The January weather has physically slowed things down at New Inn which has been covered in a blanket of snow with the waterlogged muddy entrance converted to an ice-rink.
Last week when visiting New Inn with two staff members from Bucks Vision, who are very kindly giving advice about signage and accessibility for the visually impaired, our hands immediately turned blue and our feet numb. An old building without a substantial roof, windows, walls and floors is a very cold place indeed but I’m assuming that when it was an inn in the 18th century, it would have been far more inviting.
The long-awaited for restoration begins this month and a major transformation will take place within a few months. But before the contractors arrive on site, an awful lot of clearing has had to be done by hand and for this we have relied upon our volunteers, who have spent several days at New Inn.
Our volunteers are indispensible and do a fantastic job for the Trust. Today lots of dedicated people have been moving old wooden beams, shifting several hundred old roof tiles, clearing rusty bits of metal and cutting down deep-rooted vegetation to make way for the plant machinery due in a couple of weeks.
The weather has been cold, dull and damp but the volunteers both long-term and new have unselfishly given their free time over to New Inn.
A BIG thank you to all our volunteers.
