What the Papers Say.

Maureen and Womble's return to the UK caused quite a lot of interest in the national papers. This from the Daily Express on Saturday January the 18th 2003

And this in the February 2003 edition of the BBC Top Gear Magazine.

And this in the May 2003 edition of Which Motorcaravan Magazine.

Distance - and age - no barrier

GRANDMOTHER Maureen Middleton didn't let a little thing like age stand in the way of her great ambition.

She wanted to see something of the world, so she packed her van - nicknamed Womble - and set off on the trip of a lifetime.

Now the 63-year-old has returned home after clocking up 28,000 miles driving overland to China, through Europe, Russia, Turkey and Georgia, then coming back through Nepal and Tibet.

Maureen, who runs a home for people with dementia, said: "I've wanted to do this journey for the past 23 years, but what with one thing and another it just hadn't been possible.

"I don't think that many people could believe an old bird like me would be driving an old crate such a distance," she said.

"I travelled by myself in the van and had a fantastic time. It was such a great trip that it's hard to pinpoint a highlight, but I was so taken with people who had nothing in their lives but were willing to share with me."

The trip took nine months and a week to complete and Maureen arrived home in Scarborough yesterday with Womble, her 12-year-old Elddis Autoquest camper van, that now has 150,000 miles on the clock.

"While travelling I did miss having a nice long soak in the bath, but most of all I missed my family.

"I'm making up for lost time with my three daughters and two grandchildren and we will all be sitting down for Christmas dinner, when I'll get to open my presents."

She is now so taken by the travel bug that she's already planning her next trip - to Syria and Jordan.

© The Northern Echo Web Site on 2003-01-18