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".... take a look in the caravan field at Great East Standen Farm. There, sat swaggeringly between two of the squat beige monstrosities you'd expect to see, is a dazzling aluminium capsule you most certainly wouldn't. The 1965 Airstream Land Yacht looks more like a spaceship than a motorhome - albeit one that might be piloted by Marlon Brando and crewed by the Beach Boys.........it has now been restored to all it's Formica glory by Helen Carey and Frazer Cunningham...... Climbing aboard is certainly a buzz - even the retractable step feels space age sliding neatly into the batmobile-style aerodynamics - but a stay here isn't about two minutes of "Wow!" The most beguiling thing, in fact, is not the style but the substance: beneath the slightly comical (wipe clean) surface lies a surprisingly comfortable place to spend a few days........ Mod cons are more mod than you'd expect from something that's 10 years older than Jamie Oliver (air conditioning, cooker hood extractor fan, four ring gas hob), and the few modernisations have been done so sensitively as to be unnoticeable (the new fridge, for instance, is hidden behind the original icebox door). ..... and there's a cupboard full of games (fuzzy felt and Frisbees:it's like PlayStation never happened)......the plan, eventually, is to open a whole fieldfull of trailers.......

Ed Grenby. Guardian Travel 11.09.04

Where to stay and eat on the Isle of Wight

COAST magazine island issue - ISLE OF WIGHT

May/June 2005

"stay in an AIRSTREAM caravan on a working dairy farm......."

"........ For Helen Carey, a stylist living in London, caravans are fast becoming a way of life. It started a year ago when she emailed an American man through eBay about buying a 1965 Airstream - the bobby dazzler of the caravan world. A few weeks later it was shipped over from Missouri to the Isle of Wight. Helen, with her predilection for anything quirky, thought it was a beautiful thing. 'Although it needed tidying up, so much of it was original - the fittings, lighting, cooker, the gorgeous enamel double sink. The upholstery was a bit shabby, so I bought some fabric along the lines of Cliff Richard's shirt in Expresso Bongo. Then I went to town adding retro crockery, crocheted blankets and all the stuff I've had hidden in cupboards for years.' The allure of her shiny aluminium Airstream has inspired a weekly Friday-night escape from London. 'There's no telly in the caravan, so it means plenty of playing board games with my husband and daughter,' she says. And now the appeal has proved to be addictive. Helen plans to migrate south and invest in more caravans to expand her Vintage Vacations holiday business. Another Airstream is already in transit from the States, and Helen has aspirations to buy vintage Spartans and Can-o-Ham style caravans (shaped like a tin of ham). 'Our customers are nothing like the stereotypical image of a caravan holidaymaker,' she says. 'More bohemian than bog standard.' So if you decide to pay a visit, be careful where you set up the deckchair. There might be a yoga mat in the way." Jenny Tucker OM Magazine 2nd May 2005

TIME OUT April 2006

'Were summers really longer and sunnier in days gone by? Recapture those idyllic childhood hols on the Isle of Wight, where Vintage vacations has 3 classic 1960's and 70's Airstream caravans for hire, located on a working dairy farm. The campsite itself is pretty basic but the caravans are far from it, featuring everything from a wetroom to a hairdryer, and are done out in retro decor and furnished with cute crochet blankets and print curtains.....'