Totally Treehouse

Just received this lovely pic from my creative colleagues Ang and Ash enjoying a well earned break in the North of England. They thought Jim would love the treehouse! Well, who wouldn't?

Despite being a native north easterner myself I've never made it up to Alnwick Castle to see the tremendous work Jane Northumberland has done with the garden and grounds for the arts, for children, for the community and clearly for posterity.

The Alnwick Garden website say 'everyone should spend a day in the garden' and I intend to...although I expect it might not be long enough!

Lincolnshire Treehouse

As a child reading Secret Seven I longed for a treehouse like this but we didn't have a suitable tree and my Dad was not that way inclined. Luckily for my daughter, Daddy is a tree surgeon and very clever with making and carving things in wood.

And how fortunate we are, you might think, to have a tree like that in just the right spot? Actually no. Jim has been on the look out for the right kind of tree that he could fell all in one go. He dug a huge hole and 'replanted' the tree to create the base. Our talented carpenter Rick, from Silverbrook of Lincolnshire, made the base and framework with a little trapdoor so you have to climb the tree to get inside. Such fun and much safer than ladders! Jim did the rest with rustic timber from Jonny Waterman's Woodyard at Nettleton Gap and put in a woodchip base to tidy it all up. He even added lovely old ropes for swings and climbing practice.

Best of all, my daughter loves it. And so do I. It's solid, safe, rustic, tasteful and fits perfectly in our riverside garden without a hint of nasty coloured plastic in sight!