Home working at the mill

It’s now six weeks since we moved house and here finally are some photos of my new home office and surroundings. We are renting part of a converted sawmill just outside Frome and are loving our newfound peace and quiet and rural views.

Our pots of herbs seem to be thriving on it too – they have never been so green and healthy. It must be due to the proximity of the river. The steps lead up to our front door and there is room at the top for a table and chairs. It’s a suntrap from mid-afternoon and a lovely place to catch up on some reading, and think about writing projects, while looking out at the water and the little stone summerhouse (you can just see its base from the picture at the bottom of the post).

My office faces north and so gets no direct sunshine, but being on the top floor of this old building I have a view over mature trees and part of the river, where occasionally the ducks come to dabble and dive. A heron visits regularly too, and last week from the kitchen window we spotted it with a fish thrashing about in its beak before it swallowed it in one gulp! We’re told there are otters here, but haven’t seen them yet.

A’s room overlooks the front of the mill. There were small lambs when we moved in and very funny to watch bouncing around and playing with each other. The chickens sleep in a henhouse in a corner of the field, but seem to like the sheep’s company during the day.

It’s only 25 minutes walk into the centre of Frome, and we have a choice of routes along footpaths or lanes. Our favourite involves crossing the railway line – excitement, no bridge! – and through a copse, over the fields and beside the river. We’ve heard rumours that Johnny Depp is going to buy the manor house the path passes, but that rumour has come up in every place we’ve lived and plenty more! Strange that it’s always Johnny Depp…is he somehow the fantasy next-door neighbour of the British? Anyway, I’ll be sure to let you know if I ever bump into him on my way to M&S 🙂

I hope you enjoy the photos of home offices I post on my Work from Home Wisdom Facebook page. I have to admit I’m a sucker for pictures of wonderfully tidy, designery home offices (and the rest of the house!) but I certainly don’t want to give the impression that such a thing is necessary. So many people respond to my request for a photo of their home office with ‘Not until I’ve tidied up’ that I’m beginning to wonder whether I’m overdoing it. Let me know what you think, and do please keep the photos coming, along with 100 words about your home office or something vital to your home working.