GOING SOLO

Motorhomes are becoming increasingly popular with female drivers travelling on their own. John Evans interviews his sister Faye to discover the appeal

- John Evans

Motorcyclist, sailor, horse rider, state registered nurse, law degree-touting industrial safety expert, mother, grandmother – my sister Faye is many people.

And six years ago, when she retired, Faye took on yet another exciting role – that of motorhomer. A solo, female motorhomer, to be precise.

While there are no industry figures to show what proportion of the UK’s motorhome owners are solo females, anecdotally, their number appears to be increasing. Online, there are many posts by solo women campers loving their motorhomes and mixing campsite stays with wild camping.

They include Siobhan Daniels, a convert to motorhoming who sold her house and most of her possessions to finance the purchase of an Auto-Trail in which she now lives, travelling where the fancy takes her.

“I am a firm believer that women, particularly in midlife and beyond, want to feel alive and to push the boundaries,” she says. “Van life seems the answer for an increasing number of us who see this as an affordable means of doing that.”

Another convert, of course, is my sister. Faye hasn’t sold her home (or indeed her car), but her dedication to her new hobby is no less impressive. She’s often away in her motorhome, touring Scotland, and has plans to explore more of England this year.

Intrigued, I wanted to know more about why my sister had decided to buy a motorhome and what she has learned during the six years following that momentous decision. Has the dream matched the reality? What were the challenges and, crucially, how has the male-dominated motorhome world behaved towards her? You might find her answers quite surprising…