A business graduate is taking tourists on adventure trips amidst the Scottish Highlands – in a New York school bus.
The 24-year-old came up with the idea after watching Expedition Happiness on Netflix, about a couple traveling across North America in a refurbished school bus.
Angus Luff, who graduated in 2019, quit his job as a management consultant in Leicester, England, to live out his dream of creating the hostel on wheels.
He only worked in his job for three months before he decided, ‘I don’t want to do this’.
Dubbed ‘The Bonnie Camper’, the bus has been converted into a ‘glamping’ RV mobile home, with beds, seating areas, and a kitchen, for up to six people.
He hosts road trips across the Highlands, arranging outdoor activities like hiking, cycling, kayaking, and swimming in lakes along the way.
Serving as the tour guide, Angus does all the driving, cooking, and cleaning, before pitching a tent outside to give the guests full privacy in the bus.
The 1999 model vehicle was originally used to take students to and from school in New York. He bought it in 2019, and had it shipped over from the US.
“The buses are so iconic,” said the Edinburgh entrepreneur. “I think it’s the novelty of the school bus—it’s very rare you see them in real life.”
He used lockdown to refurbish the bus, stripping it and furnishing it with the help of his dad—making sure it met UK regulations.
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Angus then earned his HGV driving license and tried out his tour on friends before setting out on his first money-making trip in June, 2021. “It was great fun, everyone loved it.”
“Everyone’s always beeping and waving at us. You feel like a celebrity.
“It was amazing, I had a group of four women from London come up and hired it out privately.
“I love seeing people’s reaction to the bus, they get so excited.”
The five day tour costs £595 ($780) per person and includes all the activities and food.
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“I host the whole week and organize whisky tasting tours, hiking, mountain biking, watersports, and stops at local bars and pubs.”
“There’s no other company that does something similar in the UK.
With its high vantage point and large windows, the school bus is a unique way to experience some of Scotland’s most rugged and beautiful scenery. It even has a sunroof.
“It’s a completely different viewpoint of everything,” he says. “You are quite engrossed in all the landscapes.
This year he will also be trying individual bookings, where people can just book themselves a spot on the bus and take part in the activates for a tour group.
Travelers board the bus in Edinburgh, where Angus keeps the bus, before driving to the Cairngorms, then on to Glencoe, and arriving back by way of Stirling.
“I basically go on holiday every week, I’m very fortunate to be able to do this.”
WATCH a montage video from The Bonnie Camper…
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What a fabulous lifestyle for somebody young and single, no wonder it sounded better than a management job. Plenty of scope to start that kind of business in any country.
What an absolutely brilliant business model. Loved the video. Watch for others to copy. It looks so fun. And the beauty all the highlands. This a local guy who knows where the good stuff is. I wanna do it but I’m 6,000 miles away from it. (sniffing sounds)