It Started with a Van cover art

It Started with a Van

A true story of a home on wheels built on hope, carpet glue and decent brews.

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It Started with a Van

By: Andy Stocks, Claire Stocks
Narrated by: Andy Stocks, Claire Stocks
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What do you do when your car breaks down during a pandemic, nobody will fix it, and you end up buying a carpenter's van with no windows, no experience, and absolutely no idea what you're doing?

If you're Andy, you convert it into a campervan. You install a diesel heater, carpet the walls, put a coffee machine on the worktop, and drive to Lake Como.

If you are Claire, you make a lot of tea.

It Started with a Van is the true story of how a faulty Mercedes, a bolt that took two weeks and angle grinder to remove, and a YouTube channel that started with five views led two people from Barnsley on the adventure they never planned and couldn't stop having. It is a book about a van, a marriage, a dog called Pablo, and the difference between vision and reality.

Told in two voices, with no agreement on the timeline and considerable disagreement about most of the details.©2026 Andy Stocks and Claire Stocks (P)2026 Little, Brown Book Group Limited Travel Writing & Commentary
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Loved hearing their story in their own voices ! and getting to know the people behind the YouTube vlogs.

Sense of humour

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a nice true tale of Andys struggle with starting the YouTube channel. speech was a bit stilted at first but they soon settled into it. will be a nice read to take on caravan and camping trips to remind us why we do it. I do like the way they alternated between chapters and the way it has been written, with honesty.

no mispronounced words

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Live the genuine nature of Andy and Claire’s delivery to f a story which they clearly enjoyed creating and telling.

Great listen

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I love this. It is unapologetically honest, raw, and just the right side of funny. If you watch the channel (and you should), then you’ll get why it’s so good. Long may it continue.

Just wonderful, real life storytelling.

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I bought the original book, then ordered the re-write, then bought meta glasses, so downloaded audible and used my credit to listen to Andy and Claire tell the story. Amazing and I loved it. Can't wait for the story to continue.

amazing experience listening to the voices that wrote the book

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