Age 45 to 57 ...Home
In 1996, at the age of 45, I had been living alone for well over a year in my spacious 4-bedroom detached house in Church Milton, Sitingbourne. (See Age 36 - 45, Home>). I was earning enough to comfortably afford the house - and in addition, had even traded in the Opel Manta I had kept since Becky moved out, and bought a nearly new 'trendy' 4x4. (Motors>). But I hated the job I had at the time (see Age 36 - 45 Work>). And I had no-one but myself (and my dog) to be responsible for.
So I made a big and life changing decision. I would quit my job, sell the house and the car, and find a property, cheap - one which needed a bit of renovation, and which I could 'do up' while living in it. I moved in to the house I found during the summer of 1996.
So I made a big and life changing decision. I would quit my job, sell the house and the car, and find a property, cheap - one which needed a bit of renovation, and which I could 'do up' while living in it. I moved in to the house I found during the summer of 1996.
69 Queens Road, Minster-on-Sea, Sheerness
And here it is. The house stood on a corner plot, within walking distance of the village centre, with handy chip shop and Chinese take-away. 69 was fully detached, and had a completely wild garden with, at the end, a rather damp concrete block garage. Immediately prior to my purchase, the house had been repossessed by a finance company, and the previous occupants evicted. On leaving, they had deliberately flooded the house, by blocking sinks and leaving taps running, and had vandalised the kitchen by throwing paint about and ripping off the cupboard doors. So I had my renovation job... I think I paid about £44,500.
A reasonable job of drying out the house had already been completed before I moved in, though wallpaper was still hanging off the walls in places, and there was a fair bit of mould growing in corners here and there. I hadn't lived there long when my Dad came to visit. I was sad at his horrified reaction, both at my decision to become deliberately unemployed, and at the seriously shabby house in which I was living. I so wish he could have lived a little longer, and seen how this temporary pause in my life, later led to a so much better future.
Inside
The house had a large living room, partly being in a rear extension with sliding patio door onto the garden. From the living room was a door into the kitchen, which was also a good size, and had a funny little wooden shed which formed a back porch outside the back door. There was a second room on the ground floor, which I used as my 'study', though it would have made a good bedroom. The bathroom was also on the ground floor. It had a hideous dark blue suite, with wash basin, wc, bath and separate shower. Although not pretty, the bathroom was in decent condition, so other than getting rid of the mould, I never changed anything in this room. From the hall, a turner staircase rose to a long coombed first floor room which ran the length of the building, with a window at each end. There was a glimpse of the sea from the front window. I used furniture to divide this room into my bedroom and dressing room areas.
Life in the House
I lived in this house for about two years. I recall many winter dog walks along the shore, half a mile or so from the house, when I would carry a rucksack and fill it with pieces of driftwood off the beach which I would then dry out to burn on the open fire in the lounge - free heating! Only more recently have I learned that burning driftwood can cause damage to the chimney, but I wasn't aware of any problems at the time. During my time in the house, I decorated it throughout, outside as well as in. I added picture rails in the high-ceilinged lounge which made the room feel cosier. I refitted the kitchen, and installed a new integrated gas hob and electric oven. The worktops and tiles were black with gold speckles, and the cupboard fronts were in a very light wood finish, which I was never quite sure was the right choice. I never got round to replacing the flooring, and lived with bare floorboards, so I never fitted the toe-kick panels beneath the cupboards.
Unfortunately, my dog, Bentley, was not so happy with the house. I was forced to leave him alone in the house when I was out, and he spent his days destroying my furniture and furnishings. I was able to confine him to the lounge, which limited the damage to that room. But to say that he left nothing at all un-chewed, torn or scratched is no exaggeration. I was never cross with him for what he did - it was hardly his fault to be bored, and in spite of me holding him captive in the house, he always seemed to love me!
The end of my time living on the Isle of Sheppey came as my relationship with Sue became permanent. (See Sue>). I sold my little house for £59,000 - not making much of a profit after the money I had spent on my renovations, but at least I wasn't out of pocket!
