Lockdown holiday blues led Northampton couple to pen travel book

A local couple who love to travel in their caravan have written a book after suffering from lockdown boredom and holiday blues.

Chris and Margaret Hamson have been shielding at their home in Moulton since the end of March as they are both over the age of 70.

The pair, who have been married for 24 years, have been travelling to France in their caravan for the last two decades and have really missed holidays during the pandemic.

After around a month of lockdown boredom and wanderlust, Chris began writing down his fond memories of all their trips from over the years, which then turned into him penning a book entitled ‘A Camping Car in France’.

The 73-year-old said: “We can’t travel this year so we started thinking about all the lovely things we have done and all the lovely places we have been.

“I then put it down on paper because I thought other people would like to read about this.

“It has really helped us get through lockdown, although we are still desperate to get on the road at some point.

“It’s been lovely to think about it all and begin to plan next year’s excursion.”

The book is made up of anecdotes from Chris and Margaret’s memorable caravan trips, which have mainly been to France, including visits to The Alps and The Pyrenees.

However, the couple, who bought their caravan in 2000 and then retired around five years later, also take regular trips to Australia, which is detailed in a chapter that covers camping in the Outback.

Chris added: “The book is all about our travelling experiences, some of the stuff that has gone wrong and bits that have gone right, as well as the lovely places we have been and the lovely people we have met in France.

“We used to travel and see motor caravans parked up and thought ‘that would be the life’, so we just made the plunge and found the funds to buy one and off we set.

“We still worked at the time so we travelled around the UK in it, then when we retired it really released us to go more and more and that’s when we discovered our love for France.

“It’s the freedom to not have to book hotels and to not have to book campsites on the continent that we love and the freedom you get on the road.”

The book, which is illustrated with original pictures of the couple’s travels, was self published by Chris and is available on Amazon and Kindle, when searching ‘A Camping Car in France’.

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