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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Travel
Athena Stavrou

Couple built cosy pod in just 10 days - now it's one of the UK's most popular Airbnbs

The couple behind one of the UK's most booked Airbnbs say the eye catching building only took ten days to construct.

Interior designer Amanda Markham and her architect husband Roderick James, 75, designed and built the AirShip 002 in 2018.

The "remote, cosy, compact, aluminium clad capsule structure" looks like a futuristic air ship and features breath-taking Highland views from floor to ceiling.

The £165 a night accommodation in Drimnin, Scotland, was the most wish-listed Airbnb rental in the UK in 2020 and secures bookings over a year in advance.

The AirShip is located in Drimnin, Scotland (Woody James / SWNS)

The project built as part of their company Out of the Blue Ltd cost £100k, but it has already made it's money back since creation five years ago.

The couple live nearby in another house they designed themselves called Eagle Rock.

Roderick said: "We designed the AirShip 002 just for fun at first, but then a perfect plot came up and we decided to build on it.

"At first we weren't intending to let it. We just thought it would be an ideal location but then it became incredibly popular.

"It was a brand new design and it had never been done before. We wanted to build something that could be built anywhere and any part of the structure can be carried by two people.

"It has over 3000 components which were computer laser cut in the factory which took three to four months.

"But then the actual structure went up in 10 days on site. In future all housing will become increasingly modular.

"The structure has everything you could need. It can even be off-grid with a compost toilet and rainwater can be collected from the roof and stored under the floor panels.

Amanda Markham and Roderick James are a successful Airbnb team (Mark Nicholson / SWNS)
They made sure the AirShip would feel cosy (Nigel Rigden / SWNS)

"The dragonfly window breaks up the view in such an extraordinary way. Everyone who stays here wishes they could stay for longer. It really is a special place."

Following the success of the AirShip, the couple have embarked on two other tiny house projects to rent on Airbnb.

The Pilot House PH5, an aluminium structure with 360 degree views, was completed after just six months of building in September 2020.

This was followed by the creation of The Captain's Cabin in January 2021. This stay even comes with the gift of a novel titled 'The Captains Cabin' by Alexander McCall Smith.

All profits from the book, published by Roderick and Amanda's company Out of The Blue, go directly to the "transformational" charity Jamie’s Farm which hosts disadvantaged children for residential farm stays.

The latest and smallest project, the Captains Cabin, sits on the large balcony deck on the roof of an old chapel building on the same site as the other projects and is also proving very popular.

They've also had success with the PilotHouse (Nigel Rigden / SWNS)

While the exterior is similarly clad in corrugated aluminium, the interior is more textural and cosy with re-used timber and a nautical theme featuring artefacts from the book.

All of their quirky builds feature stunning views and fresh spring water, but their unique shape is what Roderick attributes some of their success to.

He said: "One of the key things we work on, even in our own house, is that they're all based on elliptical, oval, shapes.

"We have discovered that people feel very comfortable in these plan shapes. Sandi Toksvig described it as ‘like a womb with a view!’ There are no sharp corners and as a result people feel very secure.

"The views add an enormous amount too. If you have a very small space, but a big view, it works very well."

You can book a stay at the AirShip, the Captain’s Cabin or the PilotHouse now.

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