This week our builders have been hard at work again, digging out the final parts of the ground within the shippon to create the different levels to match the hill slope, and then finishing the footings that will support the internal walls. We hadn’t realised how much they’d done, so it was a surprise on Wednesday to come home and find they’d poured the concrete during the day too!
They’ve dug out a huge amount of clay soil, which completely took over the courtyard for a few days, and was making it a bit difficult to manoeuvre around, especially when we had various visitors to the site. Now it’s been taken away, the space feels much bigger!!
We managed to find an evening this week to sort through more of our rubble piles tand salvage stones to reuse to face our buildings when complete. It’s a hard job but feels such a shame to let good stone that’s been cut to shape end up in a crusher or carted away as rubbish. It’ll be impossible to sort through everything, but every little bit helps. We’ve already saved several wheelbarrows-full, and found some great specimens that we should be able to reuse.
Alongside all the building work, our architects have been working through the various conditions the local planning team have put on our build, which – among other things – includes approving the materials and designs we’re using for windows, doors, roof lights, and gutters. So while we’re deciding what we’d ideally have, this is all still subject to getting approval from the planners and the conservation team. We’re aiming for a modern take on an authentic country farmhouse theme as we want to keep true to the site’s history, so hopefully we won’t have any issues.
We’ve actually been away this weekend at an airbnb (a Covid-delayed weekend break) – although we went for a cheap and cheerful option, it reminded us just how important it is to properly equip holiday places. We stayed in a city centre, so presumably most visitors eat out as the kitchen is very poorly stocked (e.g. there’s an oven but no oven-proof kitchenware), and there’s a sole wooden spoon for cooking. However the customer service we received when we had a problem was brilliant, so it’s easier to overlook these shortcomings when you know your host is keen for you to have a good time. Plenty of things for us to make note of!
We’d love to hear what makes a holiday stay special to other people, so please do pop any ideas for us in the comments!
Ley Farm Cottages 