It was the end of November 2020, the year the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted so many people's lives and cancelled or postponed many people's much anticipated holidays. It was no different for our family, we had a festival that we were really looking forward to cancelled and didn't manage to find the right opportunity to take a break all year. And what a year it has been!

Instead we've pushed forward with our Roundhouse build so that we can provide a much needed escape for our guests to come and relax here. 

As we approached the completion of Willow Roundhouse, with fine details and finishing touches occupying us, we were determined not to forget a promise we had made many months ago to our children.
A promise that our family would be the first guests in the Roundhouse.

Last week it finally looked like there was a slight possibility that we could actually have a weekend break nestled in Willow Roundhouse. We started the week with sofas and the bed to be put up, plumbing figured out and a long list of little jobs to be finished. After a week of giving a last big push to have the Roundhouse habitable, in rolled Friday morning and me and Seb committed to each other that we would actually stay and we would spend the weekend enjoying a much needed break all together as a family.

The Big Surprise

Surprises are so much fun, aren't they? For the receiver and for the organiser and we couldn't resist keeping the holiday a secret from our boys.

To give us time to rush around packing and preparing the surprise holiday Nanna & grandad took Elliot and Dylan to the park with their bikes. When they returned we had everything ready - the woodburner lit, bedding sorted and clothes packed. 

We led them down to the Roundhouse as dusk approached, under the premise of wanting to show them all the furnishings in place. They were eager to come and see the finished space, having played such a large part in this whole process - from physically building, painting, helping to choose furnishings and unpacking the many, many, many boxes that have recently been delivered.

You should have seen the surprise and excitement on their little faces as it dawned on them that our family would actually be staying as guests, then, that night - after months of longing, this day had finally come. 

A Magical Winter Weekend

Our weekend in Willow Roundhouse, as the 1st ever guests, was spent simply perfectly and I couldn't have imagined anything better. Here's what we got up to:

• The fire roared away keeping us cosy

• We feasted on a roast dinner, freshly cooked in the oven

• We played countless games of chess, Labyrinth and Pass the Pigs

• Many hours was spent reading together, on the sofa, the bed and at the window seat

• We fell asleep with the gentle moonlight shimmering through the dome, embraced by the goose down duvet

• We enjoyed adventures in the woodland - climbing trees, and making dens

• We played games of swing tennis outside

• We indulged in a cooked breakfast, admiring the view of the trees.

The highlight for our family was the sense of calm and relaxation we got from spending time with our loved ones in such a peaceful, natural building.

After 2 long years of being a building site it felt unbelievable to actually be sitting on soft, comfortable furnishings nestled by the smooth curves of the clay and straw walls. I honestly had to keep pinching myself.

It really was the perfect weekend and whilst we're inclined to move in permanently we are going to resist this urge and instead look forward to giving others the perfect escape from the everyday, especially needed this year.

Tagged: roundhouse, Glamping, Special occasion, Christmas