AGE 57 ~ 70+ ... New Life ~ Home
Roskhill Barn has been our home on Skye since we moved here in April 2008, and if our health remains reasonably intact, we intend to continue to live here for many years to come. Almost as soon as we moved here, we began to feel that we belonged here. We had a bit of a scare in 2009, when we discovered that an area of land in front of us was for sale with planning permission for the building of two houses. We anxiously watched the Estate Agent's website for a while, hoping no-one would buy the land. Eventually, we decided to raid our savings, and made an offer on the land ourselves. So we now own two building plots, and have secured our view! In 2010, new neighbours 'across the road' offered me the use of the vegetable plot that they owned that is just opposite The Barn. This was good. Even better came a year or so later, when our neighbours were talking about maybe moving, and we asked if we could buy the plot, rather than have it sold along with their bungalow. They were all too happy to sell it, so we now also own all of the undeveloped land that borders the garden area of The Barn.
Up until the autumn of 2014, we lived in the ground floor apartment of The Barn, and let the first floor apartment as our unique 'Bed and Breakfast With a Difference' (See Work>). Our home was then compact. Every conceivable space had been utilised for the storage of essentials, and we tried not to have any non-essentials! Our front door opened into a small outer hall which had two built in cupboards and some very crowded coat hooks. A further door opened to an inner hall, from which there was a door to our bedroom, a door to the second bedroom, which was nominally my study, though also regularly housed large piles of linen waiting to be washed or ironed, a door to the bathroom and a door to the open plan lounge/diner/kitchen. This latter room was very cosy, with a multi-fuel stove in its feature fireplace. The kitchen area was small and dated, but, other than being short on storage space, it served its purpose.
In late 2014, we moved out for a few months while we undertook a total re-modelling of the building, turning the two separate flats into one two-storey house with internal staircase. The work was massive. The interior of almost the entire barn was stripped back to the bare stone. Almost every internal wall was moved or re-built. Most windows were replaced with high-efficiency double glazed units, the first floor ones being made larger to better enjoy the view. A small extension was built, replacing the first floor porch, and accommodating the interior staircase. We added a garage. Additional insulation was installed, along with a complete re-wire and new plumbing throughout. We now have two living rooms (one upstairs, one down) two bathrooms, three bedrooms (two of which we use as our work/play rooms), a utility room for storage and all the cottage linen, and a smart and larger kitchen. We pretty much created a new house inside the old walls. The job went way over budget, but the end result is a home that we have designed ourselves for ourselves. I had the builders, joiners, electricians and plumbers do all the major bits, but then took over the project towards its end and undertook myself all the tiling of floors and kitchen, fitting-out the cupboards and utility room, plus all the internal and external decorating - which meant that by the end I had had my hand on every inch of the building, to claim it as 'ours'. We were - and continue to be - delighted with the way our home has turned out.
It would be impossible to pick on one alteration or improvement as being 'the best', but the installation of proper central heating has most certainly made an enormous difference. Gone are the patches of mould in the corners of some rooms, and gone are the thick fleeces and thermal socks that we needed in winter in order to keep warm!
Up until the autumn of 2014, we lived in the ground floor apartment of The Barn, and let the first floor apartment as our unique 'Bed and Breakfast With a Difference' (See Work>). Our home was then compact. Every conceivable space had been utilised for the storage of essentials, and we tried not to have any non-essentials! Our front door opened into a small outer hall which had two built in cupboards and some very crowded coat hooks. A further door opened to an inner hall, from which there was a door to our bedroom, a door to the second bedroom, which was nominally my study, though also regularly housed large piles of linen waiting to be washed or ironed, a door to the bathroom and a door to the open plan lounge/diner/kitchen. This latter room was very cosy, with a multi-fuel stove in its feature fireplace. The kitchen area was small and dated, but, other than being short on storage space, it served its purpose.
