JUST ME AND MY CAMPER VAN

When Beverly Brown, 59, found herself free and single, she decided to put herself in the driving seat

- FRANCESCA WOODSTOCK, ELLIE FAWCETT

As I swiped right on my dating app, my phone pinged with a match. ‘He’s nice!’ I said, smiling at the picture. And just five miles away

After exchanging messages, I jumped in my trusty camper van and made my way to the next town to meet my date for dinner.

I hadn’t always had so much freedom. After becoming a single mum at 18, I’d worked hard to provide for my daughter Misty. I trained as a massage therapist and, in 1996, opened my own day spa in Texas, where we lived. Although the business provided for me and Misty, it left me with little time for anything else.

I longed to go travelling, but we never had the time or money, and when Misty was given homework, aged nine, to write about her favourite holiday, she couldn’t answer – we’d never been on one! But we were happy and I reasoned that was all that mattered.

EMPTY NEST

Eventually, I met someone and got married, and when Misty was 21, she moved out and started her own life. So, when my relationship broke down and we divorced in 2016, I found myself alone.

By then, Misty was 34, and although we were close, I felt a sense of loneliness I’d never had before.

My day spa was doing well, and I employed a manager to look after it. I still got an income without working there myself, so, needing a purpose, I devised a bucket list. I went kayaking and wild swimming, but the thing I wanted to do most was travel.