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Our

STORY

Our

STORY

Our

STORY

OUR LIFE AT SHOALS HOOK FARM


We are Karen and Rob, who dreamed of living in the countryside, near to the coast,   with our two young children, thirty years ago. We were lucky enough to find Shoals Hook Farm, which had been empty for six months, in a perfect central location in beautiful, unspoilt Pembrokeshire. We share our home with our border collie Bramble, a stray cat who sought us out, called Merlyn, and three rescue hens, who gift us and guests wonderfully large free-range eggs.

The grounds were a blank canvas of mostly grass, allowing us to gradually plant trees, hedges, shrubs and flowers, plus to have constructed a dramatic large pond to attract lots of wildlife. We are animal lovers and over the decades have shared our home with chickens, pigs, calves, donkeys, goats, cats and dogs. Fitted in around our teaching jobs and bringing up our family, we gradually improved the farmhouse and grounds sustainably, relishing the opportunity to design and create, whilst repurposing materials and developing a perfect natural haven. Over the years it has been wonderful to appreciate the range and number of insects, birds and mammals that we share our home with: kingfishers, bats, buzzards, dragonflies. dippers, orange-tip butterflies and frogs.

Our children grew up and moved away to follow their own dreams, leaving us ready to sell the large farmhouse and create a lifestyle more suited to the two of us, but also to continue to share our passion for Pembrokeshire and to enable others to appreciate the power and beauty of nature too. So began the conversion of the old barn, which used to house horses in the distant past. It was important to us, for it to be done sustainably, reusing as many materials and our items of furniture and family pieces as possible and for it to be energy efficient.

A perfect natural haven

Our children grew up and moved away to follow their own dreams, leaving us ready to sell the large farmhouse and create a lifestyle more suited to the two of us, but also to continue to share our passion for Pembrokeshire and to enable others to appreciate the power and beauty of nature too. So began the conversion of the old barn, which used to house horses in the distant past. It was important to us, for it to be done sustainably, reusing as many materials and our items of furniture and family pieces as possible and for it to be energy efficient.

THE STORY OF THE LONG BARN

The conversion of the barn was begun in 2019, so took quite some time due to Covid. The old corrugated zinc roof was kept to add character to walls and build high fencing for the gardens. We visited Carmarthen reclamation yard to choose a huge selection of reclaimed timber for walls, architraves and construct items of furniture. Numerous scaffold boards were used to construct tables, shelves and wardrobe doors.

We have put in plenty of insulation to ensure good efficiency, alongside a ground source heat pump, which gathers heat from under the ground beside the pond and converts it into comfortable underfloor heating upstairs and downstairs. This eco-friendly form of heating is aided by solar panels and a converter to divert excess power to heat the hot water. The same thought for a sustainable future led us to using and providing cleaning products by Neat, with reusable recycled aluminium bottles, no plastic waste and naturally sourced ingredients.

echoes of the past

There are echoes of the past throughout the interiors and exterior of The Long Barn, due to family and vintage pieces being given a new home. There are several antique glass lamp shades, a dinner gong, a Singer sewing machine, old keys and a vintage garden sieve from Karen’s grandparents. You’ll also find a gorgeous Arts and Crafts dresser in Zinc and a castle-shaped bureau in Cedar, created by Rob’s great grandad, who was a carpenter at Rowton Castle in Shropshire.

re-imagining vintage items

We have had great fun in re-imagining vintage items - a cast iron drain cover is a sturdy side table, a milk cooler makes an interesting light fitting, an old copper boiler provides a perfect plant stand and the back of an old pew makes a reading nook beneath a Velux window in Zinc. The centrepiece chandelier in Zinc was constructed from an antique gear wheel, bought from Malthouse Antiques in Narberth. Many other items are appreciated for their rustic beauty: such as a characterful Welsh pig bench, an old hay knife, a hay rack from the original barn, an old mangle bought for our wedding anniversary and many old stoneware and glass bottles, alongside pewter vases, for displaying homegrown flowers.

homegrown flowers

We are lucky enough to have a large garden and Karen enjoys sharing her love of homegrown flowers with our guests. Simple, rustic arrangements are provided throughout the year, sharing the beauty of flowers such as hydrangeas, daffodils, sweet peas, dahlias, zinnias and sweet williams. Hopefully then guests will appreciate that locally grown flowers are just as good and so much better for our planet, than those that are flown across the world. In the summer, you might also discover just how delicious lavender shortbread can be, made with our homegrown lavender.

sustainability - at a glance

Ground Source Heat Pump

Solar Panels

Re-used Materials

Repurposed Vintage Finds

100% Green Energy

Homegrown Flowers

Homegrown Firewood

Eco Cleaning Products

Recycled Toilet Tissues

Eco Toiletries

EV Charging Point

Recycling of all recyclable waste

Bio-diversity Improvements to Grounds

Very High Levels of Insulation

Coconut Sponge Scourers

sustainability - at a glance

Ground Source Heat Pump

Solar Panels

Re-used Materials

Repurposed Vintage Finds

100% Green Energy

Homegrown Flowers

Homegrown Firewood

Bio-diversity Improvements to Grounds

Eco Toiletries

Recycling of All Recyclable Waste

EV Charging Point

Very High Levels of Insulation

Coconut Sponge Scourers

Recycled Toilet Tissue

Eco Cleaning Products

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