Our customers love to share their hut stories with us. In fact, some are so kind, generous and warm that we feel we’ve created a real Blackdown family.
One such delight is Jenn Dickens, who adores her hut. (We think there might be a little bit of a soft spot there for Alan too!). Jenn’s dog, Milly, has also benefited from the Blackdown huts.
This is Jenn’s (and Milly’s) hut tale….
We live on a farm close to the original Severn Bridge with Milly, our border collie.
Probably 12 years ago we went to Frampton-on-Severn Country show and I fell in love with a shepherd hut. Nothing happened until 2015 when I looked at various websites and we rang Blackdown. Alan invited us down the same afternoon and it all went from there.
We did the tour and John, my husband, was very impressed with the workshop and the enthusiasm, while I liked the hospitality! We ordered a self-build hut and it was delivered by William on the 8th October 2015. It was stored in a barn until the weather broke and this made time for indoor work.
We visited Blackdown to collect the sofa bed we’d ordered and John mentioned to Alan his next project would be a hut for Milly. He was offered a piece of curved roofing for free and Milly’s kennel project went from there. Milly now has her own little shepherd hut as a kennel!
The hut was moved into the garden in time for Christmas and much admired. Our hut is decorated in a very similar way to the ones I drank tea in because I sourced the fixtures and fittings to match Blackdown’s. A public footpath runs through the farm and we often see people taking pictures and hear their comments – they think it’s very old and authentic!
The village people love sitting in it and various groups use it for tea breaks and lunches. Everyone is surprised how spacious it is – it’s 14 foot long and very well insulated, so it can be used all year round.
Blackdown have been very supportive. Bridie went out of her way to send John pictures when he was unsure at one stage of the build and Alan was always quick to answer queries or find someone who could. Their teamwork is brilliant and the materials and instructions second to none. It’s easy to recommend them and I would love others to become members of the growing Blackdown family!
Jenn Dickens & John Gee, Manor Farm, Aust