The Ridiculous To The Sublime
Together, Sue and I planned to buy a house which was not connected with either of our former lives, for us to live in as a couple. Sue sold her Ashford (Kent) bungalow (which was part-owned by her parents), I sold my little Minster house, and we pooled our resources. I had also recently inherited a modest sum from the sad death of my Father and subsequent sale of his house. We were prepared to take on a small mortgage to add to our funds as necessary.
Sue and I house-hunted all around North Kent. One day, an estate agent offered us details on a house in a village called Grain, far out across the Thames and Medway estuary marshes about 10 miles east of Rochester. On paper, the house looked amazing. When we actually sat in the car looking at it, we couldn't believe such a house was within our reach, or could we believe the bargain price that it was being sold for. This was White House Lodge. The house had been built with love and care by a local builder named John who had lived in it himself with his wife and son. When his marriage failed, he was forced to sell, and that was where we came in. He wouldn't budge on the £130,000 asking price, but we felt that to be so much of a bargain, we didn't dither for long. Sue and I moved into White House Lodge in June 1998, when I was aged 47.
And here it is. The house stood on a corner plot, within walking distance of the village centre, with handy chip shop and Chinese take-away. 69 was fully detached, and had a completely wild garden with, at the end, a rather damp concrete block garage. Immediately prior to my purchase, the house had been repossessed by a finance company, and the previous occupants evicted. On leaving, they had deliberately flooded the house, by blocking sinks and leaving taps running, and had vandalised the kitchen by throwing paint about and ripping off the cupboard doors. So I had my renovation job... I think I paid about £44,500.
A reasonable job of drying out the house had already been completed before I moved in, though wallpaper was still hanging off the walls in places, and there was a fair bit of mould growing in corners here and there. I hadn't lived there long when my Dad came to visit. I was sad at his horrified reaction, both at my decision to become deliberately unemployed, and at the seriously shabby house in which I was living. I so wish he could have lived a little longer, and seen how this temporary pause in my life, later led to a so much better future.
Inside
The house had a large living room, partly being in a rear extension with sliding patio door onto the garden. From the living room was a door into the kitchen, which was also a good size, and had a funny little wooden shed which formed a back porch outside the back door. There was a second room on the ground floor, which I used as my 'study', though it would have made a good bedroom. The bathroom was also on the ground floor. It had a hideous dark blue suite, with wash basin, wc, bath and separate shower. Although not pretty, the bathroom was in decent condition, so other than getting rid of the mould, I never changed anything in this room. From the hall, a turner staircase rose to a long coombed first floor room which ran the length of the building, with a window at each end. There was a glimpse of the sea from the front window. I used furniture to divide this room into my bedroom and dressing room areas.
Life in the House
I lived in this house for about two years. I recall many winter dog walks along the shore, half a mile or so from the house, when I would carry a rucksack and fill it with pieces of driftwood off the beach which I would then dry out to burn on the open fire in the lounge - free heating! Only more recently have I learned that burning driftwood can cause damage to the chimney, but I wasn't aware of any problems at the time. During my time in the house, I decorated it throughout, outside as well as in. I added picture rails in the high-ceilinged lounge which made the room feel cosier. I refitted the kitchen, and installed a new integrated gas hob and electric oven. The worktops and tiles were black with gold speckles, and the cupboard fronts were in a very light wood finish, which I was never quite sure was the right choice. I never got round to replacing the flooring, and lived with bare floorboards, so I never fitted the toe-kick panels beneath the cupboards.
Unfortunately, my dog, Bentley, was not so happy with the house. I was forced to leave him alone in the house when I was out, and he spent his days destroying my furniture and furnishings. I was able to confine him to the lounge, which limited the damage to that room. But to say that he left nothing at all un-chewed, torn or scratched is no exaggeration. I was never cross with him for what he did - it was hardly his fault to be bored, and in spite of me holding him captive in the house, he always seemed to love me!
The end of my time living on the Isle of Sheppey came as my relationship with Sue became permanent. (See Sue>). I sold my little house for £59,000 - not making much of a profit after the money I had spent on my renovations, but at least I wasn't out of pocket!
