The Bothy, my Perfect Home.

Not quite sure when we moved from Charminster to Dewlish, but it was magical. The Bothy was the house attached to the Dewlish House kitchen gardens. Apparently it was last occupied in the war to billet American troops. The electrics were wet and a little risky, and when we first lit a fire to try and warm the place up filled the house with smoke. The chimney had been taken over by birds and nests needed to be removed to make the place warm. Water came from a well in a little area at the back of the kitchen and needed to be pumped to a tank in the roof by hand. After some training it was possible to fill the tank in about 20 mins. The walled gardens were a jungle and it took my father and me, with additional help from my sisters and mother about a year to get it into some sort of useful shape. It was a wonderful place. There were fruit trees of every sort all around the walls of the garden and many more set in square areas of the more open space. Figs, peaches, green gauges, victoria plums, russet apples and every other sort you could think of. And to top it all, outside the main garden wall we had a stream, with trout!! My home web site talks a little about this place and has photos too. Please take a look if it interests you http://www.dewlish.com Best regards Chris