Magical touches ...

10 April 2021

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    Darren with the first fairy houses. If you explore the area behind him you might spot a minature Aussie dunnie with a rope ladder! 

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    Darren outside in sub-zero temperatures oiling the facing boards. He loved escaping the Aussie heat for our cold winter! The Hobbit Hideaway sign on the gate was Darren's handwork!

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  • Workaway works for us!

    Clémence helped to create a herb garden which she also a touch of her own magic with  hand-painted stones with herb names and fairies.


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    Meg helped with loads of shrub choosing and planting around the hideaway and hand painted the whisky barrel sign to stop our visitors heading up the hill to Waggytail Boarding Kennel!

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    Alli designing and painting signs for the sign post that Mark fixed into the ground. A gorgeous old and gnarled apple tree branch he knew would come in useful one day!

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    A team project! 

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    Alli starts work on her gorgeous celtic inspired mural inside the hideaway. 

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    What do you see? 

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    Tanner and Alli with us. No idea why we all have tiny gnomes, but we seem happy enough!

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    Tanner chatting with my dad on our adventures to Edinburgh. 

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    Thanks to young and nimble Markéta's tree climbing ability,we have solar lights up high!

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    Look what clever Markéta made all by herself. Three houses for some lucky fairies!

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    Juliana spotting dolphins in the Moray Firth.

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    Markéta and Juliana beig inspired at Gordon Castle's gorgeous walled garden.

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    Markéta having fun lighting up fairy land.

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    Markéta and our kid rolling and being kids at Culloden moor.

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    Angela, a professional photographer and Workaway volunteer, prepares for a night shoot in the fairy glen. We have so many gorgeous photos to use thanks to Angela!

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    Creative fun in the kitchen with Glen, Camille and a big wad of wool!

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    Angela displaying her Pledge Project craft work.

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    Camille and Glen sawing planks for the new woodstore.

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    Happy smiling Glen!

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    Camille taking a break from trimming back the unrully kitchen garden.

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    Ken, a journalist and former war correspondent, shooting some videos in the fairy glen. You can see the video on our website.

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    Ken was very keen to chop firewood!

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    Neighbour Sean is to blame for us having chickens and soon turkeys too! He helped us for 1 day in exchange for a night in the hideaway to propose to his girlfriend. She said YES! 

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    Fiddler Louisa and piper John playing some jaunty tunes on a summer evening! They were a great help getting started on the chook house.

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    It must be Friday garden veg curry night for the chook house building team John, Louisa, Sarah and Lois.

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    Sarah drilling in the chook house floor boards as Loiusa waits paitiently for her shot!

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    Lois refining her joinery skills on the chicken house frame

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    Louisa and Sarah checking the others are behaving. Not a chance!

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    Sam, a former hobbit house student builder, and now family friend taking time-out from building the chook house for a spot of archery in the garden.

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    Viktoria helping out with the test patches of clay render for the chook house. Viktoria, an architectural technition,  was a great help with our chook house design plans.

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    Sam teaching the art of bale splitting to Sally & Brent.

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    Brent and Sally were a real power-house with getting the chook house finished before winter. They even added a chook!

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    Sally and Brent in the chook house.

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    Holly looks on as Sally & Brent figure out what to do with that piece of wood!

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    Sam custom made and shingled the chook house door. He's definitely coming back! 

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    Sam and Holly placing another bale in the wall.

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    Sally and Viktoria take a break to admire the bale walls

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    Holly and Sam still smiling after a hard days work!

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    Brent the super human in action!

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    Brent,who washes windows of skyscrapers in Canada was quite at home up on the roof!

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    Sally mixing up another batch of render with  clay and cow poo! 

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    Dancing in the muddy render

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    A happy muddy Meg applying the second coat of clay render to the chook house

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    Meg hard at work applying clay render

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    Sam making the door wind and water tight

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    Artists at work! Meg made the chook feet whilst local artist Edie scupted on the walls. The place really, really needed to have Baba Yaga inspired chicken feet! 

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    Local artist Edie sculping clay on the chicken house

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    Edie,a true artist at work!

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    Magan helping to re-turf patches of the green roof 

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The Beatles were not wrong when they sang about getting by with a little help from your friends! Since discovering www.workaway.info in 2019 our hearts and eyes have been opened to the incredible world-wide network of volunteers who simply love Scotland, and want to come and help in exchange for food, board and a warm welcome into your family!


