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The Main House at Drumsyniebeg

The main house at Drumsyniebeg is comprised of:

A large open-plan living space where the kitchen opens into the renovated barn.

A large main bedroom

Bedroom 2, accessed up the stairs from the main living space

Bedroom 3

Bedroom 4

An upstairs WC

A large office/5th bedroom

A sitting room

A downstairs family bathroom

A mudroom/laundry with shelving for outdoor gear

A large walk-in storage cupboard for food

A shower room off the mudroom

Courtyard with fire pit

Sauna bothy on riverbank

We bought Drumsyniebeg in January 2012 and spent 10 years gradually renovating it. The main house was our family home.

Main Living Space

When we renovated Drumsyniebeg, we converted the old hay barn wth thick stone walls, and connected it to the existing kitchen by removing an internal wall and adding a big steel beam. We rendered the walls of the barn with layers of a breathable, insulated render containing hemp, lime and perlite. We added dormer windows in the roof and converted the old arrow-slit windows from the barn.

It's created a warm, cosy space with lots of light.

This is the heart of the house.

Main bedroom (bedroom 1)

The main bedroom was originally a loft dormitory room for shepherd workers at the farm. The only way in and out was a ladder coming up from the hallway by the downstairs bathroom.

When we first came to view the house there was water pouring out of leaking a storage tank in this room. It had soaked the kitchen ceiling below, so we had do lots of work here.

Now it's a luxurious large space, with a big window with mountain views.

Bedroom 2 (a.k.a. The Chicken Room)

Bedroom 2, which we call the "chicken room" used to be a loft space above the old cart barn (now the mud room) where the farm's chickens would roost at night, to keep them safe from the foxes.

This room is accessed via a staircase from the main living space. It has a small landing at the top where you could set up a desk to work from, and watch the goings on below.

Bedroom 3

The third bedroom is in the main cottage. Built in 1834, we think this was added on to the barns which pre-date it, around the time of the clearances when a manager would have been employed to run the farm, and would have needed accommodation for his family.

It has a beautiful view out over the valley and hills.

Bedroom 4

This large room was our kids' bedroom and contains two cabin-beds with play space underneath. It also has lovely views out over the hills.

It's also in the cottage, next door to bedroom 3.

Upstairs WC

The upstairs loo was carved out of bedroom 3 to save you a trip down the stairs when you need to go.

Office

The large office sits downstairs below bedroom four. In the past this room has been used as another bedroom and as a second sitting room, and has a fireplace. We added a wood stove to keep you cosy while you're working. The large cupboards are coated in whiteboard material so you can make your plans all over them.

There's a great view from here down to the river and the bridge to the house.

Sitting Room

If the main living space is the heart of Drumsyniebeg, the sitting room is its soul. With a wood burner and comfy sofas, this is where you come to cosy up and relax with a book, or snuggle in front of the TV or projector movie nights.

Family bathroom

With a shower over the bath, this room sits in the hallway just off the kitchen, at the bottom of the cottage stairs.

Mud Room

Muddy boots are a big feature of living in Argyll, so there's a room dedicated to them with ample room to store all your outdoor gear. There's a washing machine and tumble drier here too, and a beautifully tiled wet-room style shower room.

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Welcome: Book the new Stable accommodation!  http://stay.dsbeg.com 

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The Barn at Drumsyniebeg Farm is a delight. The lime-hemp insulation is working a treat on the original mica-schist stone walls with the underfloor heating and the warmth of colour and atmospheric benefits of untreated Scottish larch on the ‘box’. Painting still needs to be done, with sample patches of lime paint with a stabilising additive working out well. There will be a stove in front of the larch as a cosy focal point in the room, and the lighting design is ready to install.

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Progress

Getting so close to connecting the barn room with the kitchen! Arthur has nearly finished the outside details of oak and lead and the lovely straight lines of the new gutters make the house look so much more tidy. The big new windows in the kitchen and porch have let in a significant amount more light which is wonderful in the mornings.

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Lime Lime Lime! Tim from Eden Lime Mortar www.eden-lime-mortar.co.uk set “us” on our way and the insulated lime render has begun! With Rory http://www.naturalstonecraft.co.uk/ , Craig, Maxi and Arthur.

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Windows and doors feel like big progress.

Rufus and the mossy bank, so soft and beautiful.

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Exciting times taking delivery of the new doors and windows! and Rory has done an excellent job of liming-up some sorry looking walls in challenging temperatures.

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Snowy Jan at the house - Lovely x

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Sponsored walk for School Outdoor Classroon

Only a few days to go now, training going well and support team in place!

Please go to dsbeg.com/walk to find the paypal donate button!

And thank you so much to all those who have donated already.

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The Diggers x

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What a lovely weekend of digging!

We were all at it and happy muddy people we were too. Despite the many, many large rocks hiding, waiting to challenge us, we completed a fine drainage trench across the back edge of the new veg and orchard area. This will hopefully direct the spring water that has been seeping across the flat area. We have not had any heavy rain to test it yet, but we don't mind too much if this lovely weather continues! 

This seasons fruit trees are about ready to go in so we need to get a wriggle on...

We had hot chocolate and ice cream cones to celebrate.

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Sponsored walk Update

Well, the big walk is looming and Matt and I did a training walk/run yesterday 20 miles round the beautiful Ardgartan/Lochgoil peninsular. Slightly alarming that 3 times round this route is not even the whole 70 miles (including 'The Ben') due in 3 weeks!! But legs are feeling ok and a support team is coming together. 

Let us not forget the great cause for all this fundraising silliness is an outdoor classroom for the Lochgoilhead Primary School which will enrich the school experience for all the children there in lesson times and play.

Talented face and body painter Kristeen Ducat even transformed my back into the route of the walk this week as her contribution to publicising the fundraising. I was more than a little apprehensive about this, but Derek Prescott did a professional job of photographing the event and we hope to get it into a few local papers.

Just a reminder that donations by Paypal can be made at dsbeg.com/walk

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The aliens arrived and began their work immediately.

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The life cycle of our lovely Oxford Sandy and Black piggies, who we miss having around... but have very much thanked during several very tasty BBQs since.

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I like running. Time to think. I sometimes think it's hard to find time for running, but at this time of year there's no excuse.

Watching the midsummer sun set over the Mull of Kintyre, up on the ridge behind the house.

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Jamon.

Salted, dried, wrapped, tied and ready to hang.

Do I really have to wait three months before I can eat it?