To move to Scotland, bizarrely, seemed the right thing to do during the early part of 2009 when all was doom and gloom in the economy and all everyone could talk about was the decreasing value of property.

 

Alas, just when we thought it was a buyers market and people would be falling over themselves to give away their lovely 4 bedroom Victorian villa, it seemed that nothing was for sale. Or at least nothing that resembled our dreams.

 

And then we spotted an acre of land on the edge of Peebles. Well it wasn't what we had planned but, hey, nothing ventured. So off we went...

And that is just the start of our story of which much more in these pages.

You can find photos, plans, resources and much more. We hope you find it at least useful, perhaps a little entertaining, and we look forward to any feedback you may give us.

Many of the blogs and web sites we have read are short and sweet. Well there is certainly a place for that but the sweetness is often a little saccharine and we would prefer to give a 'warts & all' account. It is also true that they are often kit builds. Don't get me wrong, kit builds are a great way to a dream home - it is more that we just didn't appreciate just how much more complex, and difficult, a bespoke build is and that is part of what we want to share here, especially if you should contemplate the same.

Grand Designs, on the other hand, whilst bringing great stories, creating great television and inspiring with visions of what is possible, perhaps doesn't explore some of the detail of how to actually approach such a project

So this web site is for our long suffering (and possibly bored rigid) family and friends who have borne with us through this build.  For those of you who may have happened upon this site and, especially if you are contemplating a self build, we hope our experience may help you understand and avoid some of the risks that we took and some of the more glaring errors that we made!