6/11/2023 0 Comments Double decker bus house![]() ![]() It’s a much bigger job than we realised because it’s important to us that we are completely off-grid,” says Lamorna. “It’s mainly being used as Gareth’s workshop at the moment as we’ve got nowhere else to put his tools. Some things have cost more than expected, such as the solar panels (which were £4,000 in total) and the fridge (which cost £700), but others, including the reclaimed wood they found in a local scrapyard, cost nothing. They put aside a £20,000 budget for the renovations and are still roughly on track with that. They realised, for example, that the downstairs door wouldn’t lock, so found and fitted some French windows with the exact same measurements. “Gareth has really thrown himself into the project but he’s currently fitting it in around working three to four days a week and we’re trying to source all the materials ourselves, so it’s taking much longer than expected,” Lamorna says. But the upstairs is still a work in progress. They have almost finished the downstairs, which features a kitchen, complete with fridge/freezer and washing machine, a snug with a wood burner and a loo and shower. “We laugh about it now but there was blood everywhere.” On their very first day on the bus, Lamorna knocked herself out trying to install some new light fittings on the ceiling and gave herself concussion with an adjustable spanner. “It had been in use as a school bus so we had to strip it down completely – remove all the seats, fluorescent lights and the chewing gum at the bottom of the seats. It has, Lamorna says, been a “huge learning curve” and not without drama. We also wanted to be as eco-friendly as possible, live an off grid life and learn some new skills along the way,” Lamorna says. “Our dream was to create a tiny house in a fully working double-decker bus, that would give us a sense of freedom and to be able to live and travel at the same time. They have to move out of the caravan later this month as that’s when the fruit pickers come to pick the apples for the cider – so the pressure is on. ![]() But they are now 18 months on, living in a caravan 150ft away and still have some way to go. Gareth, a builder, who specialises in fitting solar panels, estimated it would take around six months to renovate. The bus is currently parked up in an apple and cherry orchard in Herefordshire. We’re planning a UK trip instead but we know that we’ll need to plan carefully so that we can find suitable places to park – and avoid low bridges,” says Lamorna, a nutritionist and personal trainer. “Our original plan was to take the bus to Europe – but since Covid and Brexit, we’re not sure if that’s going to be feasible. At the start of 2020, a month or so after their return, they spotted a £4,000 bus for sale in Leicester, and they clicked “buy”. They had spent five months travelling from Canada to Costa Rica in a van on their honeymoon, and were enjoying a couple of glasses of wine in front of the TV when inspiration struck. ![]() Lamorna Hollingsworth isn’t completely sure what made her and her husband, Gareth, type the words “double decker bus” into eBay one evening, but she thinks the award-winning film Nomadland, in which Frances McDormand embarks on an odyssey around America in a van, may have had something to do with it ![]()
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