Press Release
Date: 28 February 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Double Decker Detached Des Res For Sale
It's a detached, three-bedroom Des Res with kitchen, upstairs bathroom and satellite TV for sale in Hackney, East London. It also has a top speed touching 40mph, brings to mind a celebrated Cliff Richard film and boasts home comforts straight from the Big Brother House.
Leyland, the vintage 1972 double decker bus fully converted into a home with all mod cons, is on the market again, for sale on www.preloved.co.uk, the UK's biggest independent second hand sales site, with an asking price of just £15,000.
Leyland's current owners, film-maker Kas Graham and drama therapist Gosia Orlinska, have owned the bus for two years after also buying it through www.preloved.co.uk from the Weller family in Oxfordshire. The Wellers had spent £30,000 and 18 months converting the bus into a family home before living in her for two years, travelling in France and Ireland.
"When we first saw Leyland she was parked on a farm outside Oxfordshire and we just fell in love with her immediately," said Kas. "It was just an incredible space, like no other we'd been in before, so I scraped the money together to buy her."
Since then, the pair has used the bus as the base for their film-making courses enabling people with learning disabilities and mental health problems in Camphill Communities across the UK to produce professional short films.
However, they have now decided to sell the bus and are looking for any interested buyers, including veteran British pop stars. Kas said, "Cliff Richard's niece did come aboard at one point and got so excited she decided to ask Cliff to buy her one! Maybe we should try and get in touch with him!"
Another visitor also had happy memories of the bus. "He was very excited as he used to drive our bus and her sisters back in the 1970s in Southport, ferrying people to the beach and back. He was astonished and delighted that it was still going and had found a new job."
The double decker has many of its original features retained and includes such bus comforts as a fully-fitted kitchen, a lounge area with custom-made sofa, a dining area with original back seats and a shower room.
Upstairs there is flushing chemical toilet, a master bedroom with a mirror doubled bed that came from the Big Brother 10 house, and two further bedrooms.
"We've even got satellite TV, internet access and solar panels fitted to the roof, washing machine, fridge, shower and even a hot outside shower for if you've been swimming."
However, any potential buyers should be aware of some of the more unique aspects of living onboard a bus. Kas explained, "She rocks in heavy gusts of wind, or if a large truck thunders by. And when someone runs up the stairs you can feel it all over the bus."
New owners wanting to head out on the open road in their new home are also in for a thrilling driving experience and good workout. "It's so much fun to drive," said Kas. "And the excitement of your home coming alive when you turn on the engine is indescribable. You just have to keep an eye on the back end. As she weighs about 10 tonnes and has no power steering, when I drove her every day I got muscles I've never seen before. Once she's moving, steering isn't difficult, but if you're doing some intricate manoeuvring you will get a real workout!"
This December it will also be 40 years since Leyland was built, with her chassis manufactured in Leyland, Lancashire and her aluminium body built in Glasgow. Kas admits he will be sad to see the back of the bus when it finds a buyer. "We have met a lot of amazing people, and some very good friends thanks to the bus. She really opens up your horizons, and opens up people to you. And if you want anyone to think you’re cool, or need a conversation starter, all you have to do is say, ‘I own a double-decker bus converted into a house’ and show them a picture."
Ian Buzer, Managing Director of www.preloved.co.uk, said, "Leyland is typical of the king of imaginative, quirky and innovative items that turn up on Preloved. We're passionate about second hand and recycling, so it's great to welcome Leyland back and to help her find a new owner for the next stage in her journey."
ENDS
For further information, please contact us via email
Notes to Editors
Preloved is the web site for people that love some of the older things in life. Started in 1998, Preloved has grown to become the UK's leading second hand website with hundreds of thousands of adverts in over 500 categories. Each month the site attracts over 5 million unique visitors. As a community-based advertising site it has over 1.5 million active members. Preloved is ranked amongst the top 500 most visited sites in the UK.
For buying or selling second hand, Preloved is a great alternative to the hassle and expense of auction sites, and a friendly change to the other more anonymous classifieds sites
Follow us on twitter @preloveduk
Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/preloved
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