From a treehouse in Dumfries to an old railway carriage on the Aberdeenshire coast, Scotland has no shortage of weird and wonderful accommodation options.
However plans for a new Airbnb in the heart of Glasgow might take the crown for the country’s most out-there lodgings as a property developer unveiled plans to turn a public toilet into a holiday flat.
Plans for the Victoria lavatory, which can be found in an urban park near Glasgow Cathedral, will be transformed modelled on a Hebridean bothy.
It will have no windows and currently carries all the hallmarks of a 1980s convenience, right down to the Tampax and condom machines on the walls.
It’s believed its facilities were upgraded in the 1980s but it’s been shut to the public for 30 years.
With work due to begin in September, the revamped toilet will be ready to check in its first guests next spring.
When complete, the flat will house up to four people with sleeping accommodation, a kitchen living area and bathroom.
The Glasgow ‘venue’ will be big enough four four people, with sleeping accommodation, kitchen, living room and bathroom.
Designer Darran Crawford said: “Even when new people come, they will know in a minute what it used to be – there’s no disguising this was a public loo.
“Let’s just say this project is not one of the areas they go into in any detail at architecture school.”
The Killearn-based owner of Linearchitecture is working with the owner of the premises, a city estate agent, who has built up a portfolio of unusual properties.
There’s a three-storey tower house near Balquidder in Stirlingshire, which he bought on eBay, and a tin tabernacle at Loch Long in Argyll and Bute.
Mr Crawford added: “We are talking about properties which are a bit unloved and not very expensive.
“The toilet sits at the heart of one of Scotland’s biggest tourist attractions.
“The regeneration of Glasgow and the Merchant City is steadily creeping up the High Street towards the Cathedral.
“There is a current squeeze on people using their residential premises for AirB&B so a purpose-built property could fill a gap in the market.”
Cities including Manchester have capitalised on conveniences now considered surplus to
requirements.
One of its most popular subterranean hang-outs is called The Temple of Convenience, a former public toilet which was reimagined into a pub, and is now regarded as a pillar of the city’s bar scene.
Meanwhile Scotland is famed for its unusual Airbnb options.
In Wigtown, visitors can play bookshop owner in a charming apartment above The Open Book shop.
Meanwhile Moray is home to the country’s own Hobbit home, styled on the housings of lodgings described in JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.
And, in Drimnin, a converted airship goes a step beyond the usual log cabin.
The sustainabily built AirShip 2 is an insulated aluminium pod designed by Roderick James Architects.
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