WE LOVED DRIVING OFF TO THE ALPS

Freelance sculptor Sian Fahie, 30, lives with her partner adam Devonish, 32, who runs a cleaning business. For the past year they have been living with their dog Maple, a two-year-old Hungarian Vizsla, in a converted citroen Relay van. ‘WE are both outdoorsy people who grew up camping and about four years ago we bought a VW transporter that had already been converted,’ says Sian. ‘We were originally living in Essex but loved going away in it so much that it made sense to move to Dorset, which is where we went most weekends anyway, and then we started talking about living in a van full time.

‘i was having a difficult time at work, so going freelance appealed, and Adam could run his business remotely so we decided to go for it.

‘Adam always said that if we were going to live in a van fulltime, we had to get something larger because he is 6 ft 2 in. So we bought a Citroen relay which is big enough for him to stand up in.

‘Adam has a carpentry background so we did the conversion ourselves and moved in in March last year, just as Boris announced the first lockdown. For the first few months we were parked at Adam’s parents’ house in Essex but last July we set off around the Alps, going mountaineering, climbing and down to the coast as well.

‘Our heater has a sim card so on the way back from snowboarding we’d text it to switch on so we could get back and have a cup of tea in the warm.

‘An absolute win has been the projector, which was a last-minute purchase. You can watch things from the bed, the lounge and outside.

‘We spent last winter in France, taking extra jobs in ski chalets. We’re now back at Adam’s parents but can’t wait to go back to France soon.’