Double decker bus, a train and a cave: It's home STRANGE home

A wealthy widow provoked widespread envy recently when she revealed that she lives on board a luxury cruise ship. We speak to three couples who have equally unusual abodes

Daniel and Stacey Bond couldn't afford a deposit for a house so converted a double decker busSWNS

Daniel and Stacey Bond couldn't afford a deposit for a house so converted a double decker bus

THE DOUBLE DECKER

Electrician Daniel Bond, 29, lives with his wife Stacey, 23, a chef, in a converted double–decker bus in Folkestone, Kent.

He says: When Stacey and I decided to get a place together three years ago we were horrified to discover that we were looking at having to pay at least £70,000 just to buy a poky studio flat. We didn't have a deposit and as I'm self–employed I knew it would be difficult to get a mortgage.

Our only other option was wasting thousands of pounds on rent, which I wasn't prepared to do.

Instead I bought this 1991 Leyland Olympia bus on eBay for £3,000 and I told Stacey I was going to convert it into a luxurious home. She wasn't exactly keen at first but I had a vision and I knew I could make it work.

Over the next five months Stacey's dad and I spent every spare hour stripping down the bus. I paid £8,000 getting it damp–proofed and insulated, inserting a water tank, fitting diesel heating and electricity and partitioning the rooms.

We have been living in the bus for a couple of years now and it really is a lovely little home. We have two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room, a bathroom and even a bar.

It is cheap too as our living expenses, including our ground rent and water and electricity bills, only come to about £200 a month. It is an awful lot less than other people our age are paying in rent or on a mortgage.

Since we moved on to the bus, which is pitched in a field, we have had lots of parties and our friends are all rather envious as we can pretty much make as much noise as we like.

My next plan is to buy another bus, which we would have alongside our home. I'd like to convert it into an American diner.

It can get cold but that is the only downside. We both love the fact that if we want a holiday we can take off whenever we want. Last year we drove to Cornwall and spent two weeks by the beach.

The bus is fantastic for festivals too as we can rock up and enjoy the music without having to brave the toilets or sleep in a soggy tent.

When Stacey and I decided to get a place together three years ago we were horrified to discover that we were looking at having to pay at least £70,000 just to buy a poky studio flat

Daniel Bond

THE TRAIN

Music teacher Lizzy Stroud, 44, spends most of the year living in a converted railway carriage in Cornwall with her husband Dave, 51, an engineer, and their children, Walter, 16, and Poppy, 13.

She says: In 1992 Dave and I were looking to buy our first home in the Cornish village of St Germans but the only thing we could afford was the derelict station, which had been out of action since the 1950s.

We loved the area so decided to go for it. It took us a couple of years but we eventually renovated the dilapidated Victorian station building into a spacious four–bedroom home.

Afterwards we felt ready for another project so we bought a wreck of an old luggage carriage from a builder's yard for just £175. We got planning permission to put it on our land and we did it up as a fun guest extension complete with a sitting room, bedroom, shower room and a garden.

Once it was completed we knew we wanted a bigger train to live in ourselves so we bought Harvey, a 1950s compartment coach, which we got permission to put close to the beautiful beach in Hayle.

It can sleep nine and it has three bedrooms, two lounge and dining areas and two kitchen carts. We love it. It is very warm and cosy although it can be a little compact when we have guests staying. We spend most of our time in Harvey unless it is being let to holidaymakers.

Since we bought the old luggage van and Harvey we have acquired seven more carriages, all with different features. We use them as permanent holiday lets.

The most expensive was a £10,000 Victorian carriage, which we have renovated to the highest standard complete with central heating and a first–class bedroom coach.

Our trains have become a labour of love and it's great to see so many return visitors each year. Living on a train might not be everyone's idea of fun but our children love it and it has turned our lives into an endless adventure.

www.railholiday.co.uk

Lizzy and Dave Stroud converted a railway carriage into their homeSP

Lizzy and Dave Stroud converted a railway carriage into their home

THE CAVE

Retired engineer Dave Large, 56, lives with his wife Carole, 54, a former nurse, in a cave in mountain hamlet Fuente Nueva in the Grenada region of Spain.

He says: Carole and I bought our home for the equivalent of £50,000 nine years ago and at first it was just a fantastic place to visit for holidays but in 2011 we decided to sell our house in Paignton, Devon, and move here permanently.

We couldn't afford to buy a retirement cottage in Devon and we are still astounded by what we have managed to get for our money by buying the cave. It has three bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room, a large sitting room and outside we also have a terrace that can seat about 40 people.

Last year we created the third bedroom and it was so much easier to do than building an extension on a normal house as all you need is a pickaxe and luckily there are lots of specialised cave diggers in this region.

We have heating, wi–fi and everything else you would have in a normal home plus it is always lovely and warm, even when the temperature drops to –15C in the winter. And it is always perfectly cool during the summer.

Our home is built into the mountain and from our lounge we have a spectacular panoramic view over the village. It can be very dark in the bedrooms, which are at the back of the house but guests always say they sleep incredibly well. It is very quiet here.

We love living here as the Spanish have been so welcoming. There is always a fiesta going on in the village but when we want some downtime we can retreat to our cave and shut ourselves off from the rest of the world.

caveliving.forummotion.com

Would you like to receive news notifications from Daily Express?