The Ridiculous To The Sublime
Together, Sue and I planned to buy a house which was not connected with either of our former lives, for us to live in as a couple. Sue sold her Ashford (Kent) bungalow (which was part-owned by her parents), I sold my little Minster house, and we pooled our resources. I had also recently inherited a modest sum from the sad death of my Father and subsequent sale of his house. We were prepared to take on a small mortgage to add to our funds as necessary.
Sue and I house-hunted all around North Kent. One day, an estate agent offered us details on a house in a village called Grain, far out across the Thames and Medway estuary marshes about 10 miles east of Rochester. On paper, the house looked amazing. When we actually sat in the car looking at it, we couldn't believe such a house was within our reach, or could we believe the bargain price that it was being sold for. This was White House Lodge. The house had been built with love and care by a local builder named John who had lived in it himself with his wife and son. When his marriage failed, he was forced to sell, and that was where we came in. He wouldn't budge on the £130,000 asking price, but we felt that to be so much of a bargain, we didn't dither for long. Sue and I moved into White House Lodge in June 1998, when I was aged 47.
White House Lodge, Chapel Road, Isle of Grain
The house was as beautiful as it was huge. It had been built in the early 1980s. It was approached through tall wrought iron double gates, and stood in a walled and hedged garden, with mostly lawn at the front, plus a huge driveway, and at the back, a pond, paving, barbecue area with brick-built barbecue and shrub areas, together with a row of brick built sheds. These were built by John as pigeon-breeding houses, but were dry and, once cleaned out, were perfect for all manner of storage. There was even a brick built dog kennel with a tiled roof. The windows of the house were all double glazed leaded units set in hardwood frames. Heating was by radiators heated by an oil fired boiler. There was a hard standing area in the back garden where John had had a shed. It was a perfect size and location for a greenhouse, so I bought and erected a really nice greenhouse soon after we moved in. I used the greenhouse to grow all our own bedding plants for the garden, and we specialised in petunias, salvias and geraniums, which coped quite well with the hot, dry conditions of the Kent summers, though I did spend my evenings watering them on occasions! Inside - ground floor The front door opened into an enormous hallway. Opposite the front door, double doors with stained glass inserts opened into a big dining room, which had patio doors onto the garden. Another door led to the vast fully-tiled kitchen with its brick-built oven-housing and wine rack. From the kitchen was a utility room (almost big enough to be a kitchen in itself) and a door to the wonderful wide and long double garage. The garage housed the central heating boiler, which effectively meant the garage was heated. Also off the hall was a study, with its window onto the front, and a further door led to a fully tiled cloakroom (with wc and wash basin) through which was a glazed door to a shower cubicle. Then there was the lounge, which extended from the front to the back of the house. This room was immense, and featured a colossal brick fireplace housing a wood burning stove. The ceiling was fitted with mock wood beams - not quite to our taste, but they didn't look out of place. We had the back window of this room replaced with a large patio door to match the one in the dining room. |
Inside - first floor
The stairs led to a gallery-style landing, open to the hall below, with a fantastic wrought iron and ceramic lantern hanging centrally. Four bedrooms and a bathroom opened from the landing. All four bedrooms were doubles. We furnished one as a spare bedroom, one as a study and one - which had the best view over the marshes to the Medway estuary beyond - as a sitting room. The master bedroom was ours. Off this was a dressing room with full height mirrored wardrobe, and a door leading to an ensuite bathroom with wc, wash basin and shower cubicle. As with the two shower rooms, the main bathroom was fully tiled. and featured a slightly sunken corner jacuzzi bath, very nearly big enough to swim in, as well as having a wc, bidet and wash basin.
Living in Luxury
Actually, White House Lodge wasn't especially luxurious, it was just very big. The size of the place was extremely helpful to us, as we had moved to it from each having our own houses, so we had quite a bit of furniture between us. We had no trouble furnishing all the rooms, and accommodated our two dining suites, two desks, numerous chairs and coffee tables and several beds without any difficulty. Our excess of furniture was to come in very useful again in the future...
