New Garage awaits its Roof

The garage is almost complete, just needs its roof!

New Garage

This March the new garage was built behind the old dog kennel. It has been built by Charley Brentnall and his team from Wiltshire. Charley worked on the restoration of Shackelton's hut at the Antartic and was also involved in the restoration of Windsor Castle after its fire. The oak for the beams has been sourced from the Badminton Estate and the Larch and Douglas fir has come from the Winchcombe Estate in Gloucestershire. The roof on garage will have old slates to match the other buildings. We have also come to an agreement with the Electricty company for all the telegraphs poles to be removed and the electricity to go underground, so we don't have to look at all the ugly poles and wires draped across the courtyard. Charley will be returning later in the year to take measurements in the medieval barn which has to have new oak roof trusses to replace the steel RSJs which were put in after its fire and is part of an agreement we have with the Exmoor National Park for its restoration.

New Roof for the Goats and Ducks

Last summer the back section of the roof on the dog kennel and goat and duck house had its slates replaced and we have now finally started on the front half. Several slates had slipped down after the snow and rain was starting to pour in. New felt and battons have been put on the roof and most of the old slates are being put back and hopefully it will be complete before it starts raining.
At the back of the building which used to be an old pig sty there is a small door which we are going to open up door so that the goats can go out and then cross over the stream. We are going to put a railway sleeper over the stream so the goats can cross over into a small paddock.

A Snowy Start to the Year

We have had a quiet January with Russell still building the wall and it is beginning to look quite impressive. However, because of the heavy frosts in January he has had some problems with the pointing reacting to the frosts and this has caused some damage which may mean he has to point sections of the wall all over again. The planning permission for the three bay garage which is to be sited behind the dog kennel was given at the beginning of January and so far the footing has been put it in, but again the frosts have stopped the brickwork being completed. The timber frame for the garage is due to arrive at the end of February so I hope Spring comes soon and this wintery weather goes away.

While the whole of the country was being engulfed with snow I thought we were going to get away with it, but overnight on 6th February we had about six inches of snow fall starting at midnight. We awoke to deep snow on the Friday morning. The ducks were not impressed with their pond having a deep layer of snow lying on top of it, so they stayed at the shallow end where the stream trickles through the wall from the courtyard to Derek's garden. The goats decided to stay in for the day but the horses wanted to go out. Moo decided to roll and roll and thoroughly enjoyed the snow. Enzo's little legs were lost in the snow and he struggled to walk as it was nearly up to his belly. Surprisingly Mim who has never seen snow wasn't interested.

Rob decided the best mode of transport to the village shop was the Kawasaki Mule. Although the drive was a cold as it has no roof or windscreen and he said the snow hitting you on the face as you drove along hurt and he should have worn his ski goggles. Derek cleared the snow around the stables and the barn with his JCB so we didn't have to struggle through the snow.

The Wall starts to go up

At the end of September we started on building the new wall. The centre of the wall is being built out of blocks and each side of the wall will be faced with the stone from the old wall. The concrete footings was laid thankfully in good weather and then allowed to go off before Russell could start laying all the blocks. This has only been laid to a height which he can comfortably work to until one circuit has be completed. Russell will then need to bring in a tower block so that he can reach the top of the wall.

We are now half way through November and he has almost completed the first part of the stone walling which is inside the future outdoor school. Half of the drainage in the outdoor school has been laid, but this cannot be completed until Russell has finished working on the inside of the wall which will probably be after Christmas.

We are planning to have a door installed in the corner of the school with steps on the outside which will take you down to the stream. The photo shows Russell working on part of the wall beside the opening for the future door which shows the upright to the left of the photo.

The Wall Comes Down

We have now got the go ahead from Exmoor National Park to start to take the wall down and rebuild it 10 metres further back so that the riding arena can be the full 40 x 20 metres with a grass surround so that we don't have to ride right up to the wall. We have found a local stone wall builder, Russell Liversidge from Timberscombe who will be starting on the project in two weeks time. The foundations for the replacement wall need to be built first before Russell can erect the scaffolding to start rebuilding the wall. We are planning for block work to go up in the centre of the wall and the stone will be faced on the outside. The plan is to faceup the wall on the inside of the arena so that the riding arena can be built and then Russell will come back in 2009 to finish off the outside of the wall. The first phase of the project is likely take three months, which should take Russell up to Christmas. We just need the rain to stop and dry up so that we are not working in a muddy bog.

Riding Arena in the Walled Garden

Well for us August has been a wash out, I guess the same as the rest of the country which has meant delays to starting our outdoor projects. However, we did have some good dry and sunny days at the beginning of the month which allowed Derek to remove all the top soil in the walled garden and then start to level the area ready for the outdoor school to be used for horse exercising. Some of the soil is going to be used on the restoration of an Exmoor bank in one of the fields and the rest we will stock pile as it is such good soil.