I'm no stranger to vanlife, as many of you know. We were 'vanlifing' before it was a hashtag, and when it was a necessity, because we were homeless and broke, and living in a truck with a whole other tribe of travellers was a way of life. Not a very accepted way of life, mind, as England had it's own prejudices against alternative folk like us, that weren't paying rent and lived like gypsies in the woods. We were often evicted from public land and had to find somewhere else to move to, which was hard with people with kids and dogs and jobs.

Fast forward 15 years and the living in a vehicle is much more acceptable under the 'vanlife' moniker. Digital nomads make a living out of showcasing their builds and 'nomadic' lifestyles, with vans that look like beautiful houses on the cover of Vogue magazine, and long haired woman flounce in gypsy skirts in big hats. Of course, it's a scene, but people genuinely live it, choosing not to pay huge amounts of rent and to live life of their own making.

Coronavirus has brought all that screaming to a halt.

Wales, Scotland and Cornwall have been particularly vicious in their condemnation of people in vans in the area, believing 'tourists' threaten their communities and take away supplies that are meant for local people. Those familiar with British dark comedy 'League of Gentleman' might recall these characters, who simpered 'this is a local shop for local people - there's nothing for you here' in an uber frightening, creepy way. It's been a bit like that - look after your own, and threaten anyone else. Never mind that permanent van lifers don't have a house to go to. Not all of them are part time van lifers.

We've read story after story of van lifers threatened and abused for trying to find somewhere safe to park. Some have even had people threaten to 'batter' them or 'set fire to your van if you're still here in the morning'. And here we are, fresh from the plane all ready to van life the UK and Europe like we used to in the old days. COVID-19 has most certainly put a stop to that. We're okay with not going anywhere and doing as we are told to protect the population, but boy I wish we were able to go somewhere fairly remote with a view, stay the night, go walking and exploring, and enjoy ourselves a little. But our van being set fire to? Facing the angry hoardes of frightened villages? No thanks.

Project Amber - Chased Out Of Scotland Quarantine Hell

I really felt for the guys in this quarantine hell. In short, they'd decided to find a really remote area to hunker down in for as long as they needed to, and found a lovely bit of wilderness far from main roads, villages, and people in general. They were doing the right thing and really had little alternative, because they didn't have houses to quarantine in. All three guys had 8 weeks of food so they could be completely independent and not see a soul. Like many permanent #vanlifers, they were also youtubers, and when people got window of what they were doing, a woman started an online vendetta against them, inciting people to threaten them online. Things got so hateful they were scared for their lives and their vehicles, and had to leave Scotland. Luckily, they'd been given an offer of a place just over the English border to restart their quarantine.

Progress on Internal Build.. At Last!

Anyway, we're still building, because we don't know when the restrictions might be lifted, and we have nothing better to do! It helps use up some creative energy and we will keep it anyway for a few years time when we are able to come back in a (hopefully) virus free world. Fingers crossed!

We finished building the box that goes behind the front seats, where we can fit the deep cycle battery if we decide to do that set up, and which we plan to use as a kind of laundry room for boots, raincoats, and dirty washing. It'll have a benchtop that lifts up, trunk style, and it'll also be an arm rest when the bed is in 'sofa' mode (more on that in coming posts).

A lot of today was making sure the bed is super secure, and everything is fairly square, which is hard to do when you don't have all the tools (like a set square, which would be nice!). We also started work on the rear cupboard and the rear drawer, but more on that in following posts.

Are you a vanlifer? How are you getting by right now?

Read Previous Van Life Posts

The First Rule of Van Life: Be Warned

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