Lynn in Rawanduz, Iraq(Image: Lynn Stephenson)

The Nottinghamshire woman who sold her home to travel the world

by · NottinghamshireLive

After selling her home, a Nottinghamshire woman is travelling around the world and hopes to visit every country. Two years ago on November 10, 2022, Lynn Stephenson sold her house in Carlton and has since been adventuring across the globe to experience different cultures and meet new people.

Lynn, who is now 61 years old, said that she did her first big "around the world trip" in 1992, during which she had limited contact with anyone, and would "just turn up and look for a hotel". Since then she had done a bit of travelling on and off, but it wasn't until she was approaching her 60s that she decided she was ready to sell her home and travel full time.

She said: "I had done a load of countries and I decided I wanted to sell up my house and spend the money wisely on travel and see if I could visit every country in the world. It was all last minute as we didn't exchange until the day before of completing so it could have fallen through but I already had a flight booked."

Lynn, who had lived in Carlton for 40 years, has now been to 166 countries, and has left than 30 left to visit. She added: "I'm just spending the house money until it runs out at the moment.

The last two years I've just been constantly travelling, I think everyday has been an adventure." When asked her favourite country, Lynn explained that it was Iran.

Lynn has travelled to more than 165 countries so far(Image: Lynn Stephenson)

She said: "Partly because it's a beautiful country but it also has the most hospitable, wonderful people I have ever met in my life. Everybody was just so welcoming and hospitable."

Lynn joked that she has "nearly been around the world twice" now and during that time she has been able to experience some amazing things and meet some incredible people. For her 60th birthday she swam with humpback whales in Tahiti, which is something she had done decades earlier in 2003 during a visit to Tonga.

Lynn with a rhino in Eswatini in Southern Africa(Image: Lynn Stephenson)

The solo traveller is now making her way back towards Australia after her most recent visit at the Marshall Islands. She explained that sometimes she is able to book things and plan in advance, but a lot of the time its just showing up and then working it out.

Lynn added: "You can't just go on booking.com, it's more like the older days of travelling." When asked if she was saving a particular country for last, she replied: "That's something I have been thinking about recently, as you want it to be a good one, so that's something I'm going to have to think about."

Lynn added that she has loved the "freedom" that travelling has given her, and that despite what people may think or fear, the "world is full of really kind and hospitable people".

Since starting her travels Lynn has been living what many people would consider to be a dream come true, and she has been sharing her adventures on her personal blog and social media channels DareDreamDiscover.