Amazing Spaces viewers baffled by ‘bonkers’ £350-a-night glamping pods designed to look like an ‘apocalyptic film set’ with an off-putting feature

Viewers of George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces were left baffled by a couple’s ‘bonkers’ 1970s-themed apocalyptic glamping pods on last night’s episode. 

Nicky and Dom Ackland-Snow, who previously helped design the sets for Hollywood blockbusters including Alice Through The Looking Glass and Fast & Furious, had turned their attention towards holiday lets. 

The couple invested all their savings to build a Mad Max dystopian-themed glamping site in a remote woodland in Amersham, Buckinghamshire – with the build documented on the Channel 4 show. 

For £75,000, they hoped to create two mid-century inspired timber pods, coated in aluminum and made to look rusty for an apocalyptic feel, as well as a camper van ‘chillout’ zone and amenities such as shuffleboard and a hot tub.

The risks were high, as Nicky and Dom had not only put their house on the market to fund it, but their son’s house too.  

Despite going over budget and spending £100,000, by the end of the show, Nicky and Dom had completed the build – and have since named their business Lights Camera Glamping – renting out the site for £350 a night. 

Though host George Clarke described the finished result as ‘bonkers’, he maintained that it was an ‘unbelievable’ achievement and noted that it really felt like ‘walking onto a film set’. 

But viewers were unconvinced by one stand-out feature, and didn’t understand why the couple had purposefully made the exterior look ‘rusty’.  

One person said: ‘The exterior of the camping pods is awful. Why would you want to stay in a rusty place?’

But others appreciated their dedication to the theming, saying that the project was ‘very cool’ and ‘amazing’.

The exterior of the site looked faintly foreboding, with barbed wire and a peace sign refusing to give clues as to what’s inside. 

As soon as George stepped inside, he was ‘mindblown’ by the two pods – one with the bedroom and the other containing a kitchen and living space. 

While the outside of the pods had a ‘gritty’ feel thanks to the rusty coating, Nicky and Dom made sure the inside was perfectly comfortable for guests.  

The bedroom itself was simple yet classy with an immaculate design, while the kitchen perfectly fit the 1970s theming with added modern luxuries. 

‘While our theme is evidently post-apocalyptic, your experience won’t be,’ the couple explain on their website.

‘Enjoy a working shower, proper flushing toilet, beautifully comfortable double bed, full cooking and self-catering facilities, a gorgeous bespoke hot tub, large decking area, television, authentic 1970’s mini-bar and even a vintage shuffleboard – all complimented by the sounds of our woodland wonderland. 

‘We ensure that even in a dystopia, comfort reigns supreme.’

Thanks to their success, the couple are now working towards making a Mamma Mia-themed pod, and say their dream is to create a Star Wars Empire Strikes Back pod in Norway under the Northern Lights. 

They’d even been listed in AirBnb’s ‘OMG finds’ and were named in the Telegraph’s top 30 best holidays in the UK for 2024. 

Dom told Bucks Free Press in an interview: ‘We gambled everything on this, it is a big gamble, our house is on the market, and our son’s house is too. 

‘In film, family is everything and looking after our kids and having them involved with us is so important.

‘Me and Nicky worked together for 15 years, it was only natural to work with the kids too. You can’t get better workers than family.’

Last time, two young brothers became the youngest-ever participants on George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces, wowing with their incredible ice cream van transformation. 

Billy, 13, and Henry, who is just nine years old, from Penkridge in Staffordshire, appeared on Tuesday night’s episode of the Channel 4 show. 

They’d spent all their savings – £500 each – on buying a dilapidated ex-library bus from 1974, to convert into a modern ice cream and coffee van with a budget of £10,000 from their parents. 

And if that wasn’t ambitious enough, Billy and Henry hoped to complete the project in just three months, ready to debut at their school.

Their parents, Bron and Sarah Dobson, are owners of a catering business, going to festivals around the country with their burger and fish and chip vans. 

As a result, they were keen to pass down some vital life skills, and Billy and Henry were equally eager to learn. 

As the project progressed, Billy gained more and more confidence, taking charge of more aspects of the build. 

And by the end of the programme, they’d achieved a simply stunning result, with host George Clarke marvelling that it was ‘perfect from every angle’. 

George Clarke’s Building Home airs at 9pm on Tuesdays on Channel 4.