Photo: Airbnb / Alex (Composite)
One man’s junk is another man’s treasure, and upcycling is a very beautiful and rewarding way of making the most of said “garbage.” Sally the Tank is a wonderful example in this sense.
Sally is one of the most surprising glamping options in Cornwall, in the UK, at the moment. Sally is not the name of the host, but of the place itself: an old, demilitarized Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) turned into a surprising and, apparently, very popular glamping solution. It’s perhaps the best way to experience a taste of the military life, without any of the dangers, and of country life, with some of the comforts from the city.
The 1952 APC that now goes by Sally the Tank sits under a shed and holds a queen-size mattress for a makeshift and comfortable bedroom, with just enough room left to move around without elbowing your significant other by mistake.
Outside is a “private” garden with a couple of garden chairs, a hammock and a firepit and, off to the side, a shared kitchen area that, though basic, packs all the necessary stuff to put together a light meal, including a microwave and the essential kettle. You can’t enjoy the English countryside without a cuppa. Some 115 feet (35 meters) away is the bathroom, with a shower and toilet, and a small sink for washing up.
As the listing clearly points out, the whole place is basic, and that seems to be ok because Sally’s highest selling points are the great views and the possibility to “reconnect with nature at this unforgettable escape.” Sally itself still smells like you’d expect an old APC to smell, and the host warns potential visitors not to expect the smell of potpourri, because the idea was to keep as many original parts as possible, with the exception of the war-ready tech. In keeping with Sally’s probably-glorious past, two helmets welcome guests right off the entrance.
Sally is not the first militarized vehicle to get a new lease on life in the form of glamping or, for that matter, neither is it the only surprising glamping option we’ve covered. In the UK alone, you’ll find anything from discarded RAF Sea King helicopters turned into glamping pods, to horseboxes, old trucks, and cargo vans.
The trend is not geographically limited to the UK, at least as far as upcycling of surprising vehicles. Where military vehicles are concerned, the conversion can prove too much of a challenge for the kind of rewards it brings: military vehicles can be hard to come by and transport to a new location, or as is the case with Sally, they might never be fully able to shed their rough past, and will retain the smell and the utilitarian aesthetic regardless of improvements.
Put it differently, upcycling is not a novelty in and of itself, but Sally the Tank sure sounds like a must-see, if only for the way it was able to make these disadvantages work in its favor.
The 1952 APC that now goes by Sally the Tank sits under a shed and holds a queen-size mattress for a makeshift and comfortable bedroom, with just enough room left to move around without elbowing your significant other by mistake.
Outside is a “private” garden with a couple of garden chairs, a hammock and a firepit and, off to the side, a shared kitchen area that, though basic, packs all the necessary stuff to put together a light meal, including a microwave and the essential kettle. You can’t enjoy the English countryside without a cuppa. Some 115 feet (35 meters) away is the bathroom, with a shower and toilet, and a small sink for washing up.
As the listing clearly points out, the whole place is basic, and that seems to be ok because Sally’s highest selling points are the great views and the possibility to “reconnect with nature at this unforgettable escape.” Sally itself still smells like you’d expect an old APC to smell, and the host warns potential visitors not to expect the smell of potpourri, because the idea was to keep as many original parts as possible, with the exception of the war-ready tech. In keeping with Sally’s probably-glorious past, two helmets welcome guests right off the entrance.
Sally is not the first militarized vehicle to get a new lease on life in the form of glamping or, for that matter, neither is it the only surprising glamping option we’ve covered. In the UK alone, you’ll find anything from discarded RAF Sea King helicopters turned into glamping pods, to horseboxes, old trucks, and cargo vans.
The trend is not geographically limited to the UK, at least as far as upcycling of surprising vehicles. Where military vehicles are concerned, the conversion can prove too much of a challenge for the kind of rewards it brings: military vehicles can be hard to come by and transport to a new location, or as is the case with Sally, they might never be fully able to shed their rough past, and will retain the smell and the utilitarian aesthetic regardless of improvements.
Put it differently, upcycling is not a novelty in and of itself, but Sally the Tank sure sounds like a must-see, if only for the way it was able to make these disadvantages work in its favor.
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