Remember the days of the good old Bedford Dormobile? I certainly do. My family had several over the years and come to think of it, I had my first ever driving lesson in one as improbable as it might seem today.

And I’d swear I can even recall one occasion when returning from the south coast for the day when my mother had to sacrifice her tights when the Dormy’s normally reliable fanbelt broke? (I guess you’ll have to be well over 50 to understand that one!).

Well in case you haven’t noticed, let me tell you that Motorhomes have certainly moved on from then. Boy have they moved on.

Being aware that the weather was about to change for the better, I popped out one day last week to our local diy centre to buy a new fan for the office before supplies ran out as they always do. On the way back to my car I noticed this rather large and particularly attractive Motorhome parked a short distance away from my car and I couldn’t help but stop and take a look.

The Motorhome in question was a Renault Traffic-based Burstner Delfin T680 and as I stood admiring it from the outside its owned returned, initially I’m sure, uncertain as to whether I was simly admiring his vehicle or trying to decide how best to break into it. Having exchanged the usual pleasantries and having reasured him that it was most definitely the former, the owner invited me in for a look around.

Wow! The first thing that struck me, aside from the space, the quality of the fitments and the delightfully colour-matched interior, was the simply incredible attention to detail.

This Motorhome had everything one could possibly want in what is of course essentially a caravan on wheels, and not its own wheels at that. The kitchen for example was simply to die for with its full-sized oven, its hob and its built-in microwave. It even had a full-sized fridge and a separate freezer for goodness sake. In fact what this kitchen didn’t have one simply didn’t need in the first place.

The entire vehicle was the same. Spacious, ingeniously designed, extremely attractive and of the very highest quality. Its owner was stocking up before setting off for Europe for the summer which is how come we met at the diy store in the first place. It would not have taken much pursuasion for my wife and I to have gone along with him!

And the first thing I did when I got back to the office? You guessed it, visited the website of one of the biggest Motorhome dealers in the country who just happened to have in stock the same model I had just seen, on offer for a shade under £33,000.

Now I know that sounds like a lot of money, but if you are retired and of an adventurous spirit, I can think of a lot worse ways of spending the summer, as did the gentleman I had just met, touring the length and breadth of Europe only somewhat reluctantly returning home to the UK at the onset of winter.

And just take a look at what you get for your money at www.becksmotorhomes.com. And if you pay them a visit, don’t forgot to tell them who sent you. Hopefully I’ll get an extra discount when I order mine!

Editor, Third Age.

See also: Motorhomes