0131 651 6444/ 07386656710 step@ed.ac.uk

V is for Vardo

The Traveller Alphabet Book

QUESTIONS

Jo, the artist, has created three vardos and they each have different doors. Which vardo would you like to stay in?

Can you find out more about vardos? Ask an older family member what they know. They may have stayed in one or know someone who has. See if you can find out a story about living in a vardo.

Send your story to STEP.

ACTIVITIES

Make your own vardo

You will need:

  • A small cardboard box
  • A toilet roll tube to cut for the roof
  • 4 lids for the wheels
  • Staws or sticks
  • Glue and paint

Can you put everything together to create a vardo then decorate it.

Look at vardo pictures on the internet to get ideas.

Look at the vardos in The Lost Homework here.

ABOUT VARDOS

A vardo is a traditional Romanichal Traveller horse-drawn wagon or caravan, often with a chimney. It is handcrafted, carved, painted and decorated.

Vardos were popular for around seventy years between 1850 to 1920 and can still be seen today at special events such as the Appleby Horse Fair.