Story told by Dee Godden.

Our first van was a converted Bedford CF2 that my husband and I built back in the last century and we named it Blue Moon. We took it over on the Plymouth-Santander ferry and toured around Spain and Portugal. We had a great time going through lots of villages in this van. Next time we went for a slightly bigger van. This was a Dodge Ram Van, that again my husband did a lot of work on.

The next van conversion was a Trigano Tribute and it was love at first sight for me. I named it G-No after its number plate. It was like a Tardis as it was a lot larger once you stepped inside than you would have ever thought. Together with our dog Roxy we toured France, Belgium, Germany and Spain on numerous occasions. We had a lot of adventures, especially when we took the wrong turn and ended up going over the mountains on a dirt track in France complete with a warning sign about wolves at the top!

We then thought as we were getting a little older we needed a bed that was permanently made up, so Tony started up the computer to get looking to find the one that we wanted. After many months of searching he shouted to me to take a look at the one he had picked out. Even though I was still in love with my G-No, I agreed to go and have a look. To cut a long story short, we went and saw it and as I stepped inside my mouth dropped “Oh my gosh”. It was just as good as the pictures, so bye bye Tribby hello to the new Hobby coachbuilt.

We bought it and the next adventure began as we went to Wales to see my mum and she thought it was fabulous. Next, we went over to France and toured around all over the place, not booking anywhere, just going where we pleased, staying on Aires in small villages.

Soon I realised that I was missing having a van conversion, so it was time to look around for a different van. We tried many dealers and then we found our Benivan at Marquis Devon (Plymouth). At the branch it was very helpful to have the Benivan and a Tribute side by side to compare. I started to tick the boxes of what we needed and there was only one thing missing and that was an oven. Soon we sorted that out and purchased a Cadac Safarai, which is ideal for what we want.

On our Benivan we have solar panels and an inverter so I can use a slow cooker. We have also added some extras to make the Benivan more personal for our needs such as an awning, satellite TV and a bike rack to name a few.

We were hoping to do the NC500 and go to France but my mum became very ill and we ended up staying on her drive in it, our very own home from home. When we do go to see family or friends we always go in the Benivan so we don’t put anyone out and everyone has their own privacy.

Each time we go out in the van, I always wave to other motorhomers, it’s like having an extended family. When we are on a site, we take out the awning and sit outside and relax with friends we have not made yet. I couldn’t imagine life without our Benivan now. I enjoy telling people about van life so much that a friend of mine, who has been on many cruise ships, recently picked up their new van!

We joined the National Trust so that we can take our van with us and it has definitely been worth it during these difficult times as we don’t have to worry about using the loos as we have our own. Many people come up and admire the Benivan and ask us about it and if we would open the back doors so they can see inside. How good is that? We use the Benivan all year round as it is of a size where we can go almost anywhere.

It is also lots of fun to go to motorhome shows to meet new friends and to see all the new vans and gadgets. I can’t imagine staying anywhere else on holiday other than in a motorhome. It’s a way of life with all year round fun and complete freedom. One of the best things about having a motorhome is that you can go away anytime of the year at short notice. It’s just like taking your home on holiday don’t you think? Now it’s time for the next adventure to begin and the van is always ready to go go go!