About UsJohn and Karen luff bought Le Chataignier in early 2003 with the intention of restoring the four hundred year old farm and setting up an ecologically and setting sound smallholding.
John was born in Wales and brought up in Sussex England he trained as a registered nurse in the Royal Navy. He subseqently moved into the National Health Service where he specialised in elderly care in an acute medical setting as well as teaching in the same field. He retired in 1998 due to ill health with stress due to the pressure of his job.
Karen was born in Hamersmith, London and also brought up in Sussex where she married John in 1981. They sebsqently moved to Plymouth and have four children. She trained as a nursary school teacher and ran a child care buisness from their home. She now works for the NHS and travels to England approximately six times a year to raise funds and visit their older children.
Le Chataignier consists of a long house which we believe at one time was up to six homes. The main part of the house finally aquired hot water in Feb 2008 and it's first shower in July of the same year. The date on the door lintel is 1605. The end of the building is still in need of full restoration and a new roof with the hope that this will be a further holiday cottage for rental in time to come.
The large barn we believe was built at about the same time and is in need of a completely new roof and new first floor. It is hoped that work on this will start at the end of 2009.
The small barn which was a later addition to the main one was restored two years ago and is in the process of being turned into a farm shop for the sale of produce from the farm.
There is also a large hanger attached to the barn for the storage of hay as well as a small milking shed where milking takes place twice a day from March untill the end of October.
There is a large chicken run with two chicken houses a two room goat house and a 50 foot polly tunnel for raising early plants and salad crops.
The two bedroom cottage was built in Napolionic times and originally was a one room house with the bathroom being a pig house. It is now a very comfortable holiday cottage with its own garden and parking.
There are four other outbuildings with 2.2 hectors of land devided into two large feilds. These subsequently and divided been divided into small manageable paddocks.
