The main bathroom at Seaside Lodge
The main bathroom at Seaside Lodge is complete.
The forecast is warm, with continual showers and occasional deep baths.
Fluffy towels in abundance
Little luxe touches make all the difference
If you’d like to stay in our newly renovated 1950s wooden lodge, on a lake and just 80m from a quiet, unspoilt beach, drop us an email at info@boltholeproperties.com
Bedroom 1 at Seaside Lodge is now officially complete!
Pictures of the en-suite shower room – and all the other rooms – to follow over the next few days.
Available to let from 1 June 2015. For more info, drop us an email at info@boltholeproperties.com
Bedroom 1 at Seaside Lodge, has an en-suite shower room
Egyptian cotton bedding, Hypnos mattress and interior design touches
Painted floorboards, Egyptian cotton bedding and a view over the lake.
This kitsch 1950s nautical lamp is just one of many original touches in Seaside Lodge
1 medium sized tree = more wood than we thought possible.
Two recurring themes at Seaside Lodge: water and wood.
Water, because the lodge is sat right on the edge of a lake and is just a lazy 80m amble from Anderby Creek beach, one of the UK’s best kept secret beaches (says AOL Travel).
Wood, because it’s everywhere.
A light-stealing Sycamore has come down (to be replaced with a bed of coastal grasses and shrubs). Leaving 4 enormous piles of timber to be chopped up and left to season for the log burner at Seaside Lodge. There’ll be no bingo wings for us this year.
Also, on the wood theme, we put up some shelves made of scaffold boards and poles in the Lodge. And, we think they look really good.
Seaside Lodge’s kitchen is simple and open plan, but with plenty of modern appliances.
Next up, is making good the original 1958 cedar cladding outside.
Definitely on countdown to launch now!
If you are interested in staying in:
a) A luxury bolthole, near a picturesque, dog-friendly beach
b) A romantic hideaway with lovely views of the lake, and plenty of luxe touches
c) A peaceful lakeside lodge, where you can finish the book/painting/commission/drink too much wine, light the log burner and stare at the lake
from June 2015, please drop us an email: info@boltholeproperties.com.
To enquire about staying in this 1950s lakeside hideaway from June 2015 (near one of Britain’s ‘best undiscovered beaches‘), drop us an email: info@boltholeproperties.com.
Seaside Lodge is just 80m from one of Britain’s top hidden beaches
As we near the end of Seaside Lodge’s renovation, it’s fun to look back at some of the pictures we took when we first wielded a mallet.
We’ve nearly finished inside – another fortnight and it’ll be tip top. A perfect bolthole to relax and unwind in.
Now we’re finishing the exterior and garden. There’s painting, new cedar cladding, a dining/sitting deck over the lake, and the garden to landscape. With lots of coastal plants and grasses in soft yellows and blues.
So, although there’s still the finishes touches to complete, here are some before and (almost) after pics:
Privacy, restored.
Both of the privies at Seaside Lodge are now a lot more private. There are two lovely bathrooms at Seaside Lodge, both with showers, one with a big, deep bath.
Let there be light
That pile of insulation is now in the walls, and the original 1950s window over the south is flooded with light. There’s a quiet sitting area up here, with heaps of good books, games and DVDs to while away a quiet afternoon not spent on the beach.
Goodbye, plastic accordion door.
We’ll kind of miss that door. (No, we won’t)
A window to the west
Seaside Lodge’s kitchen is in the middle of the large open plan living space – 2 big sitting areas north and south and a dining/writing/study area to the east.
Now, a room with a view.
The master bedroom at Seaside Lodge now has another window, so you can wake up to the tranquil view over the lake. There’s an en-suite shower room too.
To enquire about staying in this 1950s lakeside hideaway from June 2015 (near one of Britain’s ‘best undiscovered beaches‘), drop us an email: info@boltholeproperties.com.
Kitch + 1950s + nautical.
We’re feverishly opening boxes at Seaside Lodge, unpacking all the pieces we’ve been collecting from the four corners (of the UK) to give the lodge a special lodge-y-1950s-slightly-Scandi-a-tad-nautical-English-seaside-creative feel. It’s exciting, we forgot we had stalked and hunted down some of these treasures.