One feature of the house for which I was very grateful was the door from the kitchen into the attached garage. This was so useful, and yet this was the only house I have owned which had such a facility. It made the garage easily accessible, without having to look for keys and go outside, at all times of the day or night. As the garage was (like every other space in the house) very big, there was ample room in it for two cars, leaving a large area as 'workshop' where I placed my bench and assorted tools. A great male play-space!
The stairs led to a gallery-style landing, open to the hall below, with a fantastic wrought iron and ceramic lantern hanging centrally. Four bedrooms and a bathroom opened from the landing. All four bedrooms were doubles. We furnished one as a spare bedroom, one as a study and one - which had the best view over the marshes to the Medway estuary beyond - as a sitting room. The master bedroom was ours. Off this was a dressing room with full height mirrored wardrobe, and a door leading to an ensuite bathroom with wc, wash basin and shower cubicle. As with the two shower rooms, the main bathroom was fully tiled. and featured a slightly sunken corner jacuzzi bath, very nearly big enough to swim in, as well as having a wc, bidet and wash basin.
Living in Luxury
Actually, White House Lodge wasn't especially luxurious, it was just very big. The size of the place was extremely helpful to us, as we had moved to it from each having our own houses, so we had quite a bit of furniture between us. We had no trouble furnishing all the rooms, and accommodated our two dining suites, two desks, numerous chairs and coffee tables and several beds without any difficulty. Our excess of furniture was to come in very useful again in the future...
One feature of the house for which I was very grateful was the door from the kitchen into the attached garage. This was so useful, and yet this was the only house I have owned which had such a facility. It made the garage easily accessible, without having to look for keys and go outside, at all times of the day or night. As the garage was (like every other space in the house) very big, there was ample room in it for two cars, leaving a large area as 'workshop' where I placed my bench and assorted tools. A great male play-space!
The garden was fabulous too. When the house was built, John had planted a leylandii hedge around much of the garden. This had never been topped when we bought the house, and was probably some 30 feet tall. With the help of a friend, I reduced it in height by half, and then spent several days every year trimming the thing to keep it neat. It was a big job, even with the scaffolding tower and top quality long-reach petrol-powered hedge trimmer that I bought to do the job! However, it provided us with almost total privacy, and made being inside the White House Lodge grounds feel very special.
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John had taken care to choose interesting shrubs to plant in the back garden surrounding the pond, and with only a little care and attention, the back garden looked lovely. The front garden was a bit more of a challenge. There were roses along the driveway border, and we planted bedding plants to accompany them in the spring. Then there was the large lawn to mow too - we had quite a lot of work to keep everything looking smart.
The Isle of Grain
The village of Grain was a fascinating place to live, and a great place for walking along the sea wall with the dogs. Grain is located on the southern shore of the Thames Estuary, directly opposite Southend, which is on the Essex coast to the north. The location meant Grain has been a defensive stronghold since Napoleonic times, and has the remains of a large Napoleonic fort, partially buried on the foreshore, as well as another smaller fort standing on the mud some quarter of a mile into the estuary from the sea wall. There are also a number of remains from the World Wars - gun batteries and searchlight stations - from when defences had been built to guard against invasion of London via the Thames. In addition, the marshes and mudflats of the estuary are a major feeding ground for huge numbers of wading birds.
The Isle of Grain is not actually an island, though it had been centuries ago. In the recent past it had been the home of a major oil refinery. This was all closed down and largely dismantled by the time we lived there. However, the refinery left a huge brownfield site for eventual redevelopment. The Grain shipping container terminal, named Thamesport, had begun operating, though was still relatively small at the time. Even so, this facility meant there was a considerable volume of lorry traffic coming and going to the port. My commute to work was some 22 miles. Almost half of this was along the A228 Ratcliffe Highway - the road out to Grain from Rochester. The road was two-way, and was a mixture of sweeping curvy sections interspersed by a few sharp bends. Unfortunately, the bends often caught out unwary drivers, and it was not too unusual to find a tipped-over truck at the side of the road. On the bonus side, when the road was free of lorries, it was a joy to drive fast, and it was here that I occasionally unleashed and thoroughly enjoyed the Toyota sports car that I owned for some of the time we lived in Grain. Not long before we left Grain, road safety concerns surrounding the high volume of traffic accidents led to a blanket 40 mph speed limit and 'no overtaking' double white lines along the entire stretch of the road from Rochester to Thamesport. Since we left Grain, significant road rebuilding has been undertaken, bypassing the worst of the accident black spots, and Thamesport has become a major shipping terminal.
