Behind The Scenes Of Amazing Spaces: Majestic Bus
If you watched the first series of Amazing Spaces, presented by George Clarke and inspired by the My Cool Shed book , then you will remember the Majestic Bus. Many watched in amazement as Rob and Layla unveiled what seemed like a rusting heap, which they intended to convert into a luxurious hideaway where people could visit and escape the daily grind. They achieved what they set out to do and gave us all a dream in the process; to seek out our own amazing spaces we could pour our vision and passion into in the same way as they did.
I caught up with Rob and Layla to ask them about their experience on Amazing Spaces and if they had any advice for anyone contemplating taking part in Series 2 due to be aired during 2013.
We bought the bus through ebay about three years ago. It was Rob’s dream to convert it into a camper. In the end, we realised it was going to be too big and expensive to run as a camper so we came upon the idea of converting into a holiday destination at home as we had already been mulling over various options for setting up a business here. The name comes from the flag on the front of the bus, which says Overland Majestic.
We knew it was a big project with a lot of work involved but we never felt we had taken on too much, but looking back maybe we a tiny bit crazy with enthusiasm. We had a clear vision of what we were trying to achieve and felt confident we would be able to pull it off. There were times when we felt a bit overwhelmed by all the jobs that needed to be done but we have learned that with renovation projects you just have to keep going and take one step at a time. Before Majestic Bus we renovated a 17th Century timber framed house and this taught us a great deal about how to take on such a project.
All parts of the build had their own challenges but the most time consuming and difficult part was trying to reassemble the outer bodywork of the bus. It seemed to take forever and was definitely the most challenging part! We had no idea until we started piecing the bits of panel and chrome strips back together what the bus would actually look like, and we had to try and refit the panels in exactly the same place as before once we had repaired the parts of the wooden frame that were in poor condition. However, it was a very satisfying job seeing the bus start to look how it should. Fitting the rear windscreen was particularly stressful as it was such a curved shape and we did resort to hitting it with bits of wood to tap it into place. Ouch!
We started Majestic Bus at the end of April 2012 and we completed most of the conversion by September, although we are still finishing off little jobs even now as we have started to take bookings from March 2013.
We had a budget of about £3,500 for the bus conversion (not including the bathroom cabin, etc.), which we did exceed by about £500. However, this was for materials alone and does not include the cost of our time. We dread to think what it would have cost if you had to pay someone to do all the work we did!
We loved being on Channel 4′s Amazing Spaces with George Clarke. It was a very positive thing for us right from the start as it helped to focus our minds on achieving the end result. We found being on camera surprisingly good fun and not as nerve racking as you would have thought. We would certainly do it again if we got the chance, as it’s been great!
The Amazing Spaces team were fabulous, each and every one of them. They made us feel very much at ease with the whole filming process and it was great fun to work with them. George himself was a pleasure to deal with and the whole team had a real positive and feel-good attitude.
So far our new venture of renting out Majestic Bus has been successful, but it’s early days and time will tell as we properly open our doors to the public in March 2013. We could not have wished for a better advert and if the feedback and comments that we had after the show are anything to go by it should be a rip-roaring success. If you’re interested in staying with us you can get all the information you need from our website.
If you have the beginnings of an Amazing Space and are thinking of applying to be in series 2 then all we can say is go for it! If it’s anything like our experience then you are simply going to love it!
Featured Picture: Canopy & Stars
