From dream to reality: How a pre-owned Pinelog lodge is helping a farm owner stay close to her animals
“Buying a pre-owned lodge made complete sense because it came with everything and was literally ready to go. The lodge itself is incredible. Absolutely everything you could want is there, even the furniture.” Juliette Stevens, Majestic Alpacas, Langley Farm.
For Derbyshire farmer Juliette Stevens, owning her own piece of England had always been the dream. She realised that dream in 2006 when she bought 24 acres of land at Langley Farm in Kirk Langley, Derbyshire, now home to Majestic Alpacas and Dubarry Dexter Cattle.
“It’s my piece of heaven,” said Juliette. “I’ve always loved animals and I’ve always wanted my own land. Having your own space where you can do your own thing in peace and quiet is incredibly special. It’s also a huge responsibility.”
Staying close when animal welfare demands it
Yet to build a permanent home on the land, Juliette needed a practical way to be close to her animals when their care demanded it.
The farm is already home to more than 150 animals, including 50 alpacas, 25 Dexter cattle, 25 pygmy goats, micro pigs, chickens, ducks, donkeys and a rescued European eagle owl.
With such an array of animals, livestock management can require unpredictable and sometimes continuous attendance, particularly during birthing, illness or other welfare-critical situations.
A practical agricultural base
The solution came in the form of a pre-owned Pinelog lodge, which now sits at the heart of the holding and is used exclusively for agricultural purposes.
It gives Juliette a safe and practical base for occasional overnight stays when animals need close supervision, as well as space for statutory record keeping, veterinary meetings, paperwork, feed management and emergency care.
The lodge also provides essential welfare facilities for farm workers, including clean toilets, hot and cold washing facilities, drinking water, and a sheltered space to change, rest and eat. It is also used for the storage of farm-related items and refrigerated veterinary medicine.
Built for year-round use, designed for flexibility
Built to BS 3632 standards, the lodge is suitable for year-round occupation. However, it also satisfies the legal definition of a caravan under Section 29(1) of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 and Section 13 of the Caravan Sites Act 1968.
It is capable of being moved in sections, can be removed without demolition and falls within the maximum dimensions permitted for a twin-unit caravan.
Supporting Juliette’s long-term plans
For Juliette, the lodge has provided the practical agricultural base she needed while she continues to plan for the future construction of a permanent farmhouse. More importantly, it has allowed her to stay close to the animals and land she has spent years transforming.
Over the years, Juliette has steadily developed the site. Once part of a larger farm, all of the original buildings had been demolished before she purchased the land.
She excavated the footprint of the former farm buildings, exposing the original concrete pads which now provide the perfect base for her Pinelog lodge.
The project has also created a wildlife-rich pond and enabled her to plant almost 1,000 trees and over 1,300 hedging plants to provide shelter for wildlife and livestock.
“It’s going to be amazing when it’s all finished,” she said.
A practical route to being close to her animals
Juliette’s long-term ambition is to build an oak-framed stone farmhouse elsewhere on the site. “I can’t afford to build the house yet, but I want to have the ability to be close to the animals overnight, particularly if they are sick or birthing,” she explained. “Buying a pre-owned lodge made that possible.”
The four-bedroom lodge arrived in sections on two transporters before being craned into position on the prepared site.
“Everything was placed beautifully,” said Juliette. “The team at Pinelog were amazing coordinating the delivery.”
Unlike many temporary accommodation solutions, the lodge arrived fully equipped and ready to use. She explained: “Buying a pre-owned lodge made complete sense because it came with everything and was literally ready to go.
“The lodge itself is incredible. Absolutely everything you could want is there, even the furniture. It came with beautiful sofas and lovely beds. “It has been beautifully maintained by Darwin Forest where it was previously sited.”
Much more than temporary accommodation
Once her permanent home is built, Juliette hopes the lodge will remain on site as the house is quite a distance from the animals. “It will be perfect for visiting guests to stay in, like my sons, my alpaca shearer, family members or staff. It’s important we have comfortable accommodation on the farm. It will also provide dry secure vermin-proof and insect-proof storage for alpaca fleeces and other farm items.”
The flexibility of the lodge was one of the factors that made the investment particularly attractive.
Inspired by other Pinelog owners
Juliette was first introduced to Pinelog through fellow alpaca owners in Bath who she met at the British Alpaca Society Show.
“They originally bought a Pinelog lodge as a temporary solution while they built a house,” she said. “But they liked it so much they stayed in it. I absolutely understand that. It’s like a luxury bungalow. It doesn’t feel temporary in any way.”
That quality has reinforced her belief that buying pre-owned was the right decision. “They’re really top quality. The value for money is incredible.”
Home to some unusual residents
Among the residents of her farm are two local celebrities. Gus the alpaca appeared on Channel 4’s Embarrassing Pets and Judge Rinder. Despite being an alpaca, Gus believes he’s a person and prefers spending time with pygmy goats rather than his fellow alpacas.
Then there’s Mystic Marcus, the prediction-making pig who has appeared on This Morning and numerous television programmes after correctly forecasting sporting results, Brexit and even Donald Trump’s election victory.
Living the dream
For Juliette, the lodge represents far more than accommodation. It represents the next chapter in a dream which was decades in the making.
“It’s like being on holiday,” she said. “Every single moment I’m there, I feel like I’m not working. It’s peaceful, it’s beautiful and it’s my happy place”.
“The dream is to move fully onto the farm. In the meantime, my pre-owned Pinelog lodge is giving me the opportunity to be near the animals and continue developing the site. The lodge has brought my dream much closer.”
Considering a pre-owned Pinelog lodge?
As Juliette’s story demonstrates, a pre-owned Pinelog lodge can provide a fast, cost-effective and high-quality route to supporting a long-term development project.
With many years of life remaining thanks to our renowned craftsmanship, Pinelog’s pre-owned lodges continue to deliver exceptional value long after their first owners have moved on.
