Play.Eat.Laugh.Sleep..Pickwell: A Shed with a View

Tuesday 13 December 2011

A Shed with a View

There are a lot of shed happenings here at Pickwell at the moment. We are going to be knocking down the 1960's conservatory-type-room at the end of the house. It is a bit of an eye-sore and I must admit that while it exists,

I will never get to have a costume drama filmed here and therefore I will never have a hope of meeting Hugh Grant.

We have, until now used this room as our games room. No longer. (well after January hopefully).

So this left us with the idea to put our games room in a bigger space which is a lovely big shed at the bottom of the Italian Garden, opposite the garages.

This shed has a gorgeous view. It also has roof lights so it is bright and by the time we've finished with it, it will be homely and chic too.

At the same time, we had the idea to add on a bit of a surfboard and wetsuit shack so holiday guests will have somewhere safe and dry to put their boards.

Our laundry room is also going down there, in front of the surf-board shack and will have the advantage of the brilliant view too. Up until now, this shed was the home to our beloved little tractor (and boxes of 'stuff' we hadn't sorted since the move over 3 years ago).

So, now we are faced with needing a new tractor shed..

tra laa! Even our tractor gets a lovely view of the woodland now! Why oh why do we keep developing our storage space?!

This is Martin, part of the Pickwell family, you may have met him before. He rents one of the garages to do his wood crafting and joinery. Martin built an extra rabbit hutch (we have since found out how we managed to get so many babies and can definately confirm we have put a stop to it) and an extra chicken sleeping pad (our 'Gingy' is being picked on so thought we'd give her a break).

Martin made these little areas from old bits of wood that he found lying around. He is embarrassed by what he built, but I love it! Plus the new hutch and Gingy's house get a great perspective all across the back garden.

This is Martin being silly.

So there we have it. The chickens, the tractor, the children playing - everyone at Pickwell gets a shed with a view x

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Our Story

Many people have asked what the story is, how did the Bakers and Elliotts come to be at Pickwell?

Are you sitting comfortably?

Tracey and Susannah became friends at 6th form college. Steve and Tracey lived in the same village in Sussex. Steve's dad was the vicar and Tracey's dad was Steve's scout leader. Even more wierd, Susannah's dad (also a church minister) and Steve's dad were friends, but Steve and Sus never met.

One summer Tracey took Susannah along to a youth summer camp. Steve was one of the leaders (read : heightened attraction) and a little later Steve and Sus got together. During their 6 on/off years they met Richard, a blue eyed boy from Guildford.

At a club night run by Steve, somehow through the dark and crowded room, Tracey and Richard bumped into eachother (if you have seen the shapes they pull on the dancefloor you would know how easily this happened)..

In the year 2000 they all got married. Tracey and Susannah were eachother's bridesmaids. They have remained firm friends ever since.

When Steve and Susannah came across Pickwell Manor, they knew they couldn't manage such a project on their own. They asked the Elliotts if they would give up their house, their jobs and their community to come and live and work with them and own the project together. They knew there weren't many people they could ask to do such a thing knowing they would still love each other by the end. So they all left everything in Sussex and came to Devon.

They moved on the same day in August 2008. It has been a crazy, wonderful, scary, emotional and beautiful experience so far. All of them would say they feel very ALIVE!

Since they moved they have run 51 successful and wonderful weddings (with more to come), many, many holidays, built or totally refurbished 6 apartments from scratch, updated carpets, painted white throughout, put in quite a few kitchens and bathrooms (including 2 baths on concrete plinths), changed much of the furniture, converted a laundry and have started to convert the chapel. Every year they also have a bonfire gathering in October, an Easter Eggstravaganza fundraising event, and anything else that is not-for-profit that they can fit in. Tracey has completed a dissertation and gone back to nursing for 2 days a week, Steve has started up a new company in London, Richard has mastered a lot of the running of the house as well as training as a coach, specialising in stress management, Sus has taken on the interiors and Tracey and Susannah have learnt weddings in at the deep end! All with 4 young Pickwellians by their sides.

"Our passion is for making life count. Our values lie in
friendship, celebration, valuing others, and social justice. We see Pickwell as a reflection of these things but also a place for rest, recouperation, laughter and conversation. We want to support charities and social enterprises to fufil their dreams and make a difference."

"We love Devon, we love the community here, we love seeing our children grow with nature and discovering the great outdoors. We have to pinch ourselves sometimes when we think about our life here, it is amazing".