A couple is selling their home and ditching the UK to travel across Europe in a van bought with their late dad's inheritance - and named after him as a tribute.



Scott Henley's dad, David Hawkins, 57, died from cancer in December 2023 after battling it for three-and-a-half years.



After deciding to use the money left by David "for good and as a lasting memory of him", Scott, 43, and partner, Billie-Rose, 30, are set to start travelling with their two children - aged three and one - in February 2026."



They bought their £15k Mercedes Sprinter - named 'The Hawk' after Scott's dad - in May and have set aside a further £15k from their own personal savings to transform it into a home on wheels.



Play therapist Billie is looking into world schooling their children and "letting the world become their classroom"."



They plan to first drive from their home of Dorset to France before heading countries to Spain, Portugal and Italy.



As keen travellers couple are "rolling with it" and don't have plans to return to the UK. "

Dad-of-three Scott, a business consultant, from Dorset, said: "We [him and Billie] actually got together as we planned to hike the whole of New Zealand together."



"Unfortunately we were getting set up and five months into training lockdown hit."



"Travel is a part of life that's always been there but has been put to one side."



"Unfortunately my dad lost his battle to cancer on Christmas Day in 2023."



"When it came to the inheritance, Billie said we should try and use it for good and as a lasting memory of him."



"It wasn't a life-changing amount of money but it was enough to do something like this."



"It started off like 'let's buy a van and take the kids on holidays in the UK'."



"With these things like inheritance it took a year-and-a-half to come to us."



"And then it was like 'you know what, let's just sell up'."



"For me and Billie especially having to go back to work twice after having two children we thought why are we missing out on watching our kids grow up just to stay in the rat race and be a slave to the nine to five." "

Scott has spent his evenings after work and weekends renovating the van, with plans underway for their time on the road.



"We won't be blowing the house money," he said."



"Part of us needs to be sensible and needs to make a home for the girls at some point."



"We're doing 95% save and 5% spend."



"ChatGPT has been very good when it comes to planning our route and how much fuel we'll need. "

"We would love to move to Europe."



"We're literally thinking the first six months we'll go across the border to France and hop the coastline in a westerly direction all the way to Italy."

Other influencers on Instagram have helped the couple to budget, and they are planning to spend £50 per day.

Fiance Billie believes in "the power of play" and is "looking forward" to having quality time with their children on the road."



She said: "I'm a play therapist and worked in mainstream education for five years and worked in in a private SEN school for four years. "

"I've just seen how important play, nature and connection are for children's wellbeing."



"We want to take things back to basics - slowing down, reconnecting with nature, and giving our girls a childhood filled with adventure, imagination, and starry skies."



"World schooling - we are looking into that."

"We are hoping in December 2026 to be in Lapland for Christmas."



"We hope by sharing our story we'll inspire other families stuck in a rut like we are with work and not enough with their kids." "

Scott's 18-year-old from a previous relationship is set to join the family on their travels.



He said: "So many of our friends and family have said 'we love what you're doing or we'd love to do that'."



"After hearing it a few times my response was 'do it then'."



"Obviously if you're financially secure you can do it and even if you're not try and make it happen."

"I think my dad would absolutely love what we are planning to do as a family, knowing that he helped us achieve our dreams and that his memory will live on, not just through me but also through his grandchildren - one of which he never even met"."

Billie said: "He was so young and there was so much life he should be living left, and he adored spending time with the girls. "

"He knew we both had travel bug still in us. "

"I'd like to believe he'd be really really happy"."