Welcome to our very hobbitable home

Here’s a wizard way to avoid being saddled by a mortgage – build your own “hobbit house” in the woods for less than £3,000. The fairytale hideaway may look like part of the film set for The Lord Of The Rings trilogy but it’s a real-life family home tucked away on a secluded hillside in Wales. This is the eco-house that father-of-two Simon Dale built from scratch in just four months with a little help from his friends. He had no experience as a builder or carpenter, yet was able to get the work done using just a chainsaw, a hammer and a one-inch chisel. Now Simon, 33, wife Jasmine and their two small sons Cosmo, seven and Elfie, six, are happily moved in and helping to build other eco- villages across Wales. Simon said: “Four months after starting we were moved in and cosy. “This kind of building is accessible to anyone. My main relevant skills were being able-bodied, having self-belief and perseverance and a mate or two to give a lift now and again.”His big break was getting the land free from the owner who was keen to have someone living there, taking care of the forest. The timber frame went up first, then the roof, which is made from a layer of straw bales, plastic sheeting and earth on top. The floors are made from scrap wood, solar panels provide energy and water comes via gravity from a nearby spring. There is a “compost” loo, and a makeshift “fridge” using cool air from underground. Simon, a graphic designer, estimates it took 1,000 to 1,500 hours of hard work for himself, his father-in-law and friends and passers-by to finish the build. The final cost of the sprawling home works out to just £50 a square yard – roughly a tenth of average UK house prices and a hundredth of what you could pay in upmarket London boroughs such as Chelsea or Westminster.The eco-friendly des res is set on a hillside in Tir Y Gafel, north-east Pembrokeshire and is just 20 minutes’ drive from Cardigan. Simon says the only thing other aspiring build-your-own fans require is a bit of “get up and go”. He explains: “The house was built with maximum regard for the environment and by reciprocation gives us a unique opportunity to live close to nature. “Building from natural materials does away with producers’ profits and the cocktail of carcinogenic poisons that fill most modern buildings.” The couple are now helping nine families replicate their hobbit house to build an eco-village on one 76-acre site while there are other similar projects being copied across Wales. Simon adds: “Being your own have-a-go architect is a lot of fun and allows you to create and enjoy something which is part of yourself and the land rather than, at worst, a mass-produced box.”