Moving On
During 2004 we formulated The Escape Plan (more about this in Work>). A major part of The Plan meant that we were going to have to leave Grain and sell White House Lodge. This didn't upset us too much, as The Plan was for our future, and living in such a fabulous house as White House Lodge just had to become a very enjoyable bit of our past. The biggest bonus of all was that White House Lodge increased enormously in value in the six years we owned it - we sold for £330,000 - and the profit we made on its sale made a significant difference to the eventual success of The Plan. We were also incredibly lucky to find the right person to buy White House Lodge within one week of placing it on the market. Sometimes, life really works out!
The 'home' part of The Plan involved buying a small house for us to live in in Kent while at the same time buying a mortgage-free property on the Isle of Skye which we would let on the holiday cottage market, to find out if such a venture would make a viable long-term income. As it turned out, our finances were such that we were able to buy two mortgage-free properties on Skye, and we planned to take out a small mortgage to buy a house for us to live in, in Kent. The properties we bought on Skye were Rowan Cottage, near Broadford and Aird View near Portree. These were bought to be holiday lets, see New Life - Work> . In Kent, We house-hunted for a while around the villages in the north of the county - there were plenty of the 3-bed semi type of houses available for the £150,000 or so that we planned to spend.
The Isle of Grain
The village of Grain was a fascinating place to live, and a great place for walking along the sea wall with the dogs. Grain is located on the southern shore of the Thames Estuary, directly opposite Southend, which is on the Essex coast to the north. The location meant Grain has been a defensive stronghold since Napoleonic times, and has the remains of a large Napoleonic fort, partially buried on the foreshore, as well as another smaller fort standing on the mud some quarter of a mile into the estuary from the sea wall. There are also a number of remains from the World Wars - gun batteries and searchlight stations - from when defences had been built to guard against invasion of London via the Thames. In addition, the marshes and mudflats of the estuary are a major feeding ground for huge numbers of wading birds.
The Isle of Grain is not actually an island, though it had been centuries ago. In the recent past it had been the home of a major oil refinery. This was all closed down and largely dismantled by the time we lived there. However, the refinery left a huge brownfield site for eventual redevelopment. The Grain shipping container terminal, named Thamesport, had begun operating, though was still relatively small at the time. Even so, this facility meant there was a considerable volume of lorry traffic coming and going to the port. My commute to work was some 22 miles. Almost half of this was along the A228 Ratcliffe Highway - the road out to Grain from Rochester. The road was two-way, and was a mixture of sweeping curvy sections interspersed by a few sharp bends. Unfortunately, the bends often caught out unwary drivers, and it was not too unusual to find a tipped-over truck at the side of the road. On the bonus side, when the road was free of lorries, it was a joy to drive fast, and it was here that I occasionally unleashed and thoroughly enjoyed the Toyota sports car that I owned for some of the time we lived in Grain. Not long before we left Grain, road safety concerns surrounding the high volume of traffic accidents led to a blanket 40 mph speed limit and 'no overtaking' double white lines along the entire stretch of the road from Rochester to Thamesport. Since we left Grain, significant road rebuilding has been undertaken, bypassing the worst of the accident black spots, and Thamesport has become a major shipping terminal.
Moving On
During 2004 we formulated The Escape Plan (more about this in Work>). A major part of The Plan meant that we were going to have to leave Grain and sell White House Lodge. This didn't upset us too much, as The Plan was for our future, and living in such a fabulous house as White House Lodge just had to become a very enjoyable bit of our past. The biggest bonus of all was that White House Lodge increased enormously in value in the six years we owned it - we sold for £330,000 - and the profit we made on its sale made a significant difference to the eventual success of The Plan. We were also incredibly lucky to find the right person to buy White House Lodge within one week of placing it on the market. Sometimes, life really works out!