Our special place has become so much more special with the many magical touches and legacies left behind by all the friends and volunteers we've hosted over the last two years. Many of these volunteers have now became  forever friends!


In 2019 we were blessed to host and work with Darren & Alex from Australia, Clemence from France, Meg from Australia, Tanner & Alli from USA, Markéta from Prague, Juliana from Columbia, Angela from Australia, Ken from Singapore, and Camille & Glen from France.


Spring 2019 was our first year in business and we had a building site to transform! With our volunteers, we cleared and moved barrow-loads of debris, sowed grass seed by the box load, planted hundreds of bulbs, shrubs and fruit trees and let nature take its magnificent course. With an abundance of creative help, we worked alongside Mother Nature and observed our wee slice of Scottish paradise evolving into something special. A gnarled old apple tree branch became a sign post, areas were given names and we had loads of fun bringing them alive! We grew food, made tiny homes for fairies and were blessed with an abundance of gorgeous photos and a huge, celtic inspired mural inside the hideaway!


A global pandemic in 2020 meant we needed to close our doors to visitors, but it gave us the precious gift of time. Time to become chicken owners and spend hours outside creating paths and nurturing the soil to grow more delicious food. A strawbale chook house was in the planning, so as soon as lockdown was over, we quarantined and welcomed more wonderful volunteers, mostly local, but a few from further afield; including  Louisa & John from Edinburgh & Fife, Lois & Sarah from Moray, Sally & Brent from Yorkshire/Canada, Holly from Moray, Sam & Meg from England, Viktoria from Hungary/Aberdeen and Edie & Meeghan from Moray.


The chook house was an ambitious project, but we completed it with a little help from our friends. It was a lot of fun as well as hard physical work, but evenings spent outside sharing food, banter and a cold beer (or a nice bottle of red!) were the best!


The chook house is as unique and quirky as you would expect!  So what's our plans for 2021? You'll just need to wait and see...

Abundance

10 July 2022
Do the best you can, it doesn't need to be much!

What's in a name?

by Kim Fraser • 23 December 2021
Think fast, but don't get it wrong!

A wee slice of Scottish paradise!

by Kim Fraser • 16 October 2021
Just recently, we received the ultimate compliment from a hard-core LOTR fan. As she came climbing up the hill with a big, beaming smile she said to me that we've not just created a beautiful hobbit house, we're also creating a Shire! This actually took me by surprise, but, I'll take that compliment and keep it in mind as we continue to weave our magic into this special place! This year I took the plunge and signed myself up for a permaculture design and educators course. I'm thoroughly enjoying it and delight in sharing any learning with interested guests. Living in harmony with nature, feeding the soil, and growing your own food, shouldn't be considered as living the dream, its a practical and satisfying way to meet your own needs and let's face it, in this current climate, it makes good sense! We really are truly blessed with the loveliest of guests who love and appreciate what we are doing. Below are just a few of the many shots I captured to share so you can see the "Shire" for yourselves! To think that just 10 years ago, this entire space was a disused agricultural site!

2021, what lies ahead?!

by Kim Fraser • 21 January 2021
Stuck at home, in a second wave of lockdown, with months of uncertainty ahead, at least we have the precious gift of time. We decided to use it wisely, and set to work nourishing and protecting the gorgeous materials that make our hideaway so special. Now that's something we can control and it feels good! When will we be able to open our doors and welcome back our lovely visitors? We've no idea, but when we do the space will be ready and we're going to enjoy the process. Well I am, but I think Mark would rather relax with a nice cuppa and some Walkers shortbread! Whilst he takes a well earned break, afterall he did oil most of the wood, the majority of which is well above eye level, I indulge in waxing the earthen floor. I can't quite put into words what delights me so much about an earthen floor, it's more of a feeling, kind of like making a delicious meal that everyone thoroughly enjoys, it's just so yummy and satisfying! Rubbing wax into a solid floor that was once earth and part of the earth, feels so ancient, it deserves to be respected and cared for. Working with the raw elements of nature is so grounding and boy do we need grounding right now! The outside world is a scary place with so many theories and so much science, don't you ever wonder just what's going on, and when, if ever, life will return to a semblance of normality?! Will it be better or will it get worse who knows?! Right now we will focus on the moment and enjoy making our place all homely and special, putting everything back out again, changing things around, imagining, dreaming and adding wee magical touches here and there. We will simply enjoy the feeling because whatever the future holds our freshly oiled posts and waxed floor will look great! We wish all our past and future guests the brightest of blessings for a year filled with earthly pleasures of the finest kind...

