Since opening it’s doors to visitors back in 2018, The Signal Box has welcomed over 1250 guests and over the past six years we have gained a huge amount of insight by listening to our guests feedback, which has been incredibly useful in helping us plan for the future.  

We are very lucky hosts because the main reasons guests choose to stay here at the Old Station are the breathtaking views, the total privacy of the location, being set in the grounds of an old railway station, the private all season quality hot tub and our four tame sheep as neighbours. As hosts we strive for improvement so we also want The Signal Box to be as outstanding and special as everything else and the renovation definitely puts the accommodation on a level footing with all the other amazing features found at The Signal Box.

Over the past couple of years we’ve planned and prepared to chose the right moment to close The Signal Box and carry out, what has become for us, the much needed complete renovation, re-fit, redecoration and extension of the accommodation.

With great anticipation and a little trepidation, we closed the doors to visitors on 1st June and completely emptied the property, which, with the foresight of our plans, suddenly looked tired, dated, worn and shabby. Works commenced on Sunday 2nd June and have been progressing daily at great speed ever since, with just the decorating works outstanding.

We have invested in a new roof as, to be honest, the old roof was past it’s best and would not have stayed watertight for very much longer; it was wonderful watching it being removed and replaced and we’re delighted with the new roof which looks absolutely stunning. 

We’d always wanted to replace the old windows and patio doors, which were again well past their best so we invested in picture windows without bars; this one change has made a huge difference, the view through the windows and clear patio doors is wonderful and the quality of light so much better.  We also moved the bathroom window from the side to the front so that the stunning views can be enjoyed from all windows.

We removed the existing kitchen, bathroom and flooring and have replaced all with new, going for grey, blue and white as the main colour theme and it works so well against the landscape.

We decided to fully timber clad the inside of the building as nothing beats warmth and cosiness of a wooden clad cabin interior coupled with the freshness of white painted walls and ceiling, it really looks and feels wonderful inside.

We have fitted a much bigger more modern vertical radiator to keep the fully insulated cabin nice and toasty in the winter months and to provide useful additional wall space (as we previously had crammed in two electric wall heaters).

When the project started we hadn’t thought about buying a new kitchen and certainly hadn’t budgeted for it, but as soon as the project got going and we saw the transformation in progress, the shopping list inevitably grew and a cool new kitchen, new fridge freezer, new dining table and chairs, new cream leather sofa, a fitted wardrobe with plenty of hanging space, new bedside cabinets, new flooring, new bedding, new lights inside and out, new curtains and blinds and even some privacy nets on the back (front) of the building (as we’d noticed guests often leave the blinds down for privacy which is not needed but understandable if you’re used to being overlooked or expecting to be disturbed – neither of which is a concern at The Signal Box!), a new bathroom suite and new appliances, dinner set, cookware… the list goes on and on, I’,m sure we’ll be shopping for bits and pieces all the way to opening day…

We’ve decided it’s worth the investment of time, care and money as we want to take this opportunity to create a living space as though we were planning it to live and holiday here ourselves and that’s just what we’ve ended up doing, it’s been a project of absolute love and dedication.

We always felt that our original offering lacked the space and facilities for guests who wanted to book longer stays but now, that’s a thing of the past, guests can stay for as long as they wish, it’s a home from home.

The accommodation is designed for couples and it’s not suitable for families but it’s perfect for couples bringing a baby or young child (cot provided on request) and we’re hugely dog/pet friendly and I can confirm that we’ve welcomed guests with a broad range of different varieties of pets over the years.

A brand new hot tub cover has been delivered as the old one was getting rather worn out and shabby so, we couldn’t overlook this detail so it all now feels like a brand new property and we stand back in awe just looking at and enjoying the amazing space that’s been created.

With building works now complete, the week ahead will be spent finishing off the decorating and cleaning and then putting everything in place ready to open our doors for the busy season ahead.

When complete we will be taking lots of photos and posting them onto the Airbnb site, which is currently showing the old photos so keenly needs updating, and we’ll be posting the finished results on our website and social media too (Facebook, instagram, tick-tock and YouTube).

We re-open for business with our first guests checking in on Monday 24th June, although with the incredible rate of progress going on here we might well open this coming weekend of Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd of June if it’s ready in time, so if you’re interested in being our first visitors and making a booking, we’ll get the booking availability calendar live for the weekend coming tomorrow (Monday 17th) if we agree we’ll be ready by then…

Huge thanks go to our builder Jamie Hennessy who has been reliable, resourceful, hardworking (he arrives on time every day smiling and has never once let us down), has an outstanding, focused work ethic – which has been commented on by every other trade who has worked alongside him and… he has finished the project one full week earlier than expected! What’s not to love!!?

If that wasn’t enough, Jamie is a genuinely nice and kind person and we feel blessed to have found a star like Jamie who has made this project a pleasure for us, we just wish we’d found him sooner.