In late 2014, we moved out for a few months while we undertook a total re-modelling of the building, turning the two separate flats into one two-storey house with internal staircase. The work was massive. The interior of almost the entire barn was stripped back to the bare stone. Almost every internal wall was moved or re-built. Most windows were replaced with high-efficiency double glazed units, the first floor ones being made larger to better enjoy the view. A small extension was built, replacing the first floor porch, and accommodating the interior staircase. We added a garage. Additional insulation was installed, along with a complete re-wire and new plumbing throughout. We now have two living rooms (one upstairs, one down) two bathrooms, three bedrooms (two of which we use as our work/play rooms), a utility room for storage and all the cottage linen, and a smart and larger kitchen. We pretty much created a new house inside the old walls. The job went way over budget, but the end result is a home that we have designed ourselves for ourselves. I had the builders, joiners, electricians and plumbers do all the major bits, but then took over the project towards its end and undertook myself all the tiling of floors and kitchen, fitting-out the cupboards and utility room, plus all the internal and external decorating - which meant that by the end I had had my hand on every inch of the building, to claim it as 'ours'. We were - and continue to be - delighted with the way our home has turned out.
It would be impossible to pick on one alteration or improvement as being 'the best', but the installation of proper central heating has most certainly made an enormous difference. Gone are the patches of mould in the corners of some rooms, and gone are the thick fleeces and thermal socks that we needed in winter in order to keep warm!
Nearby
There's not a lot to Roskhill. There's Roskhill House, now a guest house, but once the farmhouse for which our Barn was the barn. Then there is one newly built house, and five modern bungalows, one of which is a letting holiday cottage, plus one small very old cottage, which is a holiday home. The road here is a loop of the original single track main road, long-since bypassed by a modern road which sweeps past a hundred yards away. We have a river, flowing fast but mostly unseen, in a deep tree-lined gorge. We hear the roar of rushing water after heavy rain! Beyond that, we are surrounded by rounded hills covered in heather moorland, home to hares, grouse and curlew, and grazed by a few wandering sheep and cattle. The hills sweep down to the sea shore, and further distant, end at dramatic cliffs.
The village of Dunvegan is three miles away. In Dunvegan, there is a Post Office, grocery store, petrol station, garage, medical centre, and a few tourism-related shops and businesses. For shopping, we either pop into Dunvegan, or make a 44-mile round trip to Portee, where there is a supermarket.
Living at Roskhill
Like just about everything else in our New Life, living here is wonderful. We love the freshness of the Skye air, and the frequent rain doesn't bother us. Unless the wind is rushing in the trees, it is quiet here - very quiet. Then there's the view. It's there when we glance out of the window. It's there when I look up from digging on the allotment. It's there all the time. It can even be there at night, when it is lit by the incredible silver light of a full moon.
We cannot think of anywhere else we would rather live. It is good for us both to take trips south to visit friends and family, and we very much enjoy our little holidays away. But after a trip away, there is no better feeling than driving north towards Kyle of Lochalsh and seeing the Skye Bridge in the distance. An hour after crossing the bridge, we get the first glimpse of Roskhill, with the hills in the background, and the sea to our left - we are home, and this is the home where we love to be.
There's not a lot to Roskhill. There's Roskhill House, now a guest house, but once the farmhouse for which our Barn was the barn. Then there is one newly built house, and five modern bungalows, one of which is a letting holiday cottage, plus one small very old cottage, which is a holiday home. The road here is a loop of the original single track main road, long-since bypassed by a modern road which sweeps past a hundred yards away. We have a river, flowing fast but mostly unseen, in a deep tree-lined gorge. We hear the roar of rushing water after heavy rain! Beyond that, we are surrounded by rounded hills covered in heather moorland, home to hares, grouse and curlew, and grazed by a few wandering sheep and cattle. The hills sweep down to the sea shore, and further distant, end at dramatic cliffs.
The village of Dunvegan is three miles away. In Dunvegan, there is a Post Office, grocery store, petrol station, garage, medical centre, and a few tourism-related shops and businesses. For shopping, we either pop into Dunvegan, or make a 44-mile round trip to Portee, where there is a supermarket.
Living at Roskhill
Like just about everything else in our New Life, living here is wonderful. We love the freshness of the Skye air, and the frequent rain doesn't bother us. Unless the wind is rushing in the trees, it is quiet here - very quiet. Then there's the view. It's there when we glance out of the window. It's there when I look up from digging on the allotment. It's there all the time. It can even be there at night, when it is lit by the incredible silver light of a full moon.
We cannot think of anywhere else we would rather live. It is good for us both to take trips south to visit friends and family, and we very much enjoy our little holidays away. But after a trip away, there is no better feeling than driving north towards Kyle of Lochalsh and seeing the Skye Bridge in the distance. An hour after crossing the bridge, we get the first glimpse of Roskhill, with the hills in the background, and the sea to our left - we are home, and this is the home where we love to be.