Introducing La Roulotte, A gypsy caravan with a French history

What is a Roulotte?

" Roulotte is the French word for caravan - pronounced roo-lot. "

Since the beginning we have always built caravans with a gypsy style. Our smaller offerings such as the gypsy bow top caravan and the Vardo were unique in their own way but we felt that there was room for a larger caravan that would satisfy our customers needs for that extra bit of space. If we just made bigger versions of our existing caravans then the aesthetics would be lost and thus would dilute the originals.

Introducing the Roulotte...

Back in 2010 after months of research I stumbled across a French gypsy wagon called a Roulotte. These were widely used across France towards the end of the 19th century and were depicted in the 1888 van Gogh painted Encampment of Gypsies with Caravans, a signal work of his Arles period. Inspired by such books as Le temps des roulottes by Jeanne Bayol , I set about designing a new style caravan that encompassed the original caravans but had the benefits of our newer building techniques, insulation and longevity.

So in early 2011, the Fernhills roulotte was born offering an enchanting alternative to mundane oversized shepherd's huts and static caravans.

We now offer two sizes of Roulotte, a traditional 6.5 metre x 2.4 metre caravan which we aptly called 'La Roulotte' and a 8 metre x 3 metre caravan called 'La Grande Roulotte' which translates to 'big caravan'. Both models are faithful to the originals with external shutters, decorative barge boards, external framing and something that is unique to French roulottes, a porch! Perfect for hot sunny days or more typically (in Britain) when it's raining.

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