Enjoy a vintage style camping experience near Coverack on The Lizard
Despite both hailing from the South West, Anna Bingham and Dan Mullaly met in London where Anna worked as a lingerie designer for the likes of Liberty, Victoria’s Secret and Topshop while Dan worked as a band manager. It wasn’t long before the couple decided to return to their roots in search of means to combine their work with their shared passion for design.
The creative pair moved to Cornwall, hoping set up a project that they could work on together and that would give little boy Victor the outdoorsy and fun-filled childhood they’d both enjoyed. After collecting and renovating vintage cars and caravans for a while, Anna and Dan came up with the idea using their plethora of classic caravans to set up their own site at Roskilly’s Farm on The Lizard.
“Love Lane Caravans started 8 years ago, back when no one else was doing the vintage campsite thing so we were real innovators at the time. It was such great fun and we really enjoyed meeting all the lovely people who came to stay with us, but it slowly dawned on us that the site just wasn’t big enough for the dreams we had,” says Anna.
She adds: “There’s an old tabernacle that Dan and I often noted on walks around Coverack and after a while it us thinking; we could create our own, so we did. Our first tin tabernacle was made last year in the large workshop where we’d stored and renovated vehicles and we’re now working on new and bigger designs.”
With Anna’s background in fashion designing and Dan’s degree from Falmouth Art School, the couple have been in their element since steering their company in this new direction, with Dan mainly working on designs and building with the help of local craftsmen and Anna having a fantastic time working on the bespoke interiors.
“Dan is always thinking ahead about the next step,” says Anna, “and we’re working on developing even larger buildings that will appeal to campsites, much like the one we had before. I absolutely love what we do and everything about the whole process - it’s like making a miniature house. People now come to me with an idea about how they’d like the caravan to be styled and I liaise with them on the design details.
“I’m currently working on a woodland themed interior and helping another lady recreate the traditional tabernacle styles from her homeland in South Africa,” adds Anna. The couple’s love of vintage style and historical buildings inspires their creations that make stunning summer houses, artist studios, garden libraries and the list goes on. Their appeal has also stretched to the rental market in Cornwall and Devon with a number of them now let out as holiday homes across the region.
Every aspect of each design is made within 10 miles of the workshop near Constantine with the help of freelancers using locally sourced salvaged wood and furnishings to give the tabernacles an old-time feel. “We are proud to use only local suppliers and hire skilled workers from the surrounding area,” says Dan.
“The soul of each building is stitched together with reused architectural gems crafted from a bygone era. Nowadays many of these treasures are ripped out of buildings by corporate companies for use around the world and we feel it’s important retain some of it for Cornwall and thereby put some charm back into the caravan industry,” Dan explains.
Anna’s eye for choosing the perfect soft furnishings, wall papers and art works alongside other bespoke details such as stained glass windows and antique dining sets really make these carefully thought-out designs feel like old buildings that have been lovingly restored.
She says: “People often ask us what the original building was used for and we have to remind them that they’re new builds, we designed and made them ourselves. But that’s what we do really well, making them feel like they have history.”
You can find out more about Love Lane Caravans at www.lovelanecaravans.com
