Aka – The Cabin
By 2012 we had had, many visitors at a time, and had often to resort to sleeping on mattresses on the floor. The children had a tent ⛺️ outside, but kept moaning about scuffling sounds underneath. We told them not to be silly, one evening they refused to sleep in it, and the next day we discovered they had indeed been visited by the local ‘mice’ who had been eating their midnight snacks!
We knew we weren’t allowed to extend the size of the property due to building regulations in the ‘national park’, but we didn’t want to either, as it would ruin the nature of the property, but we did think a little more independent space for visiting family would be useful.
We decided a wooden cabin could be the answer, as an independent extra ‘bedroom’, which could double up as storage space during the winter.
We purchased a DIY wooden cabin, in the UK, and it was transported over by John and Liz.
Mark and John, then set about building it (with help from George).
We were not allowed to construct anything permanent, so our local friend had flattened, shaped and laid a sturdy base of gravel at the appointed site, (with the best view on the whole property).
The structure was made up of interlocking ‘logs’, specially shaped and grooved. It was completed with glazed windows and door. A reasonably large cabin with one room, two windows, and double door with veranda.
Once the structure was completed, it was stained and varnished, as was the internal floor, then a few bits of furniture added, (beds, bedside cabinets, chair and sideboard).
Mark finished the veranda, with a few left over tiles we had from the house.
It has served visitors well during the intervening years. We have an electric cable with gang socket, which connects to the house, unfortunately no water supply, other than bottled water, but we do supply an emergency toilet facility!
It requires a coat of protective stain each year, and has generally stood the test of time. However in 2020 a very strong winter storm lifted the roof, which has now been tied down, and then in winter 2022, some of the roof shingles blew off, and were replaced summer 2023.
Angela 2023