A creative 89-year-old built his own Hobbit house and now lives off-grid
Source: https://metro.co.uk/2023/01/16/lord-of-the-rings-fans-will-love-this-mans-hobbit-house-18106255/
Author: Alice Giddings
A woodcutter has built his own Hobbit-like cottage that even Bilbo Baggins would be proud of. But he’s revealed he has never actually watched Lord of the Rings. Great-grandad Stuart Grant, 89, moved into the 200-year-old cottage near Inverness, in 1984. He bought it as a wreck with no roof and no doors, with the plan to live in it while he was renovating another house. But the dad-of-two enjoyed doing DIY on the quirky outbuilding so much, he decided to make it his home. He’s lived in the cottage for almost 40 years – but has recently been inundated with Lord of the Rings fans after his home was posted on a website recommending places to visit in Scotland. ‘It’s not a fancy house, it is made from other people’s left overs.’ Stuart had split his time between the UK and Australia since 1959, then stad working on his Scottish home in 1984. He then made a year-long trip to Australia afterwards and a couple of shor trips to oz also, so says he worked on it ‘in slow motion.’ Stuart attached a roof and doors and wanted to live comfortably in the little shed while doing up the main house. He added: ‘I was getting such a buzz out of doing it. I don’t know how much it cost. ‘I cut the wood myself from fallen trees and collected stones from the river for the stonework. I put the stairs in. ‘It took quite a few years, I never counted it. I just enjoyed doing it so much. I got carried away.’
Stuart lives almost entirely off the grid – he doesn’t have a mobile phone or use the internet, and no longer drives due to his age, but says he loves getting out and meeting people.