Lockdown 2020

by Kim Fraser • 10 June 2020
With business closed and no indication as to when we can reopen, isn't it wonderful how life simply goes on? All the jobs that we thought were so important, turns out maybe they're not! We been gifted time, time to reflect and ponder upon what really matters; our health and wellbeing, our communities, taking care of each other and nature of course. Nature's not on lockdown and all around us the flora and fauna appear to be thriving. We've seen more wildlife in and around our garden than ever before, especially the feathered variety. Everything, apart from our green roof, ironically, is thriving. The sun keeps shining and the rain keeps pouring down. As we've all witnessed, the earth was beginning to heal, but what will happen when lockdown's over? Will normal ever be normal again? I hope not!

Nature always finds a way

by Kim Fraser • 9 June 2020
The wheel of life continues to turn and as fear and uncertainty spread across the world with the coronavirus pandemic, pollution has reduced, communities are coming together to care for their own, people are far more aware of what they have and what they need and nature continues its rituals. New life emerges from winter sleep and bursts forth towards the growing light. All around us we see a world gone mad for toilet roll, it will pass, and eventually the light and darkness will come again into balance. It is indeed a time of new beginnings, change and hope emerging from the darkness.

A celebration of light!

by Kim Fraser • 1 February 2020
Imbolc the ancient Celtic fire festival, falls today, the 1st February. Traditionally it is the day that we honour the Celtic Goddess Brigid, goddess of poetry, healing, crafts and childbirth. It marks the first day of spring with the promise of the earth awakening from its winter slumber and new life beginning as the sun's energy returns. It is time for us to be brave, to let go of the old and outdated. Time to look towards a more hopeful and positive future. It is time for us to have a good old spring clear-out and make space to welcome new ideas and allow our creativity to flow freely. It is a time for wish-making! As I look outside, I am aware that the days are growing longer, lighter and a wee bit warmer. I can see tiny green shoots making their way towards the light from the cold dark earth below and new buds appearing on bare branches. This year we will clear and transform our outdoor space it into a proper Garden of Eat’n. We will plant wildflowers and nourish the soil to grow delicious fruit and vegetables. We will make use of what we have or what others have given us and restore tired items to their former beauty. It is our wish to share what we have, to inspire others to live a more simple life and appreciate the sacredness of the earth beneath our feet, that which supports and nourishes us all...

Winter Wonderland

by Kim Fraser • 21 December 2019
21st Dec 2019 Today is the winter solstice, mid-winter and the longest night of the year. Tomorrow the days will begin to lengthen and eventually get warmer. It seems like the perfect time for a spot of reflection, given that nine months ago we opened the doors to welcome our very first guests. Getting ready was filled with a never ending list of tasks. It was exhausting, yet exhilarating as we got closer to completion. Like an embryo Hobbit Hideaway has grown and changed from the promise of something special to an enchanting place that can make you smile as you enter. There is definitely something very unique about staying in a natural home. Whether it's the simplicity and beauty of the natural materials that surround you, the close connection to nature that it evokes, or the positively healthy environment that it creates, the feeling simply needs to be experienced. Photos, no matter how awesome, just don’t do it justice. We hear these words repeatedly from our lovely guests so it must be true! In nine months we have welcomed 239 adults, 96 children and 29 dogs. 68% from the UK, 20% from Europe and 9% from the US. We have been busy, but what’s most important is that our guests are loving our special place. Many book it as a surprise gift for loved ones, to celebrate special occasions, family holidays or a well needed break from the stress of daily life. The look of delight on faces as they enter is worth every second of toil that went into its creation! We have consistently received 5 star glowing reviews from very satisfied guests and read comments that lift the spirits and brighten our day. In addition we achieved a Gold Standard Award from Green Tourism and won the Best Green Holiday Home at The European Holiday home Awards. I wonder what’s in store for the year ahead!? As 2019 closes, I personally feel a real sense of satisfaction that a longed for dream has become a wonderful reality that is achieving all that was envisioned for it and so much more...
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