About Our Journey
Follow our Scottish adventures as we endeavor to live a more sustainable life.
Some while ago, our family attended a talk by Dr Tony Whitbread, the former Chief Executive of Sussex Wildlife Trust, and a renowned expert on rewilding and conservation. His talk, and a subsequent visit by us to Knepp Estate in Sussex, convinced us to seek a new home with a more self-sufficient and sustainable future, for all three generations who came up from Sussex. We wanted the space to rewild some land and to start growing some of our own food to become more sustainable. We are all so happy with our decision to move.
We explored many different areas of Scotland, and settled on the lovely Scottish Borders. We moved into Whim House, which was built in 2000, and which stands in 3 acres, in the former walled garden of Whim Hall. The Hall is an 18th Century manor house, now occupied as a care home, but originally built as a shooting lodge by the Duke of Argyll.
We are surrounded by beautiful woodland and farmland, and nature abounds here. The grounds are already starting to benefit from sympathetic replanting and rewilding. We continue to seek to encourage nature to thrive through our activities here.
We decided to explore the possibility of establishing a glamping site to encourage visitors to the area. We wish to offer a “back to nature” experience in relaxing and comfortable accommodation. The pods will be eco-friendly, built and erected by a Scottish supplier and supplied and serviced exclusively by local businesses. The layout will be aesthetically pleasing with little or no adverse impact to the land as the pods require no permanent foundations. The site will seek to minimise any impact on local biodiversity and will incorporate a bat and moth friendly lighting scheme. We have also recently been granted 141 indigenous trees from the Woodland Trust to improve biodiversity, and to create and support new ecosystems and we hope some visitors can enjoy many return visits to watch them grow.
Our guests will be able to enjoy the peaceful contemplation of nature and the lovely surroundings, as well as enjoying the many attractions of the Borders and the magnificent City of Edinburgh. It is our ethos to recycle and to minimize water and electricity usage to support the global efforts to develop land and sustainable futures.