Fancy booking Hamish for a holiday on wheels?

Try travelling in a Scotch bonnet!

The Hamiltons love Scotland and enjoying the great outdoors. So what better business for Andrew, Michelle and son Andrew than helping others explore the beautiful country in true Scottish style?

“Our tartan campervans certainly make for a memorable holiday,” Michelle laughs. “They turn heads everywhere they go!”

The Tartan Camper Co was born in 2011, a year after Andrew was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and had to have a complete thyroidectomy.

“The tumour paralysed his vocal cord, leaving him unable to speak,” Michelle, 44, explains.

At the time, the couple were in the process of expanding their own letting agency. But as Andrew, 46, dealt with all the valuations and marketing and had lost his voice, they had to pull the plug on hopes for a second office.

In a bid to cheer him up, Michelle decided to hire a campervan and plan a family holiday travelling around Scotland.

“That’s when we realised the price of hiring a campervan was extortionate,” Michelle says. “Companies were looking for more than £600 just for a long weekend. It was crazy.”

It was then that Andrew and Michelle cottoned on to an idea for a novel second business buying and renovating old VW campervans and renting them out. But they wanted to be different.

“There were a few companies already doing this, so to make it work ours would really needed to stand out from the crowd,” Michelle says.

“And being the most patriotic person you’ll ever meet, I thought why not wrap them in tartan?”

Michelle and Andrew, from Beith, Ayrshire, now have a fleet of seven two and four berth VW Tartan Campers, which they rent out all year round.

In keeping with the Scots theme, they’ve all been given traditionally Scottish monikers Morag, Jessie, Ginty, Wallace, Bruce, Hamish and Jeanie.

“They’re like tins of shortbread on wheels,” Michelle laughs.

“And people absolutely love them. I used to take the vans out when I needed to drive somewhere, but would constantly be stopped by people wanting to take photos, so I don’t do that anymore.

“Needless to say, Andrew is absolutely fine now. There was some permanent damage to his vocal cords so his voice is limited – but him becoming ill led us to develop a business that we really enjoy.

“We’re blessed with such lovely customers that it’s never a chore. We still run the letting agency, and the campers are the same idea renting out accommodation, only on four wheels!”

The Tartan Camper Co has welcomed customers from across Scotland and the UK, but also from further afield.

Customers vary in age from 25-year-olds up to pensioners. And they hire tartan campers for a whole host of reasons, from holidays and festivals to transport for their weddings.

“Everyone loves camping, but many would prefer the luxury of not having to pitch a tent,” Michelle says.

“The vans have a sink, fridge, beds, a stove, dishes and we can provide anything else you need, from sleeping bags to wine glasses.

“All our customers have to do is ask and we’ll do what we can to ensure they have the best holiday in our vans.”

n The Tartan Camper Co hires for a minimum of three nights and prices range from £245 for an off-peak season weekend to £495 for a week in high season. For more information, visit thetartancamper.co.uk.