Last chance to enter Love Your Hut of the Year 2026

Summer is always shed competition time and you've only got a few days to enter the annual Love Your Hut of the Year competition which celebrates the many wonderful beach huts up and down the country. The winner receives a luxury hamper (Champagne, exotic cordial, jam, sea salt crackers, tapenade, sun cream and aftersun), a LYH logo beach towel, LYH sunglasses and a £25 Blackhawk voucher, plus the Love Your Hut of the Year plaque. There are also runners-up prizes.

Details of how to enter at the link above and the closing date is September 1. 

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Bar Hibby's scoops Pub Shed of the Year 2026 title

Wolverhampton Wanderers-themed pub shed Bar Hibby's in Rugeley has won the 2026 Pub Shed of the Year organised once again by Two Fat Blokes Bar Signs and Ngage Radio.

Owned by Tina and Rich Hibbs who built it in 2018, the 20ftx10ft Staffordshire shed is decorated with a huge collection of Wolves memorabilia and is used by all the family for relaxing and parties as well as Christmas lunch. Last year's winner Cognito's owned by Glen Gandy from Willenhall also had a Wolves theme.

Other features include an outdoor play area,  beer garden, Pac-Man arcade machine, large screen television, bar with lager and cider on draught, and traditional pub benches and tables. 

The two runners-up in the competition which attracted 1,088 entries were The Mucky Pub in Wakefield and The Pampered Chicken in Emsworth.

Next year's competition will see all six previous winners pitted against each other.

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Scottish Royal summerhouse conservation completed

A Bavarian-style rustic summerhouse built in the mid-19th century as a wedding gift for the Princess Marie of Baden has reopened following the National Trust for Scotland’s conservation works at Brodick Castle, Garden & Country Park.

A striking feature on the coastline of the Isle of Arran, the restored summerhouse is the grandest, and the only surviving, of four summerhouses built for Princess Marie in the gardens of Brodick Castle following her marriage to William the 11th Duke of Hamilton. 

The summerhouse is built into the sandstone rockface and offers spectacular views over Brodick Bay. It is a listed building, described by Historic Environment Scotland as a “rare and outstanding example of an elaborately decorated summerhouse situated within a designed picturesque landscape."

“The princess was a vibrant socialite who mingled with the highest ranks of European society, hosting them among her exceptional gardens," said Laura Baillie, the National Trust for Scotland's Conservation Building Surveyor for the South & West region. “She had a close relationship with her cousin Louis-Napolean Bonaparte, hosting him several times at Brodick Castle.”

Conservation works on the summerhouse included maintenance of the rhododendron stem decoration, replacement of heritage glass in the windows, the addition of latches on the windows, and repairs to the slate facetted roof. Plans are underway to repair the original interior ceiling, which is decorated with pinecones, the work of Bavarian craftsmen. Joinery works were carried out by local TF Joinery and decoration works have been completed by local painter Homes by Holmes.

Along with the other three summerhouses, the Bavarian summerhouse provided a resting place along the ‘Romantic Walks’ created by Princess Marie through the woodlands between 1843 and 1863, in collaboration with her friend, the artist George Hering. Today, the summerhouse can be reached from Brodick Castle by way of a circular walk that passes the walled garden, pond and summerhouse, before heading back to the castle.

Photos copyright Alan MacAteer Photo.

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Shedworking on holiday

 

The Shedworking staff has scarpered to the beach for a few days rest, relaxation, and rereading of The Philosophy of Sheds, published by the British Library and available at all good bookshops. See you again next week.

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Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master, bespoke garden rooms and offices designed, manufactured and installed throughout the UK 

 

The Philosophy of Sheds goes international

A nice story about the importance of sheds to a happy life written by my former colleague from Yorkshire Evening Press days Helen Rowe now at AFP press agency gives my latest book The Philosophy of Sheds a nice name check with some quotes by me about the joy of sheds - the piece has been published all over the world including Malaysia and Luxembourg. You can try it in English here https://www.yahoo.com/.../british-eccentrics-push-humble... or in French here https://www.laprovence.com/.../royaume-uni-loin-de-la...

