Cae Non

Again, a dearth of blog posts has very much been the case recently… but it is not because we have been idle; in fact it is because out in the real world, we have been very active! But often, the best laid out plans tend to be different in their planning to their execution, and sometimes an opportunity arises that is too good to pass up.

I had planned for some time to build another shed at Cae Non to use exclusively for my pharmacy equipment and herbal preparation; also as a space where I can teach one or two people at a time. I’d planned to do this sometime next winter. So, there I am taking my university finals, and a friend from Llanberis posts that he has a shed for sale. It’s listed as being ‘Very strong’. Ideal. It looked like it was about 5′ x 7′. So I said I’d have it in the middle of June and thought little more about it.

Fast forward a month, and I’m back at home, and arranged to go round to look at/dismantle this shed. I’ve done this before with other sheds, and it is usually pretty easy. Most sheds sold in the UK are built with 1/4” wood. Which is very thin, but also light and easy to manage. When I arrived to look at this building, I found something more akin to a nuclear bunker. It was designed to survive living in a garden in Fachwen, a thousand feet above Llanberis. So it was built with 3/4” decking panels with 2x2s for the roof, held together with 8” screws and metal strapping in the corners. First thought: It isn’t going to go in the Berlingo. Holger turns up, and it takes us another 5 hours to dismantle the shed into individual panels with a seperate roof

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 days later, we’re back with a hired van. I’d ordered a ‘Short Wheelbase Transit’ and instead they gave me a Vauxhall Vivaro. The transit has a 9′ bed, the Vivaro has a 7′ bed. The shed panels were 8′ long. Soooo, with an hour of further twiddling, and with the shed panels sticking out of the back doors by a foot, we ponderously set off to Cae Non.

So, we now have the nuclear bunker ready. I’ll probably reassemble it in the autumn or winter, after the busy herb harvesting and processing season has finished (more on this later). But it is an exciting winter project!