Woman who transformed Network Rail van into dream camper home now travels the world selling her art
11.07.2023 - 16:09
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A remarkable artist living an off-grid life in her campervan is using her illustrations to encourage others to respect the ocean and campaign for a cleaner planet. Jasmine Hortop, a 32-year-old illustrator embarked on a nomadic lifestyle, travelling across the UK with her rescue dog, Darla, in the campervan that she and her father built during the Covid lockdowns.
Jasmine, whose partner resides in Italy, splits her time between the UK and mainland Europe, enjoying surfing and scubadiving in some of the world's best locations.
She left her rental in Bristol four years ago to embark on her travels, Jasmine has housesat in various locations, including France, Spain, and Mexico, before returning to the UK and purchasing her very own campervan. To transform it into a habitable space, she undertook the challenging task of gutting and rebuilding the interior, a feat she accomplished with her father's help during the lockdowns.
She said: "It used to be a Network Rail van so when I bought it, it was just full of Network Rail stuff.
“During lockdown, me and my dad had to rip it all out and build the whole thing from scratch, so it’s completely bespoke to what I need layout wise and energy consumption wise, and it enables me to just be completely off grid. I also run my whole business from it.”
Jasmine uses a lithium battery and solar panels on the roof to power her van and also has 100 literes of water, which lasts her from a week to 10 days.
A feature of her mobile home which she said was important to her is her permanent workspace, which she uses to create her art.
While Jasmine saves money by living in the campervan, she said the biggest perk of van life is the “freedom”.
She said: “I’ve lived in cities my whole life and I was