The 'home' part of The Plan involved buying a small house for us to live in in Kent while at the same time buying a mortgage-free property on the Isle of Skye which we would let on the holiday cottage market, to find out if such a venture would make a viable long-term income. As it turned out, our finances were such that we were able to buy two mortgage-free properties on Skye, and we planned to take out a small mortgage to buy a house for us to live in, in Kent. The properties we bought on Skye were Rowan Cottage, near Broadford and Aird View near Portree. These were bought to be holiday lets, see New Life - Work> . In Kent, We house-hunted for a while around the villages in the north of the county - there were plenty of the 3-bed semi type of houses available for the £150,000 or so that we planned to spend.
2 Denham Road, Newington, Sittingbourne
I first viewed 2 Denham Road without Sue. It looked good - an end-terrace with rear access to a garage at the back of the garden, then the garden backed onto trees in the nearby vicarage garden. At the front was an area of grass and an outlook up the local cul-de-sac road of similar houses. It was a short walk to Newington village, which had shops, post office, pubs and railway station. In the opposite direction, a similarly short walk took us into the lovely lanes, woods and fields of the Kent countryside. It was, however, a bit of a 'doer-upper', urgently needing both the kitchen and bathroom to be renewed, and (although I didn't notice the lack on my first visit) it needed central heating to be installed. But Sue noticed, and I was duly admonished. We moved in on 27th September 2004. I was then 53 years old.
The layout of the house was fairly conventional. Downstairs was a hallway with cloakroom off (toilet and wash basin). I removed a dated-looking glass partition wall to make the hallway and stairs open-plan to the full-length lounge/dining room. The kitchen was at the back. Upstairs were two double bedrooms and a good-size single, plus the bathroom. The garden was tiny, and had double gates at the back, allowing me to park a car inside the garden alongside the garage. Here, the garage was too small to be sensibly usable for a car, but it made useful storage space.
The Escape Plan meant that this house would be a step towards our future; a place to live while we saved hard and made my early retirement from teaching a possibility.
We had the central heating and bathroom plumbing attended to pretty soon after moving in. I then undertook the tiling and flooring in the bathroom. We also had the back of the house double glazed with Georgian style units to match the front. Refitting the kitchen took rather longer. We lived for well over a year with no cooker - coping with just a two-burner camping stove and the microwave oven. But the kitchen was all renewed in the end, all by me (and very pleased I was with my efforts) and we finished up with a very respectable little house which we lived in for four years. When time came to sell, the house found a buyer very readily, and we were more than pleased to take the £192,000 selling price, which enabled us to pay off our mortgage.
Roskhill Barn, Dunvegan, Isle of Skye
Sue and her Mum first visited Roskhill in summer 2006, while they were staying at Rowan Cottage and having a short holiday exploring Skye. It seemed to us at the time that The Barn, which came divided into two separate self contained apartments, would be suitable to let on the holiday accommodation market, so before I had actually set foot inside, we agreed to buy it.
I first viewed 2 Denham Road without Sue. It looked good - an end-terrace with rear access to a garage at the back of the garden, then the garden backed onto trees in the nearby vicarage garden. At the front was an area of grass and an outlook up the local cul-de-sac road of similar houses. It was a short walk to Newington village, which had shops, post office, pubs and railway station. In the opposite direction, a similarly short walk took us into the lovely lanes, woods and fields of the Kent countryside. It was, however, a bit of a 'doer-upper', urgently needing both the kitchen and bathroom to be renewed, and (although I didn't notice the lack on my first visit) it needed central heating to be installed. But Sue noticed, and I was duly admonished. We moved in on 27th September 2004. I was then 53 years old.
