Heaven in a hut

IF Farmer Bob looks over his Cumbrian sheep pastures this winter, he might just spot a new breed to these parts. Shod in Crocs and huddled in white, towelling robes, they will close the door on a small wooden hut by a farmhouse and make their way through the early morning mist to some outbuildings 50 yards away. Some time later, they will reappear and walk the 50 yards back to their shelter.

The location for this activity is A Corner of Eden, near Ravenstonedale; the Croc-shod couples are holidaymakers getting away from it all in the Shepherd’s Hut, a converted railway carriage.

In a former and much more desperate incarnation, the railway carriage actually belonged to the aforementioned Farmer Bob, and it was only saved from imminent immolation by holiday cottage owners Richard Greaves and Debbie Temple.

“The carriage stood in front of Bob’s farmhouse.

He used it to store feed,” explains Debbie. “One day I was just chatting to him and asked: ‘what are you going to do today, Bob?’ ‘Just going to burn this thing and keep the metal for scrap,’ he replied. I knew Richard had an inkling for it – he’d always said we could ‘do something with it’ – but he was abroad at a meeting. I rang him and he told me to go and save it, so I ended up spending the afternoon emptying out all the rubbish Bob had put in for burning.”

The carriage, in a pretty parlous state, was delivered to the couple’s home, and they situated it on a bit of land at the back of the house, with lovely views of the patchwork of sheep-filled fields beyond.

And gradually, over the months, and with a lot of input from Richard in particular, it was transformed and renamed. From the outside, the wooden plank-clad Shepherd’s Hut is unassuming. A little chimney peeks from the felted roof, swirls of smoke giving a hint of the comforts inside. Open the door and the cutest, most inviting accommodation awaits; a double bed, two comfy armchairs, at one end a small table to eat at; shelves with teabags and home-made marmalade; a glass-topped unit with glasses, kettle and damson gin; plus that all-important wood-burning stove, to make it possible for guests to enjoy this little gem all year round.

We pitched up in the autumn, the weather changeable, bright but a chill in the air, and were warm as toast all weekend. A store of logs just outside the hut means guests can keep the home fire burning.

It’s the perfect size for two; no wi-fi or television, so bring books or play cards or Scrabble, both thoughtfully provided. Or, in summer, simply light the firepit outside, bung on some sausages, sit on the deck and count the stars.

‘THE carriage would have been on a line that went through the dale, most likely carrying freight or animals rather than people,” says Debbie. “We called it the Shepherd’s Hut because it fits the location and has become a popular term for this kind of holiday accommodation.”

Debbie brought her excellent taste to bear on the project. The hut is painted in Farrow and Ball colours and the overall look is cosy but uncluttered. The bathroom and dressing room – 50 yards away, and the reason Crocs and robes are provided – is equally tasteful, a mixture of old furniture picked up at salerooms and modern ceramics. The couple restored an old claw-foot bath, into which the peaty water runs.

“I always explain to guests that the water might be discoloured, especially after heavy rainfall, but that it is filtered twice and perfectly safe to drink,” says Debbie. The water comes from a spring off the fell. “You can’t get rid of the colour unless you put chlorine in, and what would be the point of that?.”

In developing A Corner of Eden, of which the Shepherd’s Hut is just a small part, Richard and Debbie’s eco-credential have been excellent. They have a bed and breakfast/house party business in the main house, and a superb self-catering barn, and have incorporated ground source heat pumps and solar panelling into their plans. Insulation is sheep’s wool from a firm in Penrith. “It’s more expensive but we have found it works amazingly well,” says Debbie. There are also underfloor heating and wood-burning stoves.

“We know that our guests need to be warm to relax properly. We do get through an awful lot of logs with a total of six fires on the property.”

In the Angel Barn, which has three ensuite, king-size bedrooms and superb dining kitchen, Richard has brought both his handyman credentials and his creativity to bear.

Before the couple bought the farmhouse and buildings, he had already done a five-bedroom barn conversion. Here he was hands-on stripping the barn down to basics and knocking down walls, before laying floors, building the walls up again and installing the beautiful big beams made by a local joiner. Not content with that, he found a piece of wood and fashioned it into the staircase banister and used part of the old cow byre in the construction of a bed for the master suite. “He’s very good at making things,” says Debbie, pointing out window sills, tables and sculptural pieces of wood that Richard has found or constructed.

Much of the stripping – “Nitromors and wire wool were my best friends for some time”– and painting, as well as the decor and soft furnishings were Debbie’s domain.

Throughout their renovations, the couple tried to shop locally. The beds are from Sealy at Aspatria, West Cumbria; the shower screens by Kudos, based in Carnforth. “If we couldn’t use Cumbrian products, we would have to go for British,” says Debbie. “The woollen fabrics and upholstery are from Abraham Moon in Leeds, my favourite wool manufacturer.”

THE couple’s starting point for their renovation journey was the main house.

Richard, from Derby, and Debbie, a Cumbrian native, met when they were working for the same firm in Windermere. “I wanted to leave the office so we looked around for a property that would be suitable for a holiday business,” says Debbie. “We had almost given up, then spotted this in the paper. It had five acres and outbuildings and was perfect.”

The Grade-II listed Georgian farmhouse wasn’t so perfect inside. A former tenant farmer’s property, it had been neglected and then left empty for four years. “We spent every weekend coming here to dig up floors, strip walls and doors. Then it would be back to the office on Monday morning. It was exhausting,” says Debbie.

The results are stunning. In the main house, there are now four bedrooms and two bathrooms.

“Because of the bathroom situation, we only rent out two, unless it’s a house party and everyone knows each other,” says Debbie.

Downstairs there is an atmospheric dining room, where candles are lit at breakfast time, a loo in the former water-sodden cellar, and an elegant Georgian sitting room. Talking points are the dairy and Butler’s Pantry with their honesty bar and local crafts and home-made preserves for sale. Guests are free to wander in and help themselves to local cheeses and cakes made by Debbie. She’s a self-taught cook – “a chef from one of the big Lakes hotels came to give me some tips and help create a breakfast menu when we opened” – but prizewinner certificates from local shows attest to her success. “The chocolate cake recipe is Bero; I learned how to make it when I was about 12.”

Debbie usually cooks breakfast for the guests – ours was delivered piping hot and perfectly cooked to the door of the Shepherd’s Hut – but Richard will cook a three-course supper for house parties. Ingredients are all local. “We have a great butcher in Sedbergh and a fruit and veg van stops by on Fridays,” says Debbie.

Such convivial gatherings are a big part of the couple’s business. “We have regular house parties – one group comes twice a year,” says Debbie. Altogether, the main house, barn and hut can accommodate 16 and friends and family can all congregate in the big sitting room in the Angel Barn.

Which must all be pretty exhausting. It’s a seven-day-a-week demanding business. “It’s full-on, but we try to get away for a couple of weeks each year in spring and autumn,” says Debbie.

And if they can’t find the energy to go far, there is always the Shepherd’s Hut to escape to. I can thoroughly recommend it.

Factfile

A Corner of Eden, Low Stennerskeugh, Ravenstonedale, Cumbria, CA17 4LL. Room from £120 per night. Shepherd’s Hut for two, £95 a night, minimum two nights. Breakfast included. acornerofeden.co.uk Angel Barn, sleeps six self-catering. £495 to £675 three-night weekend; £945 to £1,365 per week. angelbarn.co.uk