It started with a van and the kind of confidence you only get when you don’t know what you’re doing.

“Be reet,” I thought. Park up anywhere, bit of freedom, save a few quid. Easy.

First night: too cold. Second night: too loud. Third night: sign saying “No Overnight Parking” that definitely wasn’t there when I pulled in.

My Life in the Lay-By is the ongoing story of one man slowly realising that vanlife isn’t an escape — it’s just life, but with more moving parts and fewer places to hide. Every day’s a new lay-by, a new problem, or the same problem in a slightly different postcode.

Some nights you’ve got a cracking view and think you’ve nailed it. Other nights you’re parked next to a lorry running all night, questioning every decision that got you there.

There’s no big plan here. Just figuring it out one stop at a time — where to park, how not to get moved on, and how long you can leave it before you have to deal with the toilet situation.

It’s not glamorous. It’s not always clever. But it’s real enough… and somehow, it keeps going.

without the filter — a bit rough, slightly chaotic, and occasionally even working out.