The Waterhouse

The Waterhouse is a newly built eco, oak framed timber pole house, supported by square oak posts. A stream runs under the deck and feeds a large pond, a major feature of a series of beautifully planted terraced gardens surrounding the house. Our cottage is not visible from the Waterhouse and high fencing and thick planting of trees, shrubs and climbers, make the site very private and peaceful.
Building on The Waterhouse was started in early 2006 and completed in May 2007. The building is of exceptionally high quality and has been built by our-selves, from our own design and using the skills of local craftsmen. It is nearly all home made, even the doors and windows.
It is surrounded by stunning, undulating countryside, beside a farm track and fields full of sheep and cows in summer months. It is only 3 miles from the coast and woodland and hill walks are minutes away as are a number of lochs
  

A warm welcome

Holidays here are aimed at natural, peaceful living, eco-friendly, enjoying nature in the gardens as much as possible. The place is a little alternative, but very comfortable.
We hope to share some time with you and offer a getting to know you meal with drinks on the Sunday (optional) as part of the price. Meat is locally produced, free range from butchers and vegetables from the garden in season or local greengrocers. Meals can be outdoors, in our dining room, or in The Waterhouse. We also hope to offer evening meals some evenings, at a reasonable cost with a wide menu on offer.
We have not installed a TV in The Waterhouse, to avoid temptation, but the house does have a built in CD stereo system. We will be happy to offer occasional screenings, on request, on our Cinema System.

Naturism

The Waterhouse is naturist optional. Not all members of your group need to be naturist and how often is entirely up to yourselves, from Jacuzzi only, or all the time.
We also take bookings from non-naturists, so please share this information with non- naturist, but nature loving friends.
We want to create an unusual, unique, flexible holiday opportunity that with a second property will become a small, intimate centre we hope you will want to come back to. We do not wish to be a naturist club, and we do not belong to a club. We are open to all and wish to encourage naturist tolerance.  
The Gardens are very well screened and private and recent plantings will shortly make the site even more so. A farm track passes by that gets light traffic, but at present one hundred per cent privacy from farm vehicles is not possible in all of the gardens. The Jacuzzi is very private all year round and most of the site from May to October.  The living room faces south and has double doors and large oak framed glass windows on 2 sides, so it is easily possible to be naked most days indoors if not out, although the decking is a suntrap. A warm eco-friendly wood pellet stove also helps in cooler weather.
We plan to add 2 small properties next year, a wooden ” Wigwam” and a Gypsy caravan. These will  both sleep 2, be much cheaper and suit short bookings more. They will add to the sociable, communal atmosphere and help create a mini-centre.

Accommodation

The Waterhouse has a double bedroom with a chunky wooden bed and a glass door opening on to the deck. There is a second, small bedroom with built in, comfortable,wide bunk beds for children or agile adults.
The bathroom between bedrooms has a solar heated shower (with mains back up), WC and washbasin.
The well-appointed kitchen, with gas hob and oven, is part of the open-plan living space, with a dining table for 4, a leather sofa and chairs.  All furniture is high quality, UK crafted and wooden, like the house.
The deck has tables and chairs where you can eat and relax, sun-loungers for use inside or out and a single hammock, umbrellas and a basic movable barbecue.

Contents

The Waterhouse is fully equipped with cutlery, crockery, glassware, pots and pans, cooker, fridge freezer, kettle, toaster, tea towels, vacuum cleaner, smoke detector, and fire extinguisher.  
Bed linen and towels are provided as well as a starter pack of basic groceries and cleaning materials.

Activities

Dumfries and Galloway is one of the most outstandingly beautiful, least spoilt and least known parts of Britain.  Galloway, in the Southwest of Scotland has a stunning coastline, with many beautiful, secluded, sandy beaches. The Southern Uplands contain breathtaking hills and mountains, with flora and wildlife to match anywhere in the UK.

The local towns and villages are outstanding, with the jewel being the Artists town and fishing port of Kirkcudbright, only 3 miles from us.  The food town of Castle Douglas is 7 miles away and is an excellent shopping area for quality food and drink, including Sulwath Brewery that produces award-winning ales. The cultural life is excellent, with regular Music, Arts and Crafts festivals throughout the year.
If you like cycling, we have 2 bicycles for loan, to explore the beautiful surroundings. If tennis is your sport, we can loan rackets and organise use of local courts in Kirkcudbright. If you want a night out, we can arrange reliable childminders or get you concert tickets for the numerous events in the area. Before you come, we will ask about your interests and inform you of what is on offer during your stay. If you are interested in gardens for instance, we can organise visits to outstanding gardens, including those not open to the public.  The south west of Scotland contains some of the most beautiful gardens in the country, including the sub-tropical, Port Logan botanic gardens, warmed by the Gulf Stream.

Safety

The water in the large pond is up to 2 meters deep and is dangerous to young children. It is not safe to swim in the pond because it is fed by a stream which runs through adjoining farmland.
The large deck outside the house will have removable gates installed on request to keep children in.
The deck housing the heated, 4  person Jacuzzi, which is communal, has no gates.
There is outdoor safety lighting.
The entire property is fenced and has large gates, which children would find difficult to open.  These are kept closed at all times to keep cows and sheep out of the property.

General Information

In keeping with the environmental ethos of The Waterhouse and gardens, the building and contents have been designed to minimise carbon emissions and to be as natural a build as possible.  All timber in the building and decks comes from local and/or sustainable sources.  The living roof is clad in green sedum to lessen environmental impact on the landscape.  The thick insulation is natural Thermafleece, sheep’s wool. Interior paints and varnish are safe and natural green products. The windows have heat  reflective glass.  To reduce energy use, all light bulbs are low energy and electrical appliances have been kept to a minimum.  Water is heated using a solar panel and a bio-mass wood pellet stove is the main source of heat.
Separate bins are provided to recycle paper, glass and cans and there is a compost heap for organic matter.
There is no telephone or internet connection in The Waterhouse.  Reception for mobile phones is poor in the property but gets better as you drive towards town. The house phone can be used in emergencies or for incoming messages.
There is a launderette in Kirkcudbright.
There is disabled access to The Waterhouse, however, the terraced nature of the gardens, makes wheelchair use of the gardens difficult.  The large deck is accessible.