"The best decision we ever made!" Buying 'Edith' the Elddis Motorhome has changed the lives of The Wild Thorneberrys

Yesterday, we had the pleasure in meeting – and welcoming to Erwin Hymer Group UK – a couple who we have been avidly watching, and talking to, on Instagram.

The Wild Thorneberrys, AKA Lauren, Oliver, dogs Maggie and Nora and – not least – ‘Edith’ the Elddis motorhome, have a story to tell – and Rachel Moncrieff and Emma Hughes , the EHG UK Marketing Team, were all ears!

The Wild Thorneberrys first came to our attention in early Spring 2021, when some teasing photos of a smart Sunseeker special edition Elddis Autoquest 155 landed in our Insta feed, followed by clickbait cute puppy shots and an intriguing logo. Clearly, adventures lay ahead… and we wanted to follow them on their journey!

The pair, with their two pups on board Edith (lovingly referred to as ‘DeeDee’), were travelling back from Scotland and planning on staying in Durham for a few nights, so we invited them in for a coffee – keen to meet the faces behind the Instagram account and to find out why they swapped bricks and mortar for VanLife.

This story begins in Rugby, where the newly-married – and young – couple have a picture-perfect new house and highly-skilled careers.

'Re-tying the knot', six months in to their epic roadtrip, at Gretna Green

Lauren was working as a Specialist Respiratory Physiotherapist in Coventry, then – latterly – in Kettering. After nearly a year of working through the Pandemic, she finally succumbed to Covid in December 2020 and is, now, suffering the effects of Long Covid and has also been diagnosed with PoTS (Postural Tachycardia Syndrome). It’s been a traumatic time for someone who loves the outdoors, sports and just likes to be active.

Oliver is a Sales Engineer for a Motorsports Engineering company and they, respecting the couple’s need for time out, have kept him in contract.

The idea to rent out their house and take to four wheels was first mooted by Lauren, frustrated at feeling trapped at home.

The decision to buy ‘Edith’, their motorhome, came with sheer relief. In the couple’s words, they felt as if they were taking back control of their lives and, importantly, focus on getting better.

Oliver also explains that the loss of both his parents, at a relatively young age, made the pair re-evaluate their priorities and to do now what they might otherwise have delayed until retirement.

From Land's End to John O'Groats, 'Edith' the Elddis Motorhome has been a constant comfort and a cosy home-from-home

The beauty of Edith, their Elddis motorhome, is the thrill of ever-changing scenery – to wake up with a new view every day, rather than the same four walls at home. When Lauren’s having a bad day, she tells us it’s easier to cope with surrounded by countryside and lots of fresh air!

“Buying Edith was the best decision we ever made!” the pair declared to their growing following on Instagram – and admitted to us that dogs Maggie and Nora much prefer their motorhome to their house!

Maggie (left) and Nora (right) prefer motorhome life to being at home

Over a year on, they have travelled the length and breadth of the UK, from Lands’ End to John O’Groats. They plan to meander down from the North East, through North Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk – hugging the coastline, like you’d expect from a couple of land-locked Midlanders!

The adventure never stops, whatever the weather!

Rain or shine (and there’s been plenty of the former, looking through their Instagram reels), Lauren and Oliver have grasped every opportunity to enjoy and immerse themselves in the new environment they wake up to every day. Oliver enjoys walking, getting off the beaten track and, in another life, may have been a Paleontologist. Lauren, once a competitive swimmer, laps up the benefits of wild swimming and is getting bolder by the day. The pair feel empowered, rather than restricted, by VanLife.

They love this kind of adventure so much that, when they finally get to go on their belated New Zealand Honeymoon next Spring, they will be touring the islands by Motorhome – spurning the luxury hotels they had originally planned! (Just don't tell Maggie and Nora that they're not going too!).

The Wild Thorneberrys have been a great inspiration to others looking to take up VanLife on a full-time, part-time or weekend basis… and we can’t wait to see where the road – and Edith the Elddis – takes them next!

Follow Lauren and Oliver:??https://www.instagram.com/thewildthorneberrys/