We live in a post-glacial landscape.
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| from the Windy gap to the Mournes |
A significant part of the charm of the Mournes Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is the pattern of stone walls (or ditches as we call them) built, over the centuries, to demark field and lane.
The stones were not quarried, but dug from the earth, when the land was cleared of glacial debris for cultivation.
It's amazing how these stones are lifted and placed. many are huge and must weigh a great deal.
Our admiration grows ever greater as we encounter our own relatively small crops of stones buried in the ground!
Once the washroom and store had been 'opened out' and the new part of the roof fitted, it was time to start on clearing the inside
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| a test dig seemed to show thin concrete over soil - not bad! |
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| nothing that a little hard work won't fix |
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| there was quite a lot of it though |
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| and many layers of activity |
It felt quite archaeological at times!
Under the thin (ish) concrete floor, was mud - and stones - big stones - and water!
Whether this was a fallen wall, and old drain, or stones in situ is hard to tell. There are some 'finds' a clay pipe, some crockery, no gold so far...
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| stones and mud |
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| water |
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| these are the smallest ones, from just half the area! |
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| a sample of the harvest |
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| some of the bigger ones |
After we removed all the stones, and levelled the ground it was time to make good - two layers of thick damp proof membrane, and concrete paving slabs - this floor is to be industrial.
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| tiny wash room! |
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| so much bigger looking now |
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| not the smoothest floor but.... |
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| the washroom end |
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| looking up towards the Turnip House |
We were most pleased with this! But to make sense of this space, we really needed to connect it with the Turnip House, which we renovated first back in 2011.
They are joined, so we thought it would be possible to 'knock through' to it. there is a level change, but only 2 or 3 steps.
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| The Turnip House - the felt studio is to the left |
The Turnip House is a beautifully constructed stone building - the smallest, and yet the finest - on site.
The next post will show how we got on knocking a hole in the adjoining wall.
You guessed it: more stones!
