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The Dream Becomes Real (and a Little Surreal)
July 7th, 2015.
We finally signed on the dotted line, and the field we'd dreamt of transforming into a campsite was officially ours. Excitement with a touch of nervous panic. There was no turning back now!
With the kids safely at school, we embarked on our first expedition to the new property. The previous owner and his vehicles were gone, but the shower block, if you could call it that, remained, a chaotic jumble of old wood, fish tanks, and a chest freezer. Leaving us with an unsettling feeling.
Flicking the light switch brought nothing but darkness. A quick look at the mains electric box revealed nothing – the meter was gone. A call to a local electrician, who'd previously offered advice, said he would pop by for a look.
Soon a white van pulled up, we braced ourselves for the unknown. "New owners here," we announced cautiously. "Removal team," came the reply.
“You’re gonna need a bigger Van” Dave laughed in his best Jaws the movie quotation. The driver, upon seeing the state of the place, shared our growing sense of dismay. His instructions had been very odd – collect everything! And take it to this address; a field in the middle of nowhere – this was all becoming very surreal.
Things went from bad to worse. The electrician arrived, took one look at the empty electric box, and let out a hearty laugh. Someone had taken the Meter. WHAT!!! – the electricity, which inexplicably powered a freezer full of food, had been illegally hooked up for years! Panic surged through us again. What about water? A call to Scottish Water confirmed our fears – another illegal connection.
Then the stories from locals began; Maybe our family were right, this was a stupid idea!
The following days were a blur, clearing out the decrepit shower block, and finally getting a glimpse of its true state – bare bones, walls barely reaching five feet, nothing looked square, roof didn’t look strong and a bizarre layout. Turning this into a functional amenity block was going to be a monumental task.
But amidst the initial chaos, we had to keep going, these 5 acres held our dream. A plan needed to take shape. First, get the kids settled into their new home. Second, find a farmer to tackle the overgrown grass. And third, figure out what in the world to do with the shower block.
This was just the beginning. As we surveyed the daunting landscape, a new realization dawned on us – building our dream campsite wouldn't be easy. But with a healthy dose of determination (and maybe a little bit of insanity), we were ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.
Keep looking at that view, it changes all the time, but is truly magical.
Things have to look worse before they can get better, and they definitely did!
The Blood, sweat and a whole lot of tears are about to follow.
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