A seven-year-old girl from Glasgow has visited 46 countries alongside her mother while maintaining an almost perfect school attendance record.
Stella has been travelling with her mother, Paula Gaughan, 37, since her first trip to Disneyland Paris.
The pair are now just six countries away from completing their ambitious goal of visiting every country in Europe.
Paula, a secondary school teacher, believes her daughter could become the youngest person to accomplish the challenge.
Young Traveller Takes on Major Landmarks and Destinations
Stella’s travels have included a series of notable landmarks and unusual destinations.
She has climbed Mont Blanc, hiked Mount Vesuvius, explored the ancient ruins of Pompeii and visited the Acropolis in Athens.
The seven-year-old has also visited the famous Monte Carlo casino in Monaco and travelled to Transnistria, an unrecognised territory situated between Moldova and Ukraine.
Paula described travelling with her daughter as a way of building shared experiences, saying: “It is almost like I am collecting memories with her as a hobby.”
Careful Planning Keeps School Attendance Intact
Despite the number of countries they have visited, Stella has not missed a single day of school because of their travels.
The mother and daughter achieve this through careful scheduling, including what Paula describes as ‘piggyback holidays’, where they combine visits to several countries during one school break.
During their most recent half-term holiday, they managed to visit five countries in just seven days.
They also organise ‘extreme day trips’, sometimes spending only 24 hours in a destination before moving on.
Paula said people were often surprised by how much travelling they managed while Stella continued attending school full time.
“As long as you are careful with planning you can do more than you think,” she said.
Budget Travel Helps Fund Their Adventures
The pair also keep their travel expenses down by avoiding luxury holidays.
They usually travel with backpacks, book connecting flights and choose accommodation with kitchen facilities so they can prepare their own meals.
Paula has also made personal financial adjustments to support their trips, including downsizing her car and cancelling memberships to free up additional money.
Reflecting on their circumstances, she said: “I wasn’t brought up rich and she isn’t either but she definitely has a richness in the life experiences that she is having.”
Transnistria Trip Required Additional Precautions
One of their most unusual journeys was to Transnistria, where the pair travelled despite UK government advice against visiting the territory.
Paula said they researched the destination thoroughly before travelling, hired a private guide and obtained specialist travel insurance for the trip.
With only six European countries remaining on their list, Stella and her mother are continuing their mission to visit every country in the continent.
