We are a lucky couple: we bought our motorhome as a frivolous purchase after receiving a family gift. We wanted to be able to take our ageing aunt out for day trips without having to worry about finding facilities.

We chose a Chausson 510 Flash and took delivery in June last year, before spending a couple of months on short trips getting used to the motorhome way of life. We even spent one night sleeping in the ’van on our driveway to get to know how everything worked, before taking our aunt for fish and chips by Rutland Water.

Our first big trip was to Wales via Shropshire. We called in on friends, then went to Ludlow Touring Park for our first campsite experience. Next we carried on to Wales, where we stayed at Plas Farm Caravan Park in Conwy, an isolated place surrounded by excellent views. Even Anglesey was passable for our motorhome, where the locals were happy to make way on the narrow roads without any fuss.

For our return trip, we travelled via Cheshire to see the Anderton Lift, and spent a final night near Buxton in Lime Tree Holiday Park; it was just a short taxi trip to the town in the morning for a fried breakfast and a walk around. We followed this with a short trip to Norfolk where we learned to watch out for the top of the ’van when entering car parks!

Our initial tours gave us the confidence to go to Poland via Harwich, rather than risking congestion at Dover. We bit off a bit much on that trip, and had some long drives between the various stops; but we still managed to visit Delft, Brunswick, The Harz mountains and family in Poland, before returning via Lübeck to eat marzipan and visit a bierkeller.

Last winter we went to Portreath in Cornwall, but this time we used the motorhome as a glorified tearoom for Aunt Joan and my mum! Fish’n’chips at a famous restaurant in Padstow were enjoyed, but the two parking charges we collected were not!

We are busy drawing up plans for our next big holiday; it will be to France to see former colleagues and enjoy the countryside. So far our motorhome has not failed to give us pleasure, and we are both looking forward to the day when we can up sticks and travel on a whim.