Our motorhome journey started in a converted VW T4 bought from a relative.

We had never owned a motorhome or camper van, but we wanted a vehicle we could take out for the day to go cycling and walking, and use for overnight stops at motorsport events.

It was a steep learning curve – sleeping bags and no bedding meant the chill of an April night at Silverstone really got to us!

For our next trip, to Fort William in the Highlands, we bought more bedding – but it rained all the time, and we were living in a space where we couldn’t stand up.

Ready to upgrade!

Three weeks later, we headed to Zandvoort in the Netherlands, with an awning for more space. It helped – when we finally set it up – but by then, we were thinking how great it would be to own a coachbuilt.

So only four months after our first trip in the T4, we bought our first one, a 2004 Swift Carrera 530 LP. This felt like real luxury, with a washroom, a kitchen, heating – and headroom!

But it wasn’t long before we started to go to shows, browse dealerships and read lots of magazines – this time, we wanted to make a long-term buy.

My husband, Jon, made a spreadsheet and we put in everything we wanted from our motorhome: it had to be under 6m long, have a fixed bed, a garage, extra belted seats, and possibly a third berth. And all within our strict budget!

Looking for The One

The ’van that kept coming up trumps was a Sun Living model. It was clear this was the one for us, so we hunted high and low and eventually found one in Halifax.

We were on our way to the Lake District in our Swift, so we decided to see it en route.

We looked, we number crunched, and by the time we came home 10 days later, we had made the purchase.

Our Lido S35 SP (known as Sunny) has been incredible. We get away whenever we can and it has been great for motorsport events and outdoor shows.

It has also completely changed how we enjoy our leisure time – we urge anyone considering a motorhome to go for it!