In the 1970s, this adventurous couple circumnavigated the globe in their trusty Land Rover

In recent years, the #vanlife movement has surged in popularity, with many travelers embracing the freedom of living and exploring in mobile tiny homes.

Yet, the idea of hitting the road in a converted van is far from new; campervan conversions have been a part of road culture since the 1950s.

But what was it really like to embark on a global road trip in an era before GPS, mobile phones, and social media?

In 1977, Alec and Jan Forman, a couple from the UK, embarked on a journey across Europe, Africa, and Asia in their Land Rover Series III, navigating 29 countries—including Afghanistan and Iran—with only a compass and paper maps.

Epic Overland Journey

The couple, who first met in 1972 at a British military hospital bar in Germany and tied the knot two years later, spent nearly five years saving up for their remarkable 14-month road trip.

After searching for the perfect vehicle, they chose a relatively new Land Rover, previously used by Alec’s uncle for farm work, and began the process of converting it into their ideal campervan for the adventure ahead.

“We kept things straightforward,” says Alec Forman, who trained as an aircraft mechanic in the British Army, speaking to Dinogo Travel. “It wasn’t like the high-tech vehicles people use today, with all the modern gadgets. Ours was very basic.”

Before they embarked on their journey, the couple sought advice from British travel agency Trailfinders on how to obtain a Carnet de Passages – a crucial document that enables travelers to cross international borders with their vehicle without paying customs fees – and consulted two books relevant to parts of their trip.

“There was a bit of useful info in those books,” Alec recalls, “but nothing compared to the wealth of resources available today.”

The Formans later penned their own memoir, titled “Strangers Like Angels: With a Devil or Two to Boot,” first published in 2014, sharing their incredible journey on the road.

Packed with months’ worth of dried supplies, including blocks of dried meat, they left the West Midlands of England on February 4, 1977. Their first stop was Belgium, followed by a ferry ride to Germany. One of their earliest destinations was Rinteln, Germany, the town where they had met years earlier.

“We wanted to go back and experience it again,” says Jan Forman, who trained as a nurse and midwife in the British Army.

The couple then journeyed through Germany, France, and Spain before crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Morocco.

“A lot of the journey felt familiar,” Jan reflects. “We’d traveled extensively during our time in the army in Germany, so much of Europe was already explored.”

“It wasn’t until we reached Morocco that the sense of true adventure really set in.”

From there, they made their way towards the Algerian border, traveling along the coast to Algiers, and then heading south into the vast Sahara desert.

A journey to remember

Before venturing into the desert, the Formans made sure to stockpile ample fuel and water to ensure they could make it across.

“We carried 75 gallons of fuel to get us through the desert to Tamanrasset, the first place we knew we could refuel in southern Algeria, along with 20 gallons of water,” Jan Forman recalls.

Unfortunately, upon arrival, they discovered that fuel was not immediately available, forcing them to wait several days before they could continue their journey.

At the beginning of their trip, Jan Forman did some of the driving, but she was hesitant about navigating the desert. As a result, they decided that Alec would take the lead as the primary driver, while Jan would handle the navigation.

“There were so many levers,” Jan recalls. “I worried that if I made a mistake and got us stuck in the desert, it would be a disaster. So we split the responsibilities, and it worked out great.”

Jan kept careful records of compass bearings and distances between notable landmarks—such as abandoned vehicles or unique rock formations—so they could retrace their steps if they became lost and have a general sense of where they were.

It was during this part of their journey that they encountered one of the many 'angels' they would later write about in their book: a man on a camel, who offered them camel's milk and directed them to alter their route.

“We later discovered that the path we almost took led into deep, soft sand, which would have slowed us down significantly,” Jan Forman explains.

Having carefully calculated the exact amount of fuel required for each leg of the journey, with no extra reserves, any detour or delay could have left them stranded without enough fuel to reach the next town.

The Formans then traveled through Niger, a landlocked country in West Africa, before heading south to Nigeria and Cameroon, where they explored the equatorial rainforest.

Their journey then took them back toward Europe, passing through Italy and Austria, before continuing through Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey.

After visiting Iran and realizing they would need to wait up to two months for a visa to enter Iraq, a couple they had recently met suggested they head to Afghanistan instead.

Acts of kindness from strangers

“We hadn’t done much research on Afghanistan,” Alec admits. “But we were persuaded by the other two couples that it was a place we had to visit.”

