Suffolk: The American school bus refitted for glamping

Published:
8:00 AM August 5, 2022

Take a look inside this revamped American school bus in Suffolk that is taking glamping to the next level.

Having opened for bookings in May, American School Bus Glamping stationed its first refitted bus in Barrow, between Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket.

The idea was born after Andy Barton, and his wife Fiona, ran a campervan hire business using old Volkswagen campers and renovating them for glamping trips.

The inside of the American school bus
– Credit: Charlotte Bond

Andy said: “Up until 2014 we ran a campervan hire business using old VW campers.

“It went absolutely mental, we sold it and went off travelling the world.

“In June last year, before we knew it, we were bidding on an auction from Texas for school buses.

“We ended up buying two and fast forward to November, we got them to the UK and we spent the winter refurbishing them and fitting them out for luxurious glamping.

“We finished the first one in May and we’re finishing the second one now.

A sitting area in the bus
– Credit: Charlotte Bond

“We’ve sold out our buses for the next three Glastonbury festivals and we’ll be driving them down there for our customers and picking them up once the festival has finished.”

The buses are road legal and registered with full MOTs, but bookings are only available for stationary glamping.

The business has seen a high level of interest, despite only taking bookings since May, and Andy is optimistic for the future.

The original drivers seat still remains in the bus
– Credit: Charlotte Bond

He added: “We are going to be looking at getting another one or two after Christmas and getting them over for March, ready for the start of the season.

“We’ve only been marketing a couple of weeks and we’re taking a booking every other day, it’s becoming popular for big, corporate weekends too.”

The bus contains a double bed as well as two bunk beds
– Credit: Charlotte Bond

The refurbishment has been a joint venture between Andy and Fiona, with Andy using his background as an engineer and Fiona taking charge on the design side to achieve the rennovation.

The buses, which are just twenty years old, were chosen due to their iconic design, but now the buses which used to seat 71 passengers, have been fully fitted for the ideal glamping holiday.

The kitchen and stove
– Credit: Charlotte Bond

The buses can be booked through the American School Bus Glamping website.