Three weeks on the road and the days are starting to find their shape. Not fixed, not forced, but familiar enough that wherever we wake up — harbour, farm shop, or site — we know how to begin.
Morning rituals
It always starts with coffee. For us, that’s oat lattes from our Sage Bambino Pro, a small anchor that feels like home wherever we’re parked. Scylla gets her turn straight after — the first walk of the day, usually short, just enough to stretch her legs and catch the smells, before heading back for her breakfast.
With mugs empty and Scylla content, we decide on the shape of the day. Transit or stay put? A long walk, a swim, or time to write? The rhythm comes from choice, not timetable.
Transit days
At first, moving the van felt like a major operation. Every cupboard checked, everything tied down, every system double-checked. Now, it’s almost muscle memory — unplug, stow, strap, go. What seemed complicated has become routine. The drive itself is rarely more than a couple of hours. Long enough to feel we’ve travelled, short enough that it doesn’t become a commute.
Apps like Park4Night and Brit Stops have been invaluable for filling the map. They give us options — quiet pub car parks, farm shops, or little corners where we can pause for the night. Between those, we keep a loose scaffold of proper sites for laundry, resets, and the chance to stretch out a bit.
Eating and moving
Food has its own rhythm too. We tend to eat once a day, usually early evening, with the odd snack in between if needed. It suits us — less faff, more focus. Cooking in the van is a pleasure not a compromise. We do not eat out much nor buy processed meals. The odd fish and chip supper aside, most of what we eat is cooked fresh in the van – and from locally sourced produce where we can.
Movement is the counterweight. Scylla sets the tone: three walks a day on average, which also gets us out and about. Where we can, we add swims or a session in the kayak. It’s not a training regime, just a way of making sure our bodies are as much a part of this journey as our wheels. We’re experimenting with resistance bands inside the van as a way of introducing more exercise to our routine
Evenings and balance
Evenings are for quiet work and play: blogging, reading, tv – not lots, but some – editing photos, cooking. Sometimes just sitting still and listening. The van systems — water, batteries, LPG — get a quick check, but they’re background now rather than distraction.
The rhythm we’re finding is a blend of the physical and the mental. Walking, swimming, cooking, writing, reading. Enough movement to feel alive, enough stillness to notice where we are.
Living, not drifting
Nomad life could easily dissolve into aimless drifting or rigid scheduling. We’re learning the middle ground — a rhythm that holds the days together without strangling them.
If the first life was youth and the second was work, then perhaps this third is rhythm: the daily beat that turns miles into meaning.
Glad that it’s all enjoyable and the tech is delivery its parts. The walking swimming and loafing about sounds like the perfect rhythm to me 👌.
Yes, it’s rhythm not routine – routine feels imposed, rhythm’s just the natural pace we’ve settled into in this third life.