May - Recycling and more clearing

Bricks - I really hate bricks. We have a never ending supply of bricks.

So i’m guessing you’ve gathered the context of this post by now. More site clearance, more bricks, more scrap metal. Hats off to the guys ( Tom Grant’s crew) who cleared this section of the site. What a transformation. The piggery and sheep pen was taken down and created a clean useable space next to the house drive.

The guys at EMR became my best pals ( lack of sincerity here) after my baw breaking demands to co-ordinate skips with the loader and in fairness they did.( Poor guys, it was really appreciated & thanks for all your help!)

Lesson from this experience - keep on top of things and being a baw breaker is sometimes necessary to avoid a logistical and mental break down.

April - outside :)

April was amazing. After all of the snow the flowers started to come out and cheered the site up no end. The wee glen also started to come back into life and the seeds from Grow Wild where planted.

The drive garden which was lovingly dug out and finished off was also planted with a huge array of plants we bought and started to look quite delightful.

March 2018 - Scrap and Strip out

Ta daaaaaa 22 tones of scrap ready to be recycled!

The house getting its initial strip out and preliminary fixes under the watchful eye of Mark.

It really was amazing how much effort, time and stuff comes from a strip out. The house and the barns took a monumental amount of effort to clear and organise bringing them all back to a shell which could be put back together again.

Feb 2018 - Site clearance begins

Feb 2018 was such an exciting month. The snow had finally subsided and now it was time for the big boys toys to come in and clear the joint. And clear it they ( Tom Grant Plant and our driver Scott) did.

As the farm had been left and quickly fell into disrepair numerous buildings and  lean too's had collapsed and made the perfect set for a horror or zombie apocalypse film. Dangerous and discarded the junk which has been rotting away after so many years started to reveal what was hidden underneath.

As the crap began being put into piles of scrap, reusable bricks, and salvageable trees the foot print of West Heads land scape became apparent. The Farm itself stands on 2 acres of hard standing which was concealed by years worth of grass growth.

We ended up with 22 tones of scrap metal.

Removed 5 damaged buildings 

20 plus salvaged and replanted trees

And that was only one side of the Farm site.

West Heads Restoration - Jan - 2018

Welcome to our blog. If you had said to either of us a year ago we would have bought a derilict farm which needed more than a massive cash injection and the biggest clear up you could imagine ( think 22 tones of scrap metal and tones of junk!!) we would of  politely asked if you had us mixed up with grand designs.

Needless to say, after a bizarre occurrence of incidents ( call it fate if you will) we spent three months visiting other properties as well as West Heads which temporarily was off the market by someone else. After thinking all was lost West Heads unexpedidly came back onto the market and became ours officially in early 2018.

We moved on site after selling everything and moved into a static caravan in what only has been described as the worst winter in the valley for over 12 years.

5ft snow drifts

5ft snow drifts meant we didn't go anywhere for 3 days. We tried and failed epically ( even with our hi viz onesies. Dont ask) However, that sentiment of not going anywhere has been the through line of  our time here so far. Cliched as it is we have fallen for the knackered farm with no running or connected water ( thankfully that is not the case now) and the life style.

The place, the people, the life.

We too as individuals have been reimagined and reinvented.

We hope you enjoy our journey and hope to see you here soon.