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Wednesday posts are sponsored by Booths Garden Studios, the UK's No.1 supplier of zero maintenance and portable garden studios

 

 

Friday Finery: The Thomas Gainsborough Garden

 

This week's finery was the marvellous Hipped Garden Studio from Malvern Garden Buildings that appeared last month at the inaugural RHS Flower Show at Sandringham in The Thomas Gainsborough Garden designed by Frederic Whyte. 

This was built as a north-facing artist's studio and finished in a gentle green-grey shade with a soft yellow interior that was very simply furnished, and also featured specially commissioned diptych paintings by artist Kate Giles celebrating the garden as well as handcrafted furniture by Otis of O B Luxton.

You can see it in the excellent video below from about the 14:50 mark, but look out also for the excellent shedlike atmospheres featured in the show too in the other gardens. 

 

 

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Outdoor teenager den garden room

To celebrate A level results day, here is a 4m x 2m Canopy Room model from Modern Garden Rooms which is used as a den for the Surrey client's teenagers. Features include French doors, two 0.5m sidelights with top opening windows, and a knotty grade cedar cladding on the rear of the building facing against the fence to help keep costs down.

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Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master, bespoke garden rooms and offices designed, manufactured and installed throughout the UK 

 

EcoNeo low carbon summerhouse

 

This is a tremendous summerhouse from Cophenhagen-based SAGA Space Architects (who design some very shedlike space buildings too).

They call it the EcoNeo house and it measures 35 m², catering for a family of 6, and includes this year's must-have shed feature, a sauna. It is made entirely out of biogenic material, with exterior oak shingles cladding, and inside a mixture of plywood, Douglas fir, birch, and OSB panels. 

There are lots of eco-friendly elements to the build and some lovely photos of it too (click link above to take a look) but understandably they are particularly proud of its carbon footprint. Here's what they say on the subject:

The average size of a new summerhouse in Denmark is 93.6m², with an average emission of 9.5 kg CO2 per m² per year. By comparison, EcoNeo is only 35m², reducing its overall footprint by approximately 60% through size alone. Combined with its use of biogenic materials, efficient systems, smart environmental controls, and renewable energy support, EcoNeo achieves an estimated footprint of 175 kg CO2 per year, compared to approximately 883.5 kg CO2 per year for an average newly built Danish summerhouse. This represents an estimated reduction of around 80%.

Marvellous photo by Edi Cliff 

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Win £10,000 off an Arctic Cabin or Cabin Master garden room

A great competition from Arctic Cabins and Cabin Master. To celebrate 10 years of their Nottingham show site, they are offering £10,000 off a garden room or BBQ cabin to one lucky winner in their draw. Simply enter your details to take part, no purchase necessary, and it's free. And you can get bonus entries by visiting the show site and registering with the sales team, and also by buying a cabin. Do check the Ts&Cs but essentially you need to be over 18 and resident in the UK. Entries close August 31.

Click here or here to enter. 

Enter via the form for 1 entry, and get bonus entries by:
- Visiting either Midlands show site & registering with a member of our sales team (+1 bonus entry), and
- Purchasing a qualifying cabin: (+1 bonus entry.)

Beach hut libraries

The marvellous Lire à la Plage scheme which runs along the Seine-Maritime coastline in France is celebrating its 20th anniversary this summer.

Run from 13 blue and white beach huts operate as open air libraries and also include author meet-and-greets, writing workshops, and activities by the sea, this year's theme is 'What were we reading 20 years ago, and what are 20-year-old readers reading today?'

Running until August 23, this year's patron is novelist Katherine Pancol 

Rouen is also putting on an open-air photographic exhibition 'Reading at the Beach is 20 Years Old' on the railings of the Departmental Council building until August 21.

