of childhood sweethearts, and a marriage of a nearly quarter of a century, with, part way, a risky move from the U.K. to Switzerland for a family of four, a horse, a beastly Audi S6 and a beloved ‘07 Land Rover Defender 90, all of this has come crashing down after nearly thirteen years in our adoptive home of Switzerland, in a nuclear explosion, with the total, complete and utter destruction of that family. All because of me.

Earlier this month, I wondered why a military green, heavy duty, army tough-case had appeared one day on the floor in the kitchen. It seems that, in order not to freeze our little socks off when we go overnighting somewhere really cold, even though we bought the thermal inner tent for extra insulation, inside our Vickywood roof tent, we need something diesel-powered to warm us up and - because we can - the inside of Lenny, too. “Lisa: It’s for something I’m building…” Then last week, everything quite got a bit more real.

Lisa gets asked regularly by the locals: “Is it safe, having the steering wheel on the wrong side?” She always likes to confirm that “Right is right,” as far as we’re concerned. Having both learnt to drive in England, as teens in the nineties, as well as having regularly gone skiing in Europe throughout the entirety of our adult lives before we moved to Switzerland, we can both drive on both sides of the road, and both sides of the car quite happily. So, it seems the subject of safety appears to weigh more heavily on the minds of the natives than us.

“And what is in Augsburg?” I hear you ask. Well, about half way up the district (one of the Bundeslände) of Augsburg lies Gersthofen, a town that welcomes one of the ever growing number of excellent quality, European roof tent manufacturers; in this case Vickywood. And what were we doing there? We were at the roof tent manufacturer’s season opening, to pick up a roof tent for Lenny. In our case, it was a Mighty Oak Light 165. We had done some research, and had decided that we wanted an awing, too.

So, after much deliberation and considerable procrastination, we are embarking on an arguably quite irresponsible, enourmously long, but vastly (for fifty-somethings, anyway) exciting, 6000 kilometre, fjord-laden, roof-tent carrying, Lenny the Land Rover powered round trip, from Switzerland to Norway. The route there. As yet, none exists for the way home. Ominous, much? And will it really only take us a day and 19 hours? Thanks Apple maps! I mean, take an almost twenty year old Land Rover Defender 90, a fabulously inspiring and energetic, onesie-wearing Lisa (she coined the tag #womenwhowrench) a two person roof tent from #vickywoood_camp with (after a schnaps or two) a seemingly never-ending ladder, to climb to our bed at night.

Sometimes it pays off, being a member of a global movement that is seldom discussed, almost in a secret club kind of way, made up of a group of engineers, mechanics, agricultural workers, plain old heavy duty car enthusiasts and more. Tea on the tailgate brings such a group together. Today, we were at Sittingbourne, for Tea on the Tailgate - Kent. About thirty Land Rovers turned up. Not bad for an event only on its second outing in this part of the world. Defenders of all sizes and ages were there.

They say that there isn’t much better than to have the love of a good woman (or man, and everything possible in between, these days). So, to say that I am not routinely amazed by the latest mechanical epiphany Lisa often appears with, well, that would be an understatement. Lisa has an impressive, ever growing toolbox of skills. They have been developed over years, as she needed to build or repair things of all shapes and sizes. Changing the brakes, fitting a new front bumper with built in DRLs, fixing (a few times) the wires in the light-bar, or tracing the source of a peculiar leak, right back to an intimate part of Lenny’s engine bay?

In 2013, after a long and careful discussion with Lisa, I took a permanent job with the Swiss electricity grid operator. We had decided to pack up the entire contents of our house in England and move it all, our two kids, Lisa’s horse Daisy and of course her very own Lenny the Land Rover, to the beautiful Alpine state. We would be based in Nordwestschweiz, the north west corner of the country, deep in the teutonic heartlands. You can only drive a car with foreign number plates here for a limited amount of time.

Sometimes, everything falls neatly into place. It’s Sunday, the roads are quiet, the sun is shining, and Lenny is full of fuel. So it’s time to go exploring. Being fifteen minutes from the border with Germany and more specifically the Black Forest, it means that we are lucky enough to have the opportunity of popping across the Rhein, either to take in some of the breathtaking scenery and the fabulously wiggly roads, or perhaps to go in search of fuel at a more affordable price per litre, or just to go shopping at a more appetising price per bag full.

We are lucky to have a wonderfully active Land Rover community where we are. It’s a large group of every kind of Land Rover enthusiast. There are farmers, there are I.T. guys, there are city slickers, there are (thankfully!) mechanics who love to work on these beautifully (mostly) uncomplicated engines. Most importantly, everyone is a dedicated fan of all things Land Rover, with a subtle but determined lean towards good old internal combustion. Be they petrol, or diesel, up until about a decade ago, these rural workhorses were, in the most part, still largely unfettered by overly complex electronics.

Having thrown ourselves along with Lenny the Land Rover, like some kind of extreme off roading experience, right up to our necks in the deep and muddy waters of social media, we now find ourselves pouring over the insights and analytics provided by this really neat social media management tool they call metricool. We have linked all the relevant social media platforms on which we have a presence to it. And now, when we post something, we can see exactly how many people looked at it, which demographics they emerged from, and from which countries, or continents people showed an interest in the post.

Switzerland is a dream destination for overlanders, offering breathtaking alpine scenery, winding mountain passes, and some of the best off-road routes in Europe. Switzerland is a dream destination for overlanders, offering breathtaking alpine scenery, winding mountain passes, and some of the best off-road routes in Europe. For Land Rover Defender 90 enthusiasts, the country provides the perfect mix of rugged trails, scenic campsites, and well-maintained roads. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore everything you need to know about overlanding in Switzerland with your Defender 90, from the best routes to essential gear, legal regulations, and tips for an unforgettable journey.

Where do Land Rover owners feel at their happiest?

This is the first of what will be many posts, as I plan and prepare for my big trip to Norway, this summer. I will be joining other Land Rovers from Switzerland, and hopefully meeting new friends with their drivers along the way. So buckle up and join me in the 8000km round trip, on my way to celebrate 50 years of the Land Rover Club of Norway. You have one life. Live it! Lenny #onelifeliveit #landylife #landroverdefender #mudstuff #ore4x4 #gigglepin4x4 #powerfuluk