Kyrun Jake Spraggs, ORA customer
There is something about a long drive that strips everything back. No emails. No errands. Just the road, the playlist, and the person next to you.
My partner Jane and I have been together for fourteen years. We have done plenty of journeys together over that time, but this one felt different from the moment we set off. We were heading to Lancaster to visit her grandma, an almost six-hour drive from our home in Havant, Hampshire. A proper commitment. A proper trip.
We had not been two miles out of the driveway before the music was up and we were both singing along at full volume. I use the word “singing” loosely. But nobody was complaining, least of all our four-legged passengers in the back, who have long since accepted that road trips come with a certain level of vocal performance from their owners.
We shared the driving between us, which helped. The miles passed more easily that way. Somewhere around the middle of the country, we pulled off at Warwick Services for the kind of stop that every long drive demands: a toilet break, a walk for the dogs, and the ritual spending of a small fortune on service station food. Subway was the culprit on this occasion. Worth every penny. Almost.
Then back on the road, further north, through the familiar rhythm of motorway driving, as the landscape slowly started to change. The flat Midlands gave way to something greener, hillier, more dramatic as we approached the north-west.
We were heading into Arnside when it happened.
I am not sure either of us expected it. The sky had been doing something for a while, going through the kind of colour changes that you notice in the corner of your eye without quite registering. But as we arrived in the village, the sunset hit its peak, and we both just stopped.
We pulled over. Got out. Stood there.
The Lake District mountain range sat on the horizon, the peaks just beginning to interrupt the setting sun. The light was extraordinary: deep oranges and pinks spreading across the water, the whole scene reflected at us from the surface of the estuary. The dogs stood next to us, equally still, which may have been the most remarkable thing of all.
I took Jane’s hand. Neither of us said anything for a while. There was nothing particularly useful to say.
That moment, right there, is one I will carry with me. Not because it was dramatic or unusual in any great sense. Because it was simply perfect. The right place, the right person, the right light.
We made it to Lancaster not long after. Jane’s grandma was waiting. The kettle was on. The dogs made themselves immediately at home on the sofa.
Also Read: A Carer’s Experience with Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Hire
It was exactly the kind of trip that Open Road Access makes possible: no complicated logistics, no barriers to just getting up and going. The vehicle was delivered to the door, it carried two people, two dogs, and everything they needed for a weekend away, and it got out of the way and let the journey be the point.
If you are thinking about a road trip this summer and wondering whether it is worth it, it is. The slog up the M6 is not the story. The sunset over the estuary is.
Thank you to Kyrun Jake Spraggs for sharing this story with us.
About Open Road Access
Open Road Access provides wheelchair accessible vehicle hire across the UK, with nationwide delivery to your door. From one day to one year, our all-inclusive hire includes insurance, breakdown cover, and delivery and collection at no extra charge. There is no price difference between vehicle sizes.
If you’re looking for wheelchair accessible vehicle hire, get a quote.
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