A post about the finishes touches shortly – when we finally get to the bottom of all the bubble wrap.
Renovation-wise, we’re nearly done inside. Some final painting, kitchen door fronts and scaffold shelving to complete. Here are some pics from the last week. Happy to report the lodge definitely looks more like a messy home than a building site. There’s progress for you.
Now, on to the garden. The planting is underway. We start building the deck over the lake in a week or so.
Technically, a stag isn’t a seaside animal. But this one is wooden. So it’s allowed.
The bedrooms are finished. Yay!
Lousy shot, great view at sunset. In future, we won’t let the photographer near the rosé.
The main living area is getting there!
Kitchen wall – bear with, it’s going to look great.
Stop press: duck egg 1950s tiles now on kitchen wall.
Waking up to the view of the lake – bliss.
No matter what time you open the blinds, Colin the Moorhen will be doggedly swimming across the lake. And back again.
The first print is up – Ground Swell by Edward Hopper. A present from our pal Mandy.
There are many more paintings and prints to follow.
Seaside Lodge’s personalised postbox.
Totally unnecessary postbox, but kind of sweet.
Love chilly evenings at Seaside Lodge.
You too will come to love a cold snap. It’s an excuse to light the log burner and snuggle down for the evening.
To enquire about staying in our 1950s lakeside hideaway (near one of Britain’s ‘best undiscovered beaches‘), please drop us an email: info@boltholeproperties.com
Seaside Lodge has one of the last remaining original 1950s window at the front.
There’s been a lot of window action at Seaside Lodge over the last few days.
We still have the outside to renovate and paint, and the garden to plant and fence, but inside the transformation is moving really quickly now. (Just as well, our first guests are booked in May!)
The frosted effect being fitted to the the south facing 1950s window.
First to get the treatment was the big window over the front of the lodge. It’s south facing and wonderfully warm and bright, but the etch-effect helps diffuse really stark light, and the Seaside Lodge design fits perfectly into the top left window in the pic above. Many thanks to Mark and Michelle (and Mia and Marni) from brilliant sign designers and manufacturers De-signage for coming over and fitting it. We all went for out for fish and chips afterwards too (any excuse for chips…mmm, chips).
No more sheets across windows at Seaside Lodge.
Just one more window to go, then Seaside Lodge will be officially curtained-up. There will be a ceremonial burning of the old ones!
To enquire about staying in our 1950s lakeside hideaway (near one of Britain’s ‘best undiscovered beaches‘), drop us an email: info@boltholeproperties.com
Goodbye old curtains!
Blinds up in the master bedroom -lovely to open them first thing and watch the birds on the lake.
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been steadily chipping away at the remaining renovation projects on Seaside Lodge, and we can see the finishing line in our sights. Visits from a 2 holiday home professionals have been informative and helpful, and both of them said the lodge is going to be at the top end of a four star property, which is lovely to hear.
We got a lot done over the last few days, and managed to have some serious beach time too.
1 lattice willow hedge planted
1 weeping willow by the lake planted
2 sea buckthorns planted
1 bay tree planted
2 garden bird boxes installed
3 blinds put up
3 door frames painted
4 cupboards fitted out and undercoated
Ensuite shower room completed
1 wall painted
10 cakes eaten (we needed the energy).
Everything is on-stream for lettings to commence in May – we’ve even got our first 4 bookings! The website is underway and should be up in three weeks. To enquire about staying in Seaside Lodge please drop us an email: info@boltholeproperties.com
The main bathroom is nearly finished
The master bedroom is painted
The en suite shower room at Seaside Lodge is complete – and fab.
Top tip: bring kite strings to Anderby Creek beach.
Walking down to the beach from the Round and Round House – a 360 hide to watch wildlife.
Hiding in the hide.
A walk through the dunes to the hide.
After all that fresh air we needed non-cake sustenance. The platter at The Fat Seagull up the road was delicious.
The Fat Seagull’s platter is yummy.
Finally, the french doors go in. At the moment the deck overlooking the lake is a makeshift construction with 3 pallets, but even so, the view is knockout.
