Wherever I hang my hat...

I’m travelling around in a Romahome 25, a small motorhome which attracts appreciative glances… at least from people who aren’t stuck behind me on some narrow country road. I had months to research the best vehicle for the job of being a travelling writer and photographer. I drew up a list of the amenities I needed, and the Romahome fitted the bill. The front is a Citroen Berlingo, the back is built by Romahome. I can stand up - just - in the back, without having to extend the roof. This is fine… most of the time. I just have to remember that the vehicle is more than 8ft high, which puts multi-storey car parks out of bounds.

What I have, essentially, is an office/bedsit on wheels. With two ‘leisure’ batteries (in addition to the battery under the bonnet) and a solar panel on the roof, I have enough electricity to power my lighting, computer and DAB radio, and re-charge my phone, iPad and camera batteries. I have enough power for a couple of days, if I’m staying in one place; after that I need to either put some miles on the clock (which re-charges all three batteries), stop at a campsite with a hook-up… or hope for sunshine. There’s a dial which tells me how much power I have left, and I try not to cut it too fine.

I have wifi in the vehicle, but it’s not something I can rely on. Fortunately, I don’t need to be online all the time. The main need is for uploading photographs, sending articles to magazines and checking my emails. Before embarking on my nomadic lifestyle I didn’t have much love for MacDonalds ‘restaurants’ or Wetherspoon pubs. Now, though, they’re like branch offices; the availability of free wifi makes these places look much more attractive. On many occasions this is the easiest way to get online. The satnav lady will even locate the nearest MacDonalds.


Stamford at dusk...