Travel-mad parents are taking their children out of full-time school and moving into a tiny one-bedroom caravan so they can save up for a once-in-a-lifetime round-the-world trip.
The Binedells moved into their mobile home in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in October last year after giving up their large three-bedroom home in Portugal.
Now, five months after returning to the UK, the family are planning to pack their bags in August and travel the world.
Alongside selling all of their possessions, Karen, 36, and Warren, 45 – who pay £420 per month for their caravan – are now saving for their trip of a lifetime, which they hope will last for as long as possible.
Life’s a beach: The Binedell family – Aiden, 13, Warren, 45, Karen, 36 and 11-year-old Ella – are about to embark on a round-the-world trip. The children will be taken out of school and the family will set off in a one-bedroom caravan
Cosy: Mrs Binedell – pictured here in the caravan with Aiden, Ella and the family dog, Alfie – gave up a large three-bedroom house in Portugal to move into the mobile home. They have sold their possessions and are saving for the trip
The Binedell children – pictured here inside the caravan – will be taken out of full-time school in order to take part in the trip. Mrs Binedell said their studies will continue via distance learning and they will sit their GCSEs
Spacious: This is the three-bedroom home in Portugal the family gave up in favour of their cramped, one-bedroom caravan. Mrs Binedell plans to make money online through freelance writing to make extra cash for the trip
And their children, Sebastian, 14, Aiden, 13 and 11-year-old Ella, will be taken out of full-time education so they can join the trip.
Their parents say their studies will continue via distance learning and they will eventually sit their GCSEs.
Mrs Binedell, who plans to make money online via her website or freelance writing, said: ‘We love travelling, and it’s worth cutting down on everything we own to be able to leave on this epic adventure.
‘At the moment we have no luxuries, we sold anything that couldn’t fit into the tiny caravan – we’ve only kept my wedding dress, a few sentimental bits and some of the children’s artwork which a friend is storing for us.
‘Whilst travelling we’ll be moving from one volunteer project to the next – we want to meet and help different people from different backgrounds and experience their lives first hand.
‘And although we’re taking the children out of school, we hope that they will learn invaluable lessons from this experience.
‘We have also got our two cats, Stuey and Tilly, and our dog, Alfie, passports, so they won’t be missing out either!’
The family are currently paying £420 per-month to live in a one-bedroom caravan, which is £2000 less than their previous costs.
Cramped: The caravan the family-of-five will live in while travelling. The mobile home costs £420 a month
The Binedell family, who are selling all their possessions, taking the children out of school and setting off on a round-the-world trip in a one-bedroom caravan
The family previously lived in this spacious three-bedroom house in Portugal. They moved into their mobile home in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in October last year
The family, pictured here on a previous holiday, are living on a tight budget, stripped of any luxuries. They hope they will be able to start their travels in just six months
The Binedell family, who are selling all of their possessions and travelling round-the-world in a one-bedroom caravan
Alongside that, they have also stopped buying new clothes, excessive food shops and materialistic objects.
Mrs Binedell, a former teaching assistant, said: ‘The caravan cost us £4000 to buy and is absolutely tiny.
‘It has to fit in my two teenage sons, my 11-year-old daughter, myself, my husband, two cats and our dog – so it’s a tight squeeze.
‘Having to live in such a small space makes life very restricted and our life is very stripped back and basic now.
‘We have to fill up our water tank in the caravan before each shower, so we find ourselves re-filling it six times a night so we can all shower.
‘Getting ready for school in the morning is a nightmare, because there’s hardly any room. But the children are troopers, and they enjoy living in the caravan regardless.
‘We all have a tiny plastic box that we keep our clothes and possessions in and that’s all we can fit – so we rarely buy anything new.’
The family are currently saving to buy a tow car, so that they can take their caravan on their trips around the world.
Due to living on a tight budget, and being stripped of any luxuries, the family hope that they will be able to start their travels in just six months.
Mrs Binedell said: ‘We’re going to start out travelling around the UK, and then we’ve already got volunteering offers in Poland, Amsterdam, Hungary, Iceland, Thailand and Germany.
‘We hope to take the caravan throughout the UK and through to Europe, but we might have to abandon it before we go to Thailand due to the flights.
‘I’m going to try and find a way to earn money online so that I can continue to receive an income on the road.
‘At the minute, my husband, Warren, has been working six-days-a-week full time in a warehouse to save up for us to leave.
‘The children currently attend school full time and will continue to do so until we leave.
‘At times we wonder whether we’re being irresponsible taking them out of school, but we believe this is the right thing for our family.
‘They will continue to study on the road via distance learning, and when the time comes, will write their GCSE’s.
‘But regardless, they can get so much more out of an experience like this and by helping others.’