Richard standing by his renovated bus
The finished product (Picture: Caters)

When you think of a London bus, the word ‘luxury’ doesn’t usually spring to mind.

But a man has transformed a 30-year-old double decker – which was used in London in the 1990s – into an extravagant place to stay.

Richard Barton purchased the bus three years ago for £2,000 – but his initial intentions were simply for his family to use it.

Richard said: ‘Originally I wanted it for my family. I have restored five VW campers so I just thought “wouldn’t it be neat if I could convert a double decker bus?”

‘It just progressed from there, my partner and my two daughters were giving me ideas and then all of a sudden my daughters suggested turning it into an Airbnb.’

The 61-year-old got to work on the 74-seater bus, removing all the original seats (apart from one) and cutting the middle part of the bus to create a ‘mezzanine look’.

The exterior of Wild Atlantic Bus
The Wild Atlantic Bus (Picture: WILD ATLANTIC BUS/CATERS NEWS AGENCY)
The sitting area at the rear of the lower-deck
The sitting area at the rear of the lower-deck(Picture: Wild Atlantic Bus/Caters)

In total, Richard has spent £31,000 transforming the ‘Wild Atlantic Bus’ – which is now equipped with hardwood floors, a toilet, a shower, three bedrooms, a fitted kitchen, a seating area, a wood burning stove, an outdoor shower, a fire piece, a cottage garden and a deck area.

Richard explains he did the majority of the practical work, while his partner Helen and daughters helped with the interior design.

The rear of the upper-deck
The upper-deck (Picture: Wild Atlantic Bus/Caters)

He added: ‘The first thing was to check the integrity of the bus and the strength would not interfere with what I was doing.

‘Then I had to remove all of the seating which was a big job and strip any interior, leaving the bus with the shell and the windows.

‘I had to come up with a new concept for the downstairs part of the bus where there is the seating area because I needed it to convert into a very large double bed- I had to build that by hand and come up with the design myself.

‘I wanted an area where people would be comfortable, I didn’t want them to feel as if they were in a bus.

‘I kept one of the original bus seats, it’s upstairs and it’s facing the seating area, overlooking the lake.’

The finished product is now parked on the outskirts of Oughterard, County Galway in Ireland and is available for visitors to rent.

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Richard added: ‘The reviews we get are just amazing, we are humbled by people’s reactions.’

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