West Oxfordshire: Bus shelter gets a royal makeover for the coronation

This the 18th edition of the shelter, in South Leigh, which rarely sees any buses.

Villagers of South Leigh and High Cogges started transforming the derelict building three and a half years ago when it was set up as a swap shop and  lending library at the start of Covid.

Since then it has been decorated on the theme Club Tropicana, Queen’s 70th Jubilee, Santa's Grotto, Easter, Valentine's, Halloween and Chinese New Year of the Rabbit among many more.

Decorator Martin Spurrier said: “I had to do something for the coronation. All my themes start from, how can kids be involved? So I thought of the idea of having a throne and from there I went to crowns and capes to dress up in.

"Then I thought, well, there has to be Westminster Abbey and then I got the name Busminster.

“There’s a commemorative book inside where children can write messages to the king and queen and a place to take photos and we will send them all to Buckingham Palace.”

The decorations are made of plywood and prefabricated at Mr Spurrier’s home which takes him 40 to 60 hours.

He then spends two days assembling them on site and adding fairy lights.

He said: “We’re a very small village of only 130 houses and its right in the middle of Station Lane and it was looking really really scruffy and drab.

“Now it’s sort of a tourist attraction. When I’m working on it every single time several cars stop – they have either never seen it before or they drive this way to see it. Cycle groups come this way specially to see it.

 “This theme and Club Tropicana have been the favourites so far.”

Mr Spurrier is very much looking forward to the coronation celebrations with a big party on the village green with a barbecue with 170 people coming a gathering on the football field with The Codfather fish and chip van on Monday.

“The king wants us to volunteer and that’s difficult to articulate so we have a done a large board with examples of all the work that’s done here for free by volunteers," he said.

And once the bunting comes down, he's got plenty more ideas in the pipeline for the bus shelter.

“We’re really chuffed with this one, with the reaction and how people actively say they’ll bring the children down and that’s the rewarding part of it," he said.

"Everyone loves it and we love doing it for them.”