Episodes from Europe & beyond.
A collection of small adventure films. Combining a passion for adventure, an insatiable desire to explore the lesser-known, documenting Europe’s wildest outlands, hot springs, mountains and more. Fusing a blend of vlog and documentary techniques, Lucy and Ben create a unique insight in to their travelling endeavors.
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Rusty Roadtrips SE3: A Journey East
Rusty Roadtrips SE2: A Balkan Winter
001 // France
We explore mountainous lakes and rivers, wild swim in remote locations across Southern and Eastern France and breakdown. All in our first episode back on the continent.
002 // Italy
We repair our camper van before crossing the entire stretch of the Italian Alps in search of a famous, remote mountain hot spring, named after Leonardo Da Vinci.
003 // Hungary
After reaching Hungary, we explore the vast emptiness of the central European country. We stumble across an abandoned Soviet Russian town and explore the historical ruins.
004 // Hungary 02
Whilst in Hungary, we take a trip to Budapest, explore the markets and enjoy a bath in a Turkish Hammam. Outside the city, we visit traditional Horseman and discover a unique way of life.
005 // Romania
In Romania, we visit an ethnic Romani village, and discover what life is like for some of Europe’s most impoverished citizens. We meet residents, talk to villagers and party with our host.
006 // Romania 02
On our second trip to Bucegi National Park, we were determined to see some of the famed local bear population. We stay up through the night hoping to catch a glimpse.
007 // Serbia
On our first foray in to Serbia, we discover the vast remote regions this country offers the more adventurous explorer, with huge amounts of off-road tracks and plentiful wild camping locations.
008 // Serbia 02
We couldn’t visit Serbia without taking a few days to explore the wild and free hot springs on offer. With two readily available online, a local tipped us off about a third, much harder to reach location.
009 // Kosovo
We reached Kosovo on a cold winters morning in December. After a small amount of money passed hands at the border, we were allowed entry to this most interesting country of contrasts.
010 // Kosovo 02
In this episode we continue to explore Kosovo’s rich cultures and indulge ourselves in a snowy mountain adventure, deep in the countries Southern Šar mountain range.
011 // Macedonia
On our first day in the country of Macedonia, we visit a huge and chaotic market in the capital city of Skopje and get a surprising dump of fresh snow, creating an interesting drive through the mountains.
012 // Macedonia 02
Our journey through Macedonia continues as we seek to discover one of Europe’s best kept secrets; a hot spring cave. Here we enjoy a welcome soak in the warmth of a thermal cave, whilst winter prevails.
013 // Macedonia 03
With a burning desire to discover more hot springs, we indulge ourselves once more, in a slightly less appealing but just as warm spring. Shortly after, we break down after filling up with dodgy diesel.
014 // Macedonia 04
After a painstaking week, our van is back on the road thanks to the generosity of a local garage. With our new-found freedom, we head straight for the snow capped mountains of Mavrovo.
015 // Macedonia 05
With the excitement of snow behind us, we descend the mountain from the other side, over what is probably one of the most treacherous roads Macedonia could throw at us.
016 // Greece
Join us for a short adventure through Greece as we revisit our favourite thermal hot springs at Thermopylae. Here we enjoy a period of soaking and reflecting on our adventures so far.
017 // Macedonia 06
After enjoying Macedonia so much the first time round, we find ourselves craving more of this beautiful countries delights. We head back to discover more treasures.
018 // Macedonia 07
As we delve deeper in to Macedonia, we discover one of the countries natural wonders; Lake Prespa. Here we enjoy some ice cold winter dipping and the endless peace and tranquility on offer.
019 // Macedonia 08
In our penultimate Macedonia episode, we meet our friend and local man as we visit a remote mountain village, where a famous bridge has played parts in Macedonian film culture.
020 // Macedonia 09
In our final episode from Macedonia, we discover an ancient religious tradition, whereby men pile in to Lake Ohrid on a quest to reach the crucifix before their competitors, in a bid to receive good luck.
021 // Albania
Our first episode back in Albania treats us to more delightful scenery at Lake Prespa, this time on the other side of the border. Here we soak in the icy waters and get invited to a family birthday meal.
022 // Albania 02
We drive West from Prespa in search of one of our favourite Albanian landmarks. Taking a notoriously dangerous road, the SH75, this journey puts great stress on our old LDV Convoy.
023 // Albania 03
Arriving in Përmet, we camp at our favourite hot spring the country has to offer. We swim in the warm thermal waters and explore the man-made caves in the valley, used during communism.
024 // Albania 04
Not content with nearly destroying our LDV camper van recently, we tackle another notoriously dangerous road; the SH74. A farmer greets us half way in disbelief and warns of trouble ahead.
025 // Albania 05
We return to Berat to meet local guide and friend Isuf, who in turn suggests we visit his friends agro-tourism and wine distillery farm, sat beneath the incredible Tomorri mountain.
026 // Albania 06
Our desire for the wilderness takes over as we leave Berat to explore Albania’s vast, untouched interior landscape. The rugged mountains and lakes here are some of the most beautiful scenes in Europe.
027 // Albania 07
As we enter Northern Albania we discover Puka, an alpine town nestled just South of the famed Accursed Mountains. Here we meet two brothers eagerly aiming to put Puka firmly on the map.
028 // Albania 08
Heading further in to Northern Albania’s vast mountainous region, we hike several kilometres, ascending near vertical cliff faces to meet villagers cut off from the rest of the country.
029 // Albania 09
Our final few days in Albania see us meeting two shepherds in the Kelmendi region. With no common language between us other than a few words of Italian, we are invited to learn about their lives.
030 // Montenegro
A whirlwind tour of Montenegro sees us touring the entire length of Europe’s deepest canyon, before making our way to a very snowy Durmitor National Park.
031 // Bosnia & Herz.
Our first time in Bosnia & Herzegovina brings a surprise dump of fresh snow as we seek to explore Sarajevo’s famous abandoned ski resorts and hotels.
032 // Bosnia & Herz.
With the gradual disappearance of snow, we navigate our way through this unknown-to-us country and absorb as much as we can before returning to the UK.
033 // Return to UK
Our final episode sees us leaving the Balkans in a stir. With borders rapidly closing down due to the 2020 Coronavirus outbreak, we race against the clock to get home safely.