Since travel to Afghanistan was only allowed in a convoy, they joined forces with two other couples and set off together.

“There’s a main route where you drive 1,000 kilometers off-road, navigating riverbeds and crossing precarious bridges,” he explains.

One couple had to turn back when their vehicle was damaged, but the Formans and the other couple pressed on together.

Upon reaching Afghanistan, the group was warmly welcomed by the locals, even receiving a tea invitation from a family they met along the way.

“The people were incredibly kind and generous,” Alec Forman recalls. “We had an amazing time.”

Their next destination was Pakistan, where they explored Swat Valley and Lahore before heading into India. While most of the journey went smoothly, they did encounter a few challenging situations.

One of their challenges arose when they decided to drive to the highest point of the highest road in the world, located in Ladakh, a mountainous region to the east of the Kashmir Valley.

“Alec had stood at the South Pole in Antarctica, so he thought it would be amazing to reach the highest point of the highest road in the world as a way to match that achievement,” Jan Forman explains.

Although there were signs marking the way to the summit, there were also warnings indicating that further travel was prohibited.

Despite the warnings, the Formans and their two companions decided to press on, bypassing an open barrier, and eventually made it to the top. But on their return, the barrier was lowered, and they were met by a guard.

“He came out holding a rifle and demanded, ‘Where are you going? You’re not supposed to be up there,’” recalls Alec Forman.

“We apologized, saying, ‘Sorry, officer. We won’t do it again.’ He let us go, probably because he’d get into more trouble for us having passed through in the first place,” Alec Forman recalls.

They continued their journey to Nepal, spending Christmas in Kathmandu, before heading back to the UK.

While the Formans tried their best to keep their families updated, staying in touch wasn’t easy back then.

“We couldn’t call our family or anything,” Jan explains. “We had to rely on letters. We’d tell them when to send mail to specific locations and try to estimate when we’d arrive at each stop.”

Jan recalls that her father had a large world map in the living room of their Essex home, where he would mark out their journey as they described the towns they’d visited.

When they returned in March 1978, they decided not to inform their families of their early arrival, choosing instead to surprise them.

After settling back into life in the UK, the couple had two daughters, Esther and Heidi, and enjoyed many family trips in the Land Rover.

A New Chapter

When they had their son Charles, they decided to get a caravan to tow behind the Land Rover, giving the whole family enough space for their travels.

In 1985, the Formans moved to Mali, where they spent 14 years. Their youngest daughter, Maria, was born in the northern Ivory Coast. The family kept using the Land Rover for trips back to the UK whenever they returned home.

“It had always been a part of our lives, until we simply outgrew it,” Jan Forman reflects.

After relocating to Germany in 1999, the Land Rover was sent back to their home in Hertfordshire, UK, where it stayed for several years.

Eventually, the Formans had the Land Rover shipped to Germany, where it was left at the bottom of their garden for 17 years. In 2018, Alec began taking it apart, leaving only the chassis, axles, and two wheels.

In May 2021, a family friend towed the Land Rover on a trailer to France, where it was placed in a barn on his farm, and it remains there to this day.

Crowdfunding Initiative

Recently, Charles Forman launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a new photo book featuring around 300 images from his parents’ overland journey, with the possibility of restoring the Land Rover to its original condition.

“The original book had a few photos,” says Charles, who created explmore.com, a website celebrating transformative adventures, inspired by his parents’ journey. “But this new book is a comprehensive collection of all the photos.”

This project is deeply meaningful to Charles Forman, who has cherished childhood memories of traveling in the Land Rover and is eager to restore the vehicle to its original 1977 look and finish.

“Personally, I’d love to restore it and take it on new adventures with my family, continuing the nostalgic legacy,” he shares.

“It feels wasteful not to try to restore it in some way. But the main goal is to use it as a source of inspiration,” he adds.

He explains that fans of 'Strangers Like Angels' and others who’ve heard his parents’ story are often eager to see the Land Rover up close.

To make the Land Rover roadworthy again, Charles Forman has been looking into modernizing it, repairing or replacing parts, and possibly even converting the engine to electric.

“Today, many of these old Land Rovers are being converted to electric, thanks to new technology,” says Charles. “I think it would be pretty cool to do that with ours.”

Although it won’t be an easy job, he believes the vehicle still has many more adventures left to offer in the future.

“We plan to showcase it at special events and possibly embark on new overland journeys to places it has yet to explore,” he adds.