Francis and Karen have now been living in the castle for two and half years and they've finished all of the outstanding rooms. They've had to because, 18 months ago, to avoid having to sell up, they made the castle start paying its own way.
To all intents and purposes this seems like an untouched, cared for, ancient country house. It's come a very, very long way since Kevin first visited a ruin four years ago. But after all that work, Francis and Karen faced losing the home they'd fought to create. So rather than give it up, they've turned the top two floors into rather smart guest accommodation. The bed and breakfast business now pays the mortgage and even the heating bill.
It's understandable that they should have made the compromise in order to stay here, after the hardship that went into building the place. But they've also restored an important building here - and by opening their doors, other people get to enjoy not only the outside, but the eclectic building inside as well.
What Francis and Karen didn't realise when they took on this herculean task, was that rebuilding the castle was only the beginning. Living in it was going to be every bit as demanding. Two and a half years on, the thick stone walls are still drying out. Keeping the place warm means running the central heating around the clock.
For most of us that would be a truly terrifying expense in a building like this - but Francis has fitted a ground source heat pump which literally takes heat out of the ground. It heats the whole house, including hot water, twenty four hours a day. As Francis explains, 'the equivalent for oil would be £6-7,000 a year, but ours is half that.'
Francis and Karen's long journey of restoring the castle still goes on - and with an ancient building like this, it'll probably never stop. It was their love for the place that gave them the patience and the commitment to transform it from a crumbling wreck to its now magnificent state.
.jpg)
Want to be a self-build guru? Then read on....
Your Comments
Post your comment
Please note: In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in to Channel 4:
Sign In Here or Register Here
Comments closed
Comments are closed at the present time
Comments
Thank you for your comment!
Your message will be reviewed and the best ones will be published below.
If you intended to make an official comment to Channel 4 please contact us.
Comments