Mark Mason

Is this the next glamping fad?

  • From Spectator Life

The spot where Forrest Gump gets offered a seat is pretty well where the shower is now.

I’m spending the night at a campsite in Suffolk, sleeping aboard ‘Texas’, the first converted vehicle offered by American School Bus Glamping. Until this time last year the bus was transporting students to and from school in the Lone Star state. Now it sleeps up to six (double bed, two bunks and a sofa bed, all John Lewis linen provided), has a funky little kitchen (oven, hob, high-end crockery, plus a barbeque outside) and that (exceedingly decent) shower. Unlike some glamping companies, this one fully recognises that the first syllable denotes ‘glamorous’. My favourite touch is the fridge – its front is disguised as a Marshall guitar amp.

After years of iconic red London buses being converted for weddings, camping and the like, it’s time for their yellow American counterparts to enter the fray. ‘Texas’ will live at Church View campsite, with ‘Long Beach’ due to find a home soon (though they will talk to you about hiring a bus for private use at events like Glastonbury).

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