The Walkers' Barn

The site had been a smallholding until it became a campsite. There are several old quarry heads and the recently restored Stone Room was once used as a Banker for the dressing of the stone. The shop was built from a Marley Kit in the late 1960s?

The old Nissen Hut

When the we took over the campsite all those years ago no one could deny that the Nissen hut was dilapidated. It was almost full floor to ceiling with piles of unimaginable rubbish and rats that nested happily and cosily in the rotting heaps.  The predecessors had purchased the hut sometime after the war [second world] for the purpose of keeping chickens, a sort of deep litter arrangement, deep litter was a habit they found to break!

When it rained it was wetter inside the building than out. It was close to being derelict. It was clear, however that permission to demolish and rebuild would not be given. It had to be reconstructed.

The particular construction was double skinned to give some element of thermal insulation. It was not obvious to us how Nissen Huts were originally built. John asked the Historic Buildings organisation in London to see if they had an expert on the subject. There was no one!

However after a good deal of further research, with a helping of guesswork ,work progressed although most took place between November and February during heavy winds and rain.

For the uninitiated, [and those who insist on calling it a Nissan hut] a Nissen hut is half round which made life difficult and still does!
So The Walkers' Barn was created in half of the Nissen Hut and the other half accomodates an activity room in one half of that and a workshop in the remaining section.