Ever considered forgetting your 'normal' life and heading for the wilderness? Sara Whittall and her family did precisely that, and left civilisation far, far behind…

Our family was born to be in the great outdoors. Be it rain, shine, wind or snow, that's where you'll find us. Unfortunately we live in Britain, where the shine is generally rare and the other elements predominate. But by making one brave decision, we discovered a whole new world - and we found experiences few can imagine, and which we will always remember.

When our daughter Megan was born, we discovered 'smart' weekend camping - travelling just three miles from home, which eliminated all planning, travel and forgotten items. It's strange how we could relax better in the middle of a field than we ever could at home, surrounded by all the household chores!

In August 2000, we chanced long distance travel with two kids (Holly at 9mths and Megan now two) and we towed our caravan to Spain. There we saw a vision: a battered old army truck that had been converted into a campervan. Why hadn't we thought of it before? A tailor-made holiday vehicle - any time, any place, any climate, any terrain, offering complete self-sufficiency for all our future family holidays.

Richard now began work enhancing a 4x4 - a Mercedes Unimog - into a performance vehicle in which to realise our new travel dreams. Weekend and evening construction ensued, but what had started as a holiday provider had now entered a different zone - one of housing us for the foreseeable future. We had decided to escape from the rat race, sell up and go travelling - a plan accelerated amongst other things because of September 11th and the upcoming schooling of Megan and Holly.

So in March 2002, Richard left his job as sales manager of a multimillion pound networking company, I untied my apron strings and together with Megan (now four and Holly (two) we all set off into the unknown.

In total we travelled over 25,000km and visited 12 countries in our 10 months away. The main focus of our trip and indeed the biggest impression that was made upon all of us was the tundra wilderness of the Norwegian High Arctic.

Determined to stand at the top of the world - the Nordkapp - we spent 7 days speeding along at 50 miles per hour through Sweden to reach our furthest Arctic destination. We couldn't hang around as adverse weather conditions can close the Nordkapp roads as early as September. The girls and I noted all the things we saw and drew various 'sketch maps' of our routes. According to Alan Pease in Why Men don't listen & Women can't read maps, female brains can't translate a two-dimensional map into a three dimensional picture. I guessed that if Holly and Megan showed an interest at such an early age, they'd at least be better than me! Unfortunately none of our maps prepared us for the extortionate toll charged to cross to Mageroy Island, the only route to the Nordkapp - £50 each way!

After a full English breakfast in the truck, we set off to view the pounding surf at the 'top of the world'. Unfortunately we can only remain disappointed with the 'no-choice' commercialism of the spot, its ridiculous charges and the monument covered with graffiti. This was not the Norway we had come to see. It was, however, the only example of overt commercialism we found in the Arctic.

Our next stop was Alta. Autumn had begun with a vengeance. After the desolate treeless landscape of the Nordkapp, it was enchanting to see the leaves of the dwarf silver birches turning red and gold, and top watch the rowan trees' red berries waving in the breeze. These trees were heavily laden, which according to the indigenous Sami people meant a harsh winter ahead.

We wild camped everywhere. Norway's allemannsretten ('every man's right') allows you to camp for up to two days, as long as you are 150metres away from a dwelling. Our immense four wheel drive took us down equally huge rock slabs to unexpected oases of waterfalls, valleys, fjords, glaciers - and monster mosquitoes!

Cooking facilities were excellent in the truck and they had to be, as in Norway we couldn't afford to eat out once. We stored 360 litres of water in our two tanks, plus we had a filter for drinking water. Every utensil had its own storage space, completely eliminating 'lost' items. A Smev cooker running off propane gas served up many a roast, but for me, the icing on the cake was the daily café latte produced from an Italian percolator coffee pot and a battery-operated milk frother. It certainly gave a buzz for the day ahead.

Most of our food was stored in the 140-litre fridge & 140-litre freezer from Shoreline Refrigeration, which together use less than half the power needed to run a standard Electrolux 100-litre fridge. Electricity was generated by three 110 watt solar panels, the Rutland wind generator and the engine's alternator when travelling. Rick turned on the heating one freezing night and the lights flickered - 'Have we run out of sun, Daddy' asked Holly.

