Meet the Northants camper converting couple who appeared on George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces

Doug Oldrey and Alex Hunter launched the Compact Camper Company in March 2023, and recently relocated near Badby after the business was founded in the Cotswolds.

The pair initially built a tiny campervan to go on a world adventure across 41 countries and raised thousands of pounds for charity. Following this success, others asked if they would build them campers and that is when the business came to life.

Alex explained that they offer a bespoke and made-to-measure camper conversion service and began by specialising in utilising small spaces.

The reason for the recent relocation to Northamptonshire was the launch of the second strand of business, called Bays. The pair will soon offer fully equipped and comfortable rental bays for people to complete their own conversions.

Doug believes there is a “crying need” for the country’s first self-conversion space, particularly due to the challenges that come with poor weather.

The pair first met on an online dating site in 2019 and from their first date, they established their shared love of travelling and camping.

The pandemic helped the campervan side of things to come to the forefront, as they were keen to get away once the lockdowns ended without having to pay an extortionate amount – which is when the conversions began.

Doug and Alex appeared on George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces last Wednesday (March 26) completing one of their tiny car camping builds.

They were featured creating a camper with space for two people to sleep in a double bed, with a pull out kitchen and storage. They also needed a new trailer to house their rescue dog who they picked up in Morocco on a previous adventure.

Doug described the “rapid conversion” of the trailer after it was initially found in a hedge, and they worked hard on this "massive job” to smash it out of the park.

Filming took place last summer and after they were originally given three months to comfortably complete the job, this was then reduced to six weeks.

Though it was a “high pressure” scenario, everything came together in the end and there has been a positive response since the episode aired.

Looking to the future, the pair are now focused on making a name for the Compact Camper Company and Bays among their new community in Northamptonshire.

The pair have also been nominated in the customer service category at The Vanlife Awards, which is the only one voted for by the public. The voting link can be found on the Compact Camper Company’s Instagram page.

For more information on these two businesses, visit the Compact Camper Company’s website here.