Profiles

Initially it was necessity that made Barny turn his hand to building the caravans. He was travelling in one that “got run-down and started rotting” he says, so he built a new one so he could carry on travelling.

Barny and his caravan

The first van he was commissioned to build was for an entertainer called Banjo Bill. This was a bow-topped barrel wagon, designed to fit on the back of Banjo Bill’s pick-up truck, so Bill could use the truck day-to-day, as camper-van when he went gigging and as a show-piece for Banjo Bill too.

He’s had an artist commission a van for use as a studio, and another caravan used as someone’s bedroom, and just recently travellers ringing up to find out more on the vans he makes.
So far he’s completed six caravans and has another three on order.

And how much?
For a basic van built on a modern caravan chassis, they start at about £5,000. For this you get the basic van, with bench seats and a pull-out bed, but you can add more like a wood-burning stove.

Barny

An outdoor life

But Barny doesn’t just build caravans, for now, it’s also his chosen lifestyle. A short distance away from his workshop, Barny has setup camp. Here he lives what most people would consider an alternative lifestyle.

His camp consists of a traditional horse-drawn caravan, an old mobile bank, now used as his kitchen and various canvas covered storage areas, and in the centre an open fire. And nearby are a few chickens and his two horses; Abs a black fell pony and Charley a beautiful, coloured cob.

So how did he find himself living this outdoor life?
At the age of sixteen, he literally ran away with the circus!
When the circus came to town he got a job in the box-office with them, then spent the next eight years travelling around with them, living in the wagons. During the circus season he travelled around with them, and then in the winter, he would take his savings and travel abroad.

Then after leaving the circus, he started travelling and working with horses, up on the Isle of Arran, giving horse and cart rides with Charley, and then later in the Lake District, where he and Charley would draw wood out of the forests.
This in part forced the camp lifestyle says Barny “To make that feasible, living on the pittance you earn from that, means living cheap”.

Barny with his horses

And should you fancy living the outdoor life in one of Barny's caravans, you can contact him on 07815 439130 for more details.