We bought house for £1k & transformed it into play den for our grandchildren – now we make thousands renting it out

A COUPLE who transformed a £1,250 cottage into a life-size playhouse for their grandchildren present marque thousands by renting it retired to holidaymakers.

Alban, 86 and Angela Bunting, 82, renovated the derelict 17th period spot successful 1964 and built 3 unthinkable miniature houses connected the land.

The thought came to them erstwhile Alban and Angela archetypal heard the quality that they were going to beryllium grandparents.

They decided to plan and physique 3 playhouses for their much-loved grandchildren.

The archetypal instauration was a cottage successful Gothic benignant built for Ruth successful 2002 - with a spiral achromatic staircase inside.

The 2nd 1 was an Elizabethan lodge for Tom successful 2003 - made with oak railway sleepers.

And the 3rd 1 for Charlotte - a station bureau and store - built successful 2005 with Indian bricks and sandstone blocks.

The unthinkable postulation tin beryllium recovered successful Binegar, Somerset, aft the mates moved to the distant colony from Hertfordshire.

Now called Spindle Cottage, it is present of the astir unsocial gardens and vacation lets successful Britain.

The cottage, shepherd's hut, gardens and playhouses person featured connected BBC's Gardeners' World, Open Gardens and Channel 4's Amazing Spaces.

Angela said: "As soon arsenic we knew determination was a babe coming and Alban waited for the commencement and helium made it for Ruth - she perfectly loved it erstwhile she came connected holiday.

"Tom loved his playhouse - helium told Ruth and Charlotte 'you can't spell successful present unless you person my permission' - helium was rather a character.

"Once helium got a mobile telephone helium could instrumentality pictures of them and said 'if you interruption successful present I americium going to instrumentality pictures of you and I americium going to telephone the police'".

Alban said: "The last 1 was Charlotte's and that is simply a Victorian station bureau and a transcript of 1 I had done successful my colony erstwhile I apprentice carpenter and joiner."

Angela added: "She looked precise cute this tiny small miss wobbling into the store with her store successful beforehand of her and sometimes she came retired with a handbasket of integrative strawberries to play."

When asked wherefore they moved to Somerset, Angela explained they spotted a cottage that was successful request of repairs.

She said: "When we recovered this 1 we thought this is successful the worst signifier but it has the astir potential.

"We knew the motorway was going to beryllium built truthful getting a location successful Somerset was going to beryllium expensive.

"After we had bought it we were inactive surviving successful Hertfordshire and we were coming down present weekends and holidays to bash enactment connected it and we'd walk the full play doing the adjacent important job.

"It had sitting tenants successful 1 fractional and this fractional was successful a atrocious authorities - each the beams were covered up.

"The neighbours said they were going to determination retired to a bungalow and that the remainder of the location was going to beryllium ours - we were delighted."

When they moved successful 3 years aboriginal aft buying the location they came backmost with 2 boys - and their 3rd lad would aboriginal calved successful the cottage's upstairs room.

When their boys near they decided to crook the cottage into a vacation fto to marque other wealth - with radical from each implicit the state and overseas visiting.

With their mediate lad having 3 kids, Alban fto his originative broadside instrumentality implicit erstwhile much and physique the 3 playhouses for their grandchildren.

Alban would walk his evenings and weekends moving connected the houses successful his spare time.

Angela said: "Our grandchildren would travel for a full week to play successful the houses. And they wanted america to travel buying successful the station office.

"People connected vacation erstwhile they got to cognize what we were doing they'd stitchery tins and things for the station bureau and radical kept bringing things for america and that's however we filled it each up - including a metallic till."

But present arsenic their grandchildren person grown up to play successful their designed houses they are utilized by kids successful the colony oregon tourists who enactment successful the cottage.

The twelvemonth each constituent was built oregon created wrong the cottage by Alban has been carved successful stone, wood and beams.

"In each his spare clip Alban would bash the originative sides of the house," said Angela.

Alban added: "People often inquire maine what would you bash if you person great-grandchildren?

''And I accidental it volition either beryllium a religion oregon the precise old-fashioned pub with a nationalist saloon bar.''

Angela concluded: "I deliberation immoderate great-grandchildren would conscionable emotion to play successful these houses. If I americium astir I person to marque definite it is each cleanable and tidy."

One reappraisal said: "This cottage is what puerility dreams are made of. I was amazed that determination wasn't a cupboard that really led to Narnia!''

Carol Klein, BBC Open Garden, said: ''This is simply a plot not conscionable for plants people, but for the full family. I deliberation this is the astir inspiring plot I've ever been in.''