The old window over the lake, from the sales brochure
How it looked, once the walls came down.
Open ’til late.
A late night getting the doors fitted.
Next morning at Anderby Creek. 50% more lake and sky.
Words are bit superfluous here. Pictures taken on the beach, with an iPhone, at Anderby Creek 2 days ago. Sky and light were utterly breathtaking. And, the beach was empty.
Deserted beach and a blue, blue sky.
Looking South toward the outfall on a sunny February afternoon on Anderby Creek beach
The photogenic beach houses at Anderby Creek
Susanne adding a bit of colour contrast up in the Cloud Bar.
The clouds on Anderby Creek beach can be nothing short of awe-inspiring.
Anderby Creek Cloud Bar mirror
A lot to do at Seaside Lodge this morning – painting, pruning, sanding and waxing (furniture, cheeky!), but the sky is blue and it’s very hard to believe it’s mid-February.
So, we’re going to have another coffee and stare out at the lake some more.
Like Franz Kafka said: “Idleness is the beginning of all vice, the crown of all virtues”.
Splash of milk in my coffee please.
Seaside Lodge, lazy Sunday morning.
Seaside Lodge, lazy Sunday morning II
“We can’t sit around staring at the lake and drinking coffee all day”.
So we walked to the beach instead.
By the way, all these pics were taken on the morning of 15th February 2015 – it got cooler later, but the beach was as warm as the end of April.
We did get quite a lot done on the lodge later, I sanded and waxed an Ercol chair and Jon painted a floor, but it was one heck of a way to start the day.
Seaside Lodge, lazy Sunday morning III
Seaside Lodge, lazy Sunday morning IV
I’ve come across some lovely old images of Anderby Creek. I thought you may find it interesting if I group them together and post a batch from time to time. So, here’s no.1 – Anderby Creek’s lovely beach. Although the landscape has changed little over the last 8 decades, the amount of people on it has. I’ll start with a picture I took one sunny Sunday last September. Me and the fisherman were the only people on the beach. It’s easy to see why it has been voted one of Britain’s best undiscovered beaches. Bliss.
Voted one of Britain’s best undiscovered beaches
The beach at Anderby Creek pre-1953
Hard to date this picture of Anderby Creek beach – any guesses?
Anderby Creek beach, late 50s-early 60s (looking at the clothing and donkeys!)
Anderby Creek beach…I’m guessing sometime in the 1950s
The beach at Anderby Creek, late 40s/early 50s. At first I thought later, but those high waist trousers tell their own story. Unless it’s Simon Cowell’s dad.
I think this is one of the earliest Anderby Creek beach pics here – probably 1930s.
Donkeys! Tank tops! Hair grips like her off Follyfoot! This Anderby Creek beach pic is late 1960s-early 1970s, I reckon.
Seaside Lodge was built in 1959. I wonder if the first owners used their knitting machine to craft cossies like these little beauties?
1959 knitting pattern
October disappeared under a pile of insulation boards.
All but 2 of the internal walls came down, and the new ones went up. Temporarily, the loo stays put, right in the middle of the lodge in the door way to what is now (or shortly will be) the main bedroom. This is fine for the chaps, they don’t object to public peeing, but not ideal for the rest of us. Sitting on the loo affords a near-panoramic view, with windows on 3 sides. My tea drinking habit vanishes at the seaside.
There’s a lovely view on the other side of all that insulation.
Goodbye, old bathroom.
The old walls are down and the new ones go up
The Presidential suite boasts en suite facilities and flat screen telly
We can’t see the trees for the wood.
The lodge stripped out, these are our temporary facilities:
Delightfully quirky unfitted kitchen
Jonno’s special ‘turny tap’
Minimalist, exhibitionist toilet
Then, something happens…
The internet comes to Seaside Lodge
Seaside Lodge boasts state of the art technology, as can be seen in this picture of ‘technology corner’
Finally, for October, here’s a picture on Anderby Creek beach late one afternoon. Less than 100m away, and lovely.
Anderby Creek beach, late afternoon, October.
Seaside Lodge 