Ben and Lucy: The Vanlife

Oh, the van life. A life of freedom. Living on the road. Going where you want, when you want. Many people only dream of dropping everything and just taking off. But then there are those brave few who actually do. Ben and Lucy from Cornwall, are two of those people. This adventurous couple converted an LDV Convoy from a 17-seater minibus to their home on wheels. Travelling through Europe, their life is filled with breathless views and amazing adventures.  

When asked what inspired them to travel full time, they said, “Initially it was our shared love of photography that made us want to travel in a van, to find new documentary projects and people's stories we could tell.” And this is what they do. They have visited 24 countries in Europe. If you take a look at their Instagram (@fromrusttoroadtrip), you will see it is littered with incredible pictures. Ben and Lucy’s use of color in their photography makes their pictures exciting and unique. From their van, to their decorations, to Lucy’s hair, everything is vibrant and vivid. Their photography is enough to make anyone want to quit their jobs and hit the road.  

However, van life isn’t all fun. There is a lot that goes into it: van conversion, and the logistics of actually being on the road full-time. On this subject, Ben and Lucy said, “Van life can be challenging sometimes to say the least, which is both our favorite and least favorite thing about it. Breaking down obviously sucks, and the fear of being broken into too, as well as not being able to find water or a shower or having to move in the middle of the night due to high winds.” Yeah, van life can be hard, but for some people, it is just worth it. They went on to say, “Being able to park up on a beach or up a mountain, being able to find fresh inspiration for our photography every day, meeting people and experiencing new cultures and every day being a new journey, these things balance it out, plus it's all part of the adventure anyway.” And an epic adventure at that.  

Lots of people dream of the van life, but never seem to get farther than that. To those people Ben and Lucy say, “Don't let anything stop you if it's what you want to do.” This seems to be a popular opinion among van-lifers-- find a way to make it happen no matter what. If it truly is your dream, live it! 

On a more practical side, they gave this advice, “Always keep some money aside for emergencies. And if you're converting a van then whatever your time frame and your budget are, double them both, trust us.” 

Thanks to Ben and Lucy for taking the time to answer our questions. If you want to learn more about them (and I highly suggest you do) you can find them at these links: