Living in a Van in the UK
The practical UK vanlife resource. No fluff, real guidance for UK van dwellers.
Living Mobile is a free resource for people living in or travelling by van in the United Kingdom. It exists because most vanlife content online is written for the US, Australia, or continental Europe. UK vanlife has its own laws, roads, weather patterns, and practical realities that make overseas guides only partially useful at best, and actively misleading at worst.
The site covers the full journey: from choosing and insuring your first van, through planning and executing a conversion, to the day-to-day realities of life on the road. Legal content is researched from UK primary sources including Acts of Parliament and regional bye-laws. Technical tools are calibrated for UK conditions, with solar calculations based on actual UK irradiance data rather than sunnier-country averages. Destination guides are written around the specific challenges of driving and parking larger vehicles on UK roads.
Whether you are considering vanlife for the first time, mid-conversion and trying to size your electrical system, or already on the road and looking for where to fill your water tank in the Lake District, Living Mobile is built to give you a direct, reliable answer without sending you on a trail of conflicting forum posts. All guides are updated when laws or conditions change, and all tools are free to use with no registration required.
What We Cover
- The Beginner Hub covers choosing a van, insurance, costs, power systems, internet, and your first night parked up.
- Legal and Parking covers UK law on overnight parking, regional rules, the Highways Act, and the Land Reform Act Scotland.
- The Service Map shows water points, waste disposal, showers, LPG, and EV charging across the UK.
- Destinations covers the NC500, Cornwall, Lake District, Snowdonia, Scottish Highlands, and London LEZ/ULEZ.
- Daily Living covers remote work, cooking, fitness, mental health, community, pets, and budgeting.
- Calculators includes solar, electrical, insulation, fuel, payload, water, LPG, condensation, and ventilation tools.
- Planners includes build budget, build timeline, and van floor plan layout tools.