A Highland shed which houses a gin distillery has been toasted a winner in the prestigious Shed of the Year contest.
A total of 2,520 sheds were put forward for the annual contest with the top four sheds in each of the eight categories featuring in Channel Four TV show ‘Amazing Spaces Shed of the Year’.
And an unusual conversion in Aviemore won the pub section. It will now battle it out with the other section winners for the overall crown.
Owned by Walter Micklethwait, Inshriach Distillery was once a dilapidated hen house, which has been converted into a fully functioning distillery which produces the Crossbill Gin brand.
Walter could not hide his delight as his creation was crowned a winner on Sunday’s show.
Walter’s Shed is also a farm shop which sells carved items, eggs and produce, a saloon bar and a velour upholstered piano bar. Made out of mostly recycled items including parts of an old dismantled railway station, the Inshriach Distillery has a unique charm and is home to regular parties.
Voting to determine the category winners, and who goes through to the next round is via www.readersheds.co.uk.
The public have also cast their vote on who they think deserves the title of best Eco, Normal, Workshop and Studio, Unique, