A steep learning curve

There are a number of character traits you need to take on a tricky property conversion and former motorcycle racing champion Graham Atha has them all.

He is fearless, competitive, calm under pressure and, like most serious bikers, there's a glint of madness in his eyes, which all helped when he decided to turn a ruined windmill into a holiday home. "People thought I was mad," says Graham. "It was a derelict pile of bricks covered in ivy and there was a tree growing out of the middle of it. The sails had long gone, and its only use was for storing old tractor tyres. But I knew it could work,"

The grade two listed windmill, next to his bungalow in Fishlake, near Doncaster, is part of the farmstead he and his partner Sheena bought 20 years ago. Back then he was busy with his engineering firm, but when he sold it in 2003, he turned his attention to what had become a tumbledown eyesore in his garden. "There was some money available for diversifying and I thought the windmill would be the ideal project, though it ended up costing a lot more than I thought it would."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The planners didn't share his vision and Graham had a protracted battle to get permission. It took three years to get approval. "It was frustrating. They kept coming up with new hurdles. Six months in they'd ask for a flood report, then another few months on and they'd ask for a tree survey, then a bat survey, but we got there in the end."

Permission was granted for the mill to be converted and a small single-storey extension added. The property now has an open-plan kitchen/dining room, sitting room and bathroom on the ground floor with two bedrooms on the first and top floors.

Graham started on site in 2006 doing much of the work himself, helped by Abell Joinery. He began by underpinning the building, then sourced bricks from The Handmade Brick Company in York to rebuild the top of the mill, pointing them with traditional lime mortar. His biggest challenge was making the circular interior work. "It was a bit of make it up as you go along inside. I couldn't get in there until the scaffold was up because it wasn't safe. Once I was in I was forever sketching ideas out. The conversion turned into a full-time job and it was interesting but very time consuming. There were a lot of challenges because the building is circular and everything took three or four times longer than on an normal building.

"Getting the plasterboard to fit the circular walls was difficult. I put the boards in an old barn to make them damp so we could bend them."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The fit-out also took a lot of thought and so Graham turned his hand to interior design. He managed to find some old floorboards made from 100-year-old Spanish sherry vats.

"My brother-in-law bought them years ago in Spain and had them stored away. They were perfect for the mill and if you rub them you can still smell the alcohol."

He also created a feature fireplace and designed fire doors that look traditional, but his biggest expense inside, was the kitchen and appliances, which cost 10,000. He added a 21st century luxury on the patio outside: a hot tub.

Although he isn't keen on shopping, he found most of the soft furnishings and furniture he wanted at Trago Mills in Falmouth, where he likes to holiday.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Space in the bedrooms was tight, so he came up with some innovative ideas. The oval beds were made by a local shop Dunsville Discounts, while the second bedroom boasts a platform bed.

With nowhere for wardrobes, there are hooks and hangers on the walls instead.

The renovation took two years and cost 230,000, but was an instant success.

"We've had people from Japan, America, France, Holland and South Africa staying here. It's usually people visiting relatives in the area. They love that it's very rural but close to the motorway," says Sheena.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Graham's legendary breakfasts and dinners for guests have prompted him to consider a separate bistro. He has also expanded into weddings and events and has erected a marquee close to the mill. His latest hobby – carriage driving – means he can offer the bride and groom a horse and carriage.

"The weddings have really taken off. Our first was the jockey Richard Guest," says Graham. "What I'd really like to do next is to have a little bistro providing gourmet, locally-sourced food and I'd also like to create some additional guest accommodation."

That will mean dealing with the planners again, but with villagers in favour and local employment created, there shouldn't be an issue. "We'll have to see," says Graham, 54, who has had a varied life.

He raced 250cc and 350cc Yamahas from 1974 for 10 years, winning the Transatlantic race at Brands Hatch in 1980.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It's no surprise to those who know him that he is already nursing another dream.

After learning to sail and buying a boat he'd love to live on it one day and sail off round the world with Sheena.

Fishlake Mill tel: 01302 841486, www.fishlakemill.co.uk

YP MAG 20/11/10

Related topics: