Farmer spends £20,000 transforming old combine harvester
A farmer has spent £20,000 transforming an old combine harvester into a quirky holiday home.
Will Roughton bought the Massey Ferguson 860 for £5,000 and it was previously used to harvest 20 tonnes of wheat an hour on a family farm. But he decided he could make better use of it and spent four months converting the farming machinery into a cosy BnB on his campsite.
The first task was taking out all the working parts of the combine - he called Kaleb. Will, 36, of Friskney, near Skegness, Lincolnshire hollowed out the machine so he had an “empty shell” to work with. But he had to leave the engine in so he could drive it into a spot on his campsite. Once empty, he began adding insulation, under-floor heating and wiring to transform it into a liveable space. Will also converted a grain trailer which sits underneath Kaleb’s spout.
Kaleb the combine harvester after transformation. (Jam Press/Kaleb The Combine)He then added in furniture such as a king-sized bed, kitchen counter, a staircase and fridge. The farmer wanted to keep the décor agricultural theme and crafted shelves and a dog bed for four-legged guests from the farm’s vintage chitting trays - used to seed potatoes. The windows, meanwhile, were made from up-cycled grain-hatch lids.
The upgrade, he maintains, was hard work and he ran into a few issues with the weather. But after months of hard graft, the transformation was a success. The property now sleeps up to four guests. There is also a communal facilities block, with toilets and hot showers, close by.
London flat for rent for £1,400 a month with bed tucked away in kitchen cupboard
The combine harvester before it was made into accommodation (Jam Press/Kaleb The Combine)It costs £120 per night to stay in and is situated on Will’s campsite – which is formerly RAF Wainfleet's base and went out of use in 2010. The Lincolnshire site was bought from the Ministry of Defence by the farmer who owned the access road. There are other bizarre accommodations available to rent on site including a WW2 tank, ambulance and RAF watchtower. The tower was once used to observe the bombing range on the training ground.
Inside it has been turned into a quirky holiday home (Jam Press/Kaleb The Combine)Will says the cost of the combined harvester and the renovations set him back a total of £20,000. He said: “I’m absolutely not experienced in this kind of thing. I looked at it from the outside and thought you could fit a bed in there. So I stripped it from the inside out. Once it was hollowed out, I could look at it as a house and fit it with insulation and wiring.
He added: “We have a mixed bag of guests. We have had a lot of couples coming and staying as well as families. I did this for kids - they got so excited seeing me in a tractor. It’s a picturesque location just seven miles from Skegness. We’re near the beach, and lakes where people can paddleboard. It’s a very peaceful location.”
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