My mum had enjoyed camping since she was a child, and in my youth we took holidays in our trailer tent, usually in Abersoch.

Mum loved to travel and enjoyed a little adventure, especially with grandchildren Aalish and Archie.

With the money she left us, we bought Colin, a 2008 Bürstner Nexxo Family, to experience new adventures and places in her memory.

The first big adventure!

After a few nights spent locally, we decided to head over to Ireland from our home on the Isle of Man.

Arriving in Belfast, we settled on visiting an old friend in southern Ireland, and headed down the M8 – the kids didn’t even fight! Colin had magical powers.

We stopped overnight at Parsons Green Holiday Park in County Tipperary.

It was friendly and quiet, with farm animals and lots of space for the kids to play.

We even managed to turn on the gas and hook up to the electric without looking like the novices we were.

New-found pleasures

Next day we headed for Adrigole in County Cork, stopping to buy fresh bread for a picnic by an old abandoned church, before continuing on to Adrigole to visit our friend Steve.

We spent two days catching up and exploring Bantry Bay.

We’d settled into our nomadic life with ease: no bickering, just taking great pleasure in each other’s company.

We carried on to Killarney, spending the night at the spotless and huge Flemings White Bridge site.

From Killarney we went on to Doolin, where we spent a couple of days exploring the Cliffs of Moher and Doolin Cave, with its large stalactite!

We were just enjoying our adventure and spending time together.

Our last night was spent on the Camac Valley site, enjoying a meal and a few drinks out in Dublin.

Smiles all round

We had covered around 700 miles and learnt much – mostly that we can spend a lot of time in a confined space without anyone getting killed!

But we also discovered that having no Wi-Fi isn’t going to stop the world spinning, and that Ireland is a gorgeous and friendly country.

The saddest time of my life has led to some of the happiest times – I hope that the kids’ faces and the adventures Colin brings would make my mum, Eleanor Evans, smile.