Spalding Grammar School teacher and Tanglewood Care Homes contracts and commissioning manager to 'put their lives on hold' for European adventure

While many of us are spending a chilly January poring over holiday websites, one Spalding couple have their travel plans sorted for long beyond this summer.

Dave and Adele Endersbee have put their professional lives on hold to spend 15 months touring Europe in a motorhome.

Many thousands of students have benefited during Dave’s 17 years as a PE tutor at Spalding Grammar School, the last six as an assistant headteacher too.

Meanwhile, in her role as a contracts and commissioning manager, Adele has been instrumental in establishing several new premises for Tanglewood Care Homes, most recently Holbeach Meadows.

Adele (40) is clear what excites her about the couple’s forthcoming adventure.

“Everything – the freedom, the food, seeing new places and living a completely different lifestyle to what we’re used to,” she said.

Dave (39) added: “The world is massive and we just want to see as much of it as we can.

“I’ve been fortunate, through the school, to have been part of many brilliant opportunities for the students. I’ve been to quite a few countries including America, Barbados and India.”

The couple met at Spalding Grammar in 2008. Dave had been in his role for a couple of years when Adele, who had previously studied in the school’s sixth form, returned for an Old Boys’ netball match.

They married in 2013 and have one dependant – eight-year-old Macy, a Labradoodle who will be going with them abroad.

“Some of the reason we’re sticking to Europe is so that Macy can come with us. Hot climates and flights would be too much for her,” said Dave.

According to Adele, there was never a question of the dog not going – they’re an energetic and outdoorsy couple and Macy always accompanies them.

The European trip has been an itch the couple have wanted to scratch for about five years.

They consulted a financial advisor in 2020, who geared their saving plan towards them going in April 2023. This was a year before the Endersbees had envisaged but, nevertheless, they vowed to commit to it.

With a budget of £1,000 per month and her husband’s penchant for a spreadsheet, Adele’s confident they will manage fine and knows they have reserves to draw upon.

The couple resolved to tell their employers of the trip long before they needed to hand in their notices, to be as accommodating as possible.

“What’s sad in a way is we do both enjoy our work and find it rewarding,” said Dave.

“It comes down to how long do you wait to do something like this?

“Life is for living so we thought let’s make it happen.”

After months of research to find their perfect motorhome – a six-berth automatic with fixed bed, plenty of storage and a separate toilet and shower – the couple invested in a 2020 Roller Team Zefiro earlier this month.

They plan to share the driving abroad, starting in Scandinavia with the majestic Norwegian fjords encircled on their map as an early stop.

Visa restrictions mean they will need to hop in and out of some areas of Europe. But they’re also planning three brief returns to England to catch up with friends and family – as well as to enjoy the home comforts of a bath and bed, and swap their clothes to suit the forthcoming season.

Dave admits that his biggest concern about the trip is missing their loved ones back home.

“I’m sure we’ll have fleeting friendships with a few travellers but I’ll miss things like having a meal with friends and family,” he added.

When the initial travels are done in summer 2024, the Endersbees hope to keep the motorhome for more adventures.

“But it might be that we need to sell it to put a deposit on a house,” said Dave.

When they roll out of Spalding on April 1, the plan is that it will be for good.

Their house will be rented out and they want to settle elsewhere when they return to the UK.

Dave said: “We’re not intending to come back to this area.

“It’ll be a new chapter somewhere else in this country or maybe another country – who knows?”

“A new town, a new running route, a new riverbank to walk along,” added Adele.

The couple say Spalding will always be in their hearts, particularly because of the friendships they’ve made, but the lure of writing another new chapter in their lives - after the next one in Europe - was just too strong.