Visiting the excellent Sami museum in Karasjok, we were first introduced to the amazing turf huts and reindeer 'lavvu' tents, which set our imaginations racing once again. Before we knew it, we had tracked down the manufacturers of the modern lavvu which is a special canvas equivalent to the traditional deerskin version. The result was light and portable, instantly ready to fling over the birch pole structures which are left in situ in the tundra permafrost, ready for the roving reindeer herders to shelter in. We made friends with Gunn, who worked at the lavvu 'factory'. She sold us 12 reindeer skins, tanned by her husband, from which we could make the sleeping bags for our latest camping acquisition - our own Sami lavvu.

It was whilst trying to keep our feet warm using camp fire rocks that we saw our first 'Aurora Borealis'. For any onlookers who may have been nearby, I don't know what would have been the best spectacle - the northern lights dancing and twinkling or us, looking like 2 Michelin men gazing skyward, wearing all the clothes we possessed! To be treated to this awe-inspiring phenomenon, it's necessary to visit between October and April, as the best northern lights are seen in the coldest weather.

Cooking, chatting and drying socks around the campfire led to satisfying, quality times of a simple nature. We had no fancy expectations. The elements battled and raged outside, but we were cosy within, making the occasional trip to the truck for forgotten items. Bread costs £2 per loaf, so Richard learned to bake his own, an unbreakable, heavy creation that could also double as a tent peg hammer. The girls, on the other hand, became adept at baking small bread rolls, which kept them occupied for a while. They also had lots of practice at collecting and constructing their own little cooking fires.

We crossed the old Kautokeino to Alta road twice, mightily impressing the locals. It's a rugged, isolated terrain with only the odd reindeer herder on quad bike here and there. This road is suitable to traverse only if you have a 4 x 4 and nerves of steel -but for us, it was the best experience of the trip. We were living as the nomadic reindeer herders do, building fires for warmth and for cooking, sewing around the clock to provide sleeping bags for the children and ourselves, talking and dreaming to the backdrop of the sensational northern lights. After sleeping in the freezing temperatures with only twigs and reindeer skins for comfort, the truck seemed like a palace, so warm, comfortable and self contained.

Our last thrill in Norway was to visit the Jotenheimen National Park and cross Highway 55, northern Europe's highest mountain road. It reaches 1434m, so it's no wonder it's closed from 15th October each year. Can you believe the height of the snow poles were almost twice the height of our 3.8m truck! All fjords were frozen and we came across 1 metre long icicles dripping off the mountainsides. Although Rick did most of the driving, I also took the wheel, - at which point Rick advised the girls to don their bicycle helmets 'just in case'!

We plan to return to the Norwegian Arctic to experience the Kautokeino Easter celebrations amid serious snow, skidoos and reindeer rides. But this particular leg of our journey was ended; we left for the ferry port in Oslo and sailed via Copenhagen to Gdansk in Poland, where we began a very different experience indeed.

Outdoor addicts to the end, we were to be found last January sitting in our garden in Winchester - freezing! We resolved there and then to create a place in our garden where we could light a fire and experience life 'inside out' whenever we wanted! Not being able to find anything to fulfil our brief, we developed our own ideas and the Anglo Igloo took shape: a place where we now go to relax, away from the list of jobs, the household disorder and the sleeping beauties. Baby monitor plugged in, drink in hand, we consider this 'smart' relaxation and believe there are many of you out there who may enjoy this too.

Each Anglo Igloo is hand-crafted to a customer's specifications; the finished product fits snugly into your garden and comfortably seats at least 15 people inside. Its telescopic chimney helps you create the perfect fire every time - be it for warmth and atmosphere or for cooking; while the 'Lazy Bones Spit Roaster' lets you relax for hours until your chosen roast is tender.

Why limit that special 'chilled out' feeling to the precious 20 days holiday in your motor caravan each year? Just take a trip down you garden any day of the year and rekindle the spark in your life!