The 13 libraries are in Jumièges-Le Mesnil, Criel-sur-Mer, Dieppe,  Étretat,  Fécamp , Le Havre,  Le Tréport,  Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, Saint-Valery-en-Caux, Veules-les-Roses,  Yport, Saint-Jouin-Bruneval and Sainte-Adresse. They open 11am until 7pm every day, with around 1,000 books per cabin.

Photo courtesy Département de Seine-Maritime

Friday Finery: garden office greenery

For this week's Finery, a reminder that while the view of your garden through your garden office windows may bring to mind thoughts of hay fields, it will all bloom again. The example here is of a particularly 'bringing the outside in' Cabin Master build.

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Friday posts are sponsored by Warwick Buildings, manufacturers of outstanding quality timber buildings. Click here for more information 

 

New figures suggest the beach hut boom is over

After a boom in popularity during Covid, beach hut prices appear to be in freefall, according to new figures from online estate agent Yopa.

Asking prices in eight of the UK's popular coastal counties fell 9.8% in the year to July 2026 according to Yopa, while in the year to July 2025 they saw a 19.6% drop, partly a reaction to an increase in supply.

The figures indicate the worst decline in prices has been in West Sussex, a fall of 35% from £33,044 to £21,444 in the year to July. It is followed by Norfolk (13%), and then
Essex and Hampshire (12%).

Bucking the trend are Suffolk which has seen a rise of 6.6 per cent to £27,676, and Dorset up 2.8% and representing the most expensive available, for example at Mudeford, at an average of £105,343.

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Thursday posts are sponsored by Cabin Master, bespoke garden rooms and offices designed, manufactured and installed throughout the UK 

 

Shepherd's hut art studio

A nice case study on the Plankbridge site all about the shepherd’s hut art studio of Elizabeth Shields in Somerset who specialises in family portraits. Here's a snippet:

It’s exactly the right size. There is generous wall space for paintings, and I love the panelling because it makes hanging work so easy. One whole end is windowed, looking out onto the veranda, so the studio is filled with natural light throughout the day... It is a calming place and it smells amazing. As soon as you walk in it smells like you are ready to work – inviting and comfortable, I really enjoy it, walking up the garden to get there. I always find I have to watch my timekeeping there because I forget what I am meant to be doing elsewhere. The outside world recedes almost immediately.

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The rise of the back garden business

New research commissioned by Dunster House reveals how UK entrepreneurs are transforming their homes and outdoor spaces into professional business hubs. 

The interviews with 250 UK adults who run their business fully from their home, a small garden office or outdoor workspace, reveal that 46% say their enterprise is critically financially important and their primary source of income. 

Combined with those who rely on it for significant additional earnings, nearly three-quarters (74%) describe their home business as either their main income source or a substantial financial contributor.

At the same time, 62% have invested money specifically into home or garden offices, or a home workspace to support their business, while 14% cited the prohibitive cost of commercial renting as a key reason for operating from home.  

Nearly half of respondents (47%) started their business in pursuit of a better work-life balance, while 36% wanted to work from home by design, and a further 36% sought greater flexibility in how and when they worked.

Among 18 to 24-year-olds, 29% run online retail or e-commerce businesses compared with just 14% of those aged 55 and over. Among 25 to 34-year-olds, 12% run content creation or social media businesses, and a further 12% operate in fitness, yoga or personal training. 
 
The most common workspace is the study or home office (20%), but a substantial proportion of entrepreneurs are running their businesses from wherever space allows: the living room (14%), a summer house or garden room (10%), a spare bedroom (10%), a workshop or studio (9%), a garage (6%), or even the kitchen or dining table (6%).

The survey finds that home business owners have invested an average of £5,170 into their workspace, with more than a third (36%) having invested at least £5,000.

When asked what they would invest in if money were no constraint, the answers point strongly towards workspace quality and professional infrastructure. Better broadband or Wi-Fi tops the list (34%), closely followed by improved heating or air conditioning (34%) and a fully insulated garden office (32%). Dedicated storage space (28%), a larger workshop (27%), soundproof studios (21%) and smart technology or security systems (21%) also feature prominently.

Pic courtesy Dunster House

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