The big excitement this week was taking the roof tiles off the shippon. The scaffolding went up at the end of the previous week so everything was ready to go, and on Tuesday the hard work started. Our ecologist was on site for the morning to help take the first set of roof tiles off, and check for any bats or birds that had decided to live within the roof and needed specialist removal – luckily there weren’t any and things went smoothly. The builders started with the road-side tiles, taking them off and then sliding them down a plank to John, who was helping by wheelbarrowing them into the courtyard and stacking them all up ready to be cleaned before going back on.
They managed to clear the entire road-side roof on Tuesday, and then the courtyard-side roof on Wednesday. It was a slightly easier job doing the courtyard roof because the ground is higher and so the tiles could be passed down; also it’s a much shorter distance to move them. The stack of tiles is looking pretty overwhelming though – we’ve got a couple of months to clean them before they need to go back on, but that time will quickly disappear and it’s a big job!
The scaffolding also went up on the barn at the same time, providing access to the roof to install new rooflights once they arrive in the next few weeks. We sneaked up for some photos – it’s strange to see the view from a different angle, and especially looking back over the derelict barn and knowing that soon the roof will block that view completely.
We managed to clear through a few more jobs over the weekend – we spent Saturday morning going through the latest view of all our expected costs. We identified the most significant risks and opportunities against our budget so we have a clear and up-to-date understanding of everything – and what to keep a particularly close eye on. Given the impact of inflation on prices over the last couple of years, it’s really important that we proactive manage our position and see where we can make savings, and what’s worth investing in to add value to the building or attract our future visitors.
One of our ideas to create more space in our vegetable garden is to build an arch to train our squashes and pumpkins over. Last year we tried growing the plants up stakes that just weren’t high enough, and the rest grew across the orchard floor and were overcrowded by the wet grass, so the fruits didn’t grow that well. We’ve positioned the arches so you can see the view through them – depending on how the fruits hang down of course! We have high expectations so I hope it works!
We also took a break on Sunday to explore one of our local villages across the county border in Somerset. It’s been lovely to see a different part of the hills and see so many spring daffodils out along the lane verges, even if it was a little wet along the way.
Ley Farm Cottages 
I hope the wet weather this coming week won’t hinder your builders too much. They are doing very well so far.
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