The layout of the house was fairly conventional. Downstairs was a hallway with cloakroom off (toilet and wash basin). I removed a dated-looking glass partition wall to make the hallway and stairs open-plan to the full-length lounge/dining room. The kitchen was at the back. Upstairs were two double bedrooms and a good-size single, plus the bathroom. The garden was tiny, and had double gates at the back, allowing me to park a car inside the garden alongside the garage. Here, the garage was too small to be sensibly usable for a car, but it made useful storage space.
The Escape Plan meant that this house would be a step towards our future; a place to live while we saved hard and made my early retirement from teaching a possibility.
We had the central heating and bathroom plumbing attended to pretty soon after moving in. I then undertook the tiling and flooring in the bathroom. We also had the back of the house double glazed with Georgian style units to match the front. Refitting the kitchen took rather longer. We lived for well over a year with no cooker - coping with just a two-burner camping stove and the microwave oven. But the kitchen was all renewed in the end, all by me (and very pleased I was with my efforts) and we finished up with a very respectable little house which we lived in for four years. When time came to sell, the house found a buyer very readily, and we were more than pleased to take the £192,000 selling price, which enabled us to pay off our mortgage.
Roskhill Barn, Dunvegan, Isle of Skye
Sue and her Mum first visited Roskhill in summer 2006, while they were staying at Rowan Cottage and having a short holiday exploring Skye. It seemed to us at the time that The Barn, which came divided into two separate self contained apartments, would be suitable to let on the holiday accommodation market, so before I had actually set foot inside, we agreed to buy it.
We paid £140,000 for The Barn. When we bought it, the whole place was in a bit of a state. The first floor apartment was scruffy and unoccupied, and the ground floor was similarly scruffy, but occupied by a young couple as a long-let. The building had been converted into the two apartments back in the 1970s, when the mental health charity, Mencap, bought it with the plan to use it as holiday accommodation for some of their service users. For this purpose, the ground floor was made wheelchair-accessible, including a wet-room shower. However, the charity seldom made use of The Barn, and it was subsequently sold-on, and advertised as a holiday let. The owner lived off the island, and the letting was poorly managed, so the property began to deteriorate. In 2006, it was certainly not suitable for use by our holiday visitors.
So, we undertook some renovation work, which ended up being rather a larger project than we intended. This was partly due to us still living in Kent, and trying to organise things remotely, and partly because we had no experience of managing such a project. To this day, I remain convinced that some of the renovation work which was carried out on the fabric of the building had not been necessary, and was not well carried out either. Costs ran away with us, and it was thanks to a bail-out by Sue's Mum that we were able to pay our builder his stage-payments. I came up to Skye at every opportunity, to oversee and get involved in the work as best I could. In the end, all was done, and a very stressful time was over. The very shabby ground floor wet room was replaced by a conventional bathroom, and a chimney built in one gable end, to enable the installation of a stove. Our first holiday visitors stayed in The Barn in May 2007.
The Plan had been for us to find another property for us to live in when we later relocated Skye, but rising property prices on Skye meant that we had to adjust The Plan slightly, and in April 2008, with me age 57, we made our move from Newington to Skye to live in the ground floor apartment at The Barn, and begin our New Life>
So, we undertook some renovation work, which ended up being rather a larger project than we intended. This was partly due to us still living in Kent, and trying to organise things remotely, and partly because we had no experience of managing such a project. To this day, I remain convinced that some of the renovation work which was carried out on the fabric of the building had not been necessary, and was not well carried out either. Costs ran away with us, and it was thanks to a bail-out by Sue's Mum that we were able to pay our builder his stage-payments. I came up to Skye at every opportunity, to oversee and get involved in the work as best I could. In the end, all was done, and a very stressful time was over. The very shabby ground floor wet room was replaced by a conventional bathroom, and a chimney built in one gable end, to enable the installation of a stove. Our first holiday visitors stayed in The Barn in May 2007.
The Plan had been for us to find another property for us to live in when we later relocated Skye, but rising property prices on Skye meant that we had to adjust The Plan slightly, and in April 2008, with me age 57, we made our move from Newington to Skye to live in the ground floor apartment at The Barn, and begin our New Life>