Natural building
Over the years I’ve been fortunate to be able to create a number of what are generally termed ‘natural’ buildings. What do we mean when we say Natural Building? Well for me it means using natural materials, which are usually biodegradeable, and often...
Off Grid Camper
This is my 1974 Citroen HY camper. Since my original post, she’s had an awful lot of work, and is now able to be used fully off grid. The 200ah lithium leisure battery powers the camper and is charged by a combination of the engine, when the van is on the move,...
The hobbity bit
When I say that 2025 wasn’t a good year, I forget that somehow we managed to finish what was really quite a big job. It all started when out of frustration at the never ending rodent problem down at the wood store end of our living room, I decided that the way...
Meet Minou
Something that was on my list for last year and which got moved to this year is to visit some of the many folk that I’ve supplied with energy systems, or simply advice, or met along the way, and record their stories, in writing, in pictures and maybe video, with...
Rebuilding in 2026
Well, its been a while. I’ll gloss over the absence of posts for the last while and continue as if nothing happened. 2025 (and really 2024) was a bad year – my mum was ill for a long time, and died at the end of May 2025, and then the rest of the year...
Looking forward to 2026 at Lackan Cottage Farm
Aaaand – we’re back. Let’s just pretend that the yawning gap between the last post and this one didn’t happen. A lot has happened here at Lackan and now that 2026 is upon us, it feels like we are moving into a new phase. Anyone who has followed...
Hedge time
Something we learned the hard way is that it’s great to let some things grow wild, but that others really do need managing. In particular, hedges. Our early years here were marked by a pretty militant approach to minimal intervention, which firstly went down...
Round(ish) house project update
After two years I’ve finally succumbed to covid, so am waiting out my quarantine by updating some of the information on the website. First up is the roundhouse – a project that at one point I thought would never end. After a quick start, the thought of...
Celebrating our tenth year with new courses
2022 marks our tenth year here at Lackan Cottage Farm, and a lot has changed, both here at the farm and in the wider world. Much of what we’ve done here seems very relevant in 2022, and many things that were relatively ‘fringe’ back in 2012 are...
Tour and talk at Lackan – 28th May
This is our tenth year here at Lackan. After two years when we’ve basically been closed down, and the world has changed in many ways it is time to open up again. We’ve had lots of requests from people to come and look around and ask questions, and this is...
Tour and talk at Lackan -24th April 2022
This is our tenth year here at Lackan. After two years when we’ve basically been closed down, and the world has changed in many ways it is time to open up again. We’ve had lots of requests from people to come and look around and ask questions, and this is...