Four weeks further on and Stevenson the builders continue to make amazing progress in the sunshine on our smallholding’s eco-makeover.
The timber frame extension shot up almost overnight, so now the whole building is in place just awaiting the windows to get us water tight. In the original part of the house the first fix has been done and the walls beautifully re-plastered. Continue reading
Last November we visited Berlin for Paul’s brother’s 60th celebrations and were surprised to find a fantastic number of vegetarian fine dining restaurants such as Cookies and Cream, The Lucky Leek, Kopps and Bistro Bardot. Eager to try one of these restaurants we travelled a day early so that we could eat at The Lucky Leek and being a popular restaurant we sat outside under blankets eating one of the best vegetarian meals we had ever experienced. Continue reading
A few weeks ago we were delighted to spend the day with our lovely Cornish friends who were en route to holiday in Wales.
A thundery start to the day left us feeling a little sad that we might have to eat our picnic in the wood shed but by the time the lovely Kirk Family arrived the clouds parted and made way for the sun allowing us to merrily eat a hearty spread beneath Cam Peak. Continue reading
Over the last few months it’s not the house renovation, or the size of the garden that as had me waking me up in cold sweats, it’s been the ever growing wood pile.
At the beginning of our journey to a happier life, we boldly said to our builders, ‘make sure you keep every piece of wood you pull out from the house or don’t use’. As the wood pile grew lists formed in our heads of what we might use it for; kitchen cabinets, shelves, raised beds, rebuilding the sheds, log store, a tree house and even an outdoor hot tub. Much to our surprise within two weeks the whole of the upper garden had turned into a beastly mountain of old, knackered, gnarly, nail infested wood. Continue reading
We know we can expect to spot a wide range of wildlife once we are finally living at The Secret Acre. Deer, badgers, foxes and rabbits all live at the bottom of the field, not to mention the birds (Slimbridge is just down the road) and a variety of life in our ponds. When we catch more on camera, we’ll post more here.
The Secret Acre – a bungalow no more!
When we found The Secret Acre the original 1930s bungalow on site was in need of modernisation.
Our plans for an eco-makeover included creating upstairs space for two bedrooms and a bathroom.
So it was a special moment for us when the new staircase went in. A bungalow no more!
And Emma and I no longer have to sway precariously up and down ladders to measure up upstairs.
Since finding The Secret Acre, what to do with the paddock field has been, and remains, a matter of hot debate.
Donkey cheese was an early favourite with Emma, but it appears to only have a market of one, a Wimbledon tennis player, and the Alpaca and Llama market now seems saturated. Friends even suggested planting woodland or vines. But sheep and/or goats seem the most likely eventual choice. Continue reading
The new concrete base in the old house is in, ready for insulation and underfloor heating.
It started at Easter, with the roof coming off first. So naturally I was predicting a biblical deluge all month long from that moment. Miraculously instead we have enjoyed a month of nearly continuous blue skies and summer like heat.
Our main contractor Stevenson Building Contractors Ltd have made amazing progress in just a few weeks. We chose Stevenson because everyone in the area recommended them, plus they have a lot of experience installing the whole range of eco-measures in big Cotswold retrofit projects. Continue reading
Legal searches at The Secret Acre revealed that we receive the princely sum of £1 per annum ground rent for the electricity pole in the garden.
But the wire off it that delivered our mains electricity looked like it would be dangerously within reach of small children once the dormer was built. More importantly the pole was slap bang in the middle of the proposed foundations for the timber frame extension. It would have to go. Continue reading
A decade and more ago, the Government were paying grants to grub up and destroy orchards. Today there are loads of Government grants and projects to protect, save and replant orchards, which apparently had been disappearing at an alarming rate. It’s what politicians like to call joined up thinking.
So, blessed with a small old orchard at the Secret Acre, prolific in apples and plums, we decided to do the responsible thing and joined the Gloucestershire Orchard Trust, to add our heritage varieties to the County’s register. Continue reading
The Secret Acre 