My Cool Caravan Review

• 
• Tweet

• 
• Tweet

A new book is sure to whet your appetite for caravans with a difference, says Gillian Hook.

The retro feel and individual styling of some of the world’s funkiest caravans is celebrated in My Cool Caravan, which explores how people refurbish and customise their little house on wheels. The beautifully photographed hardback looks at 40 vintage caravans – from British classics to American Airstreams – and how their owners have styled them to make them totally unique.

The more unusual include a converted horsebox, a shepherd’s hut, an amphibious caravan and one made from an aircraft fuselage. There’s also a VW campervan, silver Airstreams and a gypsy wagon

Some have connections to famous names: the gypsy wagon belonged to author Roald Dahl; there’s a one-third scale caravan that was presented to Prince Charles and Princess Anne by the Caravan Club in 1955; and the VW is owned by the daughter-in-law of designers Celia Birtwell and Ossie Clark. But mostly they are simply owned and loved by individuals with a sense of the quirky and an eye for the unusual.

Compiled by caravan owners Jane Field-Lewis and Chris Haddon, the real joy is in the photographs by Hilary Walker that show the styling details that make each mobile home so special.

It’s an ideal book to pick up during the cold months as you settle down in front of a blazing fire, waiting for ‘camping weather’ to arrive while dreaming of your own cool caravan.

My Cool Caravan at Amazon £14.99 (rrp)