Being a nomad? it’s a... VANTASTIC LIFE

This year’s Oscar winner portrays the darker side of an itinerant existence, but these footloose Brits love their converted campers so much they’ve become home sweet home ...

With hotels closed, holidays abroad postponed and a year of on- off lockdown restrictions, campervan and motorhome sales have boomed as ‘staycations’ have become the norm. According to the National Caravan Council, there are 225,000 motorhomes in Britain — and sales have tripled since 2000. Earlier this year the Mail reported that in the pandemic sales rose further, with dealers reporting shortages.

But not everyone wants to shell out for a fully kitted out ‘palace on wheels’. Many are opting for a DiY alternative instead.

they are a long way from the ancient, battered vans seen in Nomadland, which swept the

Oscars last month and documents the lives of America’s itinerant older workforce. these British ‘nomads’ have snapped up former delivery vans and converted them into travelling homes offering mod-cons from luxury kitchens to king-size beds — even home cinemas.

Some enjoy their converted campers so much they’ve opted to live in them full time, enjoying the freedom to travel and saving huge amounts of money on rent or mortgage payments.

As working remotely via a laptop has become the Covid-norm, the ‘digital nomads’ are setting up office wherever they fancy, with many raving about their new-found freedom in online communities celebrating ‘van life’.

So, is life on the road glamp-tastic or hell on wheels? JILL FOSTER and DAVID LEAFE speak to four lifestyle converts to find out . . .