A “Teletubbies hobbit home” which was bought for £6000 and featured on George Clarke’s The Restoration Man has gone on the market for £250,000.
The former ice house was built in 1833 and used to store the ice essential for keeping salmon fresh for market.
The property, on the shores of Loch Crinan, Argyll and Bute, featured on Channel 4’s The Restoration Man in 2010.
Owner Laird Henderson was forced to live in his caravan after spending most of his budget on just part of the project, which remains unfinished.
The 19th century conversion includes the original Victorian ice house, which Laird bought off a farmer for £6,000, with a new glass-panelled extension.
The airtight glass means potential buyers will be able to sit back, relax, and enjoy stunning views across of Loch Crinan – safe from the Scottish weather and midges.
The extension has been sculpted around sheer rock – mixing elements of the old with the new.
Eight years on from the “Ice House” episode, the rare home has been put on the market incomplete but does come with planning permission.
In the episode, Ice House, which aired in 2010, George said: “It’s unbelievable. it’s quite rare that I’m lost for words”.
In a later article, which refers to the property as a “Teletubbies hobbit home” for looking similar to the building in the children’s show, Clarke said: “The reason I love it is it ticked every box of what I wanted Restoration Man to do.
“It’s affordable, the owner bought it for £6k off a farmer because he just used it as a storage shed and there’s a story behind it. It was used as a natural fridge.
“They waterproofed it, tanked it and built a modern extension and it’s now one of the warmest and most naturally insulated houses in Scotland.
“We called it the Fox’s glacier mint extension because you’ve got this really rugged turf building and then this minimal, beautiful, glass extension at the end with the most beautiful view over the loch.”
Estate agents Galbraith have put the unique property on the market for offers over £250,000.
They say: “This impressive early 19th Century ice house offers a rare development opportunity in a highly sought after location on a peninsula on the edge of Loch Crinan.
“The Victorian Ice House which featured in George Clarke’s Restoration Man has benefited from the addition of a stunning frameless ice like ‘light loft’ to the south gable fitted with bespoke, reinforced and heated glass walls, door and glass floor making it suitable for use throughout the year.
“The remainder of the building which was constructed from local stone, with a stunning barrel-vaulted ceiling under a turf roof, is ready for development and is being offered with planning permission and listed building consent for a two bedroom property with mezzanine floor, complete with dining kitchen, living area, bathroom and utility room.”
The current owner, believed to still be Laird Henderson, created internal light wells and doorways linking the loft to the main building.
An original square loading hatch where ice was fed remains on the building.
The Ice House can also be entered at street level via the north gable where a door opens into a chamber thought to have been used to wash and pack the fish.
The property is surrounded by a garden and elevated areas – including one with a hot tub
A stretch of private foreshore on the tidal estuary of the River Add fed by Loch Crinan offers direct water access.
