The owner of a campsite installs a James Bond submarine for £40,000, and you can stay in it
Have you ever fantasized about sleeping in a submarine?
Now you can, thanks to Stewart Dungey, a 68-year-old campsite owner from the Isle of Wight.
This isn’t just any submarine, though. This is the ship that appeared in the James Bond film “The World Is Not Enough”, which was released in 1999.
As you might expect, this means it cost a pretty fortune – not just to acquire the sub, but also to convert it into a sleeping room.
Stewart has spent £40,000 on the vessel, which he has renamed HMS Bond after spending £40,000 on it.
The submarine was spotted on an auction site by Stewart’s son, Rhys, who also co-owns Windmill campsite.
“We had always been on the lookout for a submarine as we wanted something that would make people go ‘wow,'” he explained.
“With the help of the submarine, we have created a very unusual and unique place for people to stay.”
“It was displayed at the dockyard in Chatham and it is a copy of a vintage Soviet victor class nuclear submarine.”
“It is a scaled-down version that was used in the James Bond film, The World Is Not Enough which featured Pierce Brosnan and Robert Carlyle.”
“The submarine is 50ft long and weighs up to 10 tonnes. We brought it to the farm in August 2021.”
“It took us a total of nine months to complete the renovations.”
Stewart and his crew spent the winter restoring HMS Bond, beginning with the removal of galvanized buoyancy tanks, miles of hydraulic hoses, and a design that allowed the massive replica to float and drive in the film.
They then constructed a transportable container that holds the kitchen, shower, toilet, eating area, and terrace, before using the submarine’s main body as beds.
Stewart claims that the apartment can easily accommodate five persons because it has two double beds and a single bunk bed.
Even though you’re not in the sea, it still feels like you’re inside a submarine.
“It comes fully equipped with trap doors, ladders and a periscope, and like the real submarine this has little headroom,” Stewart remarked, “but it doesn’t lack in character.”
At Windmill, the submarine isn’t the only out-of-the-way dwelling.
You may even book a stay in a 1965 helicopter, a shepherds house fashioned after the Batman film, or a Bollywood campervan.
Also, don’t miss the’showershack’ – a shower with a sound system and disco lights – the Turdis (yep, the toilets), the silo theater, and the enormous pirate ship while you’re there.