Progress with the Ice House marches on. We now have (almost) full consent from Historic Scotland to go ahead and carry out all the fitments to the site, which will ensure that it will be enjoyed long into the future. All that is needed now are some formal descriptions of where the discreet LED lighting will go. The lighting is simply to accent the architecture rather than illuminate the interior. The walls of the ice house as you will see are a little worse for wear after almost 200 years of service.
After securing funding from Sutherland Estate and the Highland Council Ward discretionary budget, I am designing a new door and window for the ice house in conjunction with metal artist Sam Barlow. The present door and widow are reckoned to be about 10 years old but are already looking shabby. The new door and window will be grilled and lockable, allowing much needed ventilation and security to the building, they should also allow better access to the bats that I'm told live there...I've never seen or heard them!
The idea is to create a fish eye lens door, convex, protruding into the building and allowing visitors to put their head inside the ice house without crossing the threshold. A similar design will feature on the window.
The oars that I rescued from the Ice House scrubbed up well, and like my own paddle, I beleive they are made of Ash. The oars have now been waxed and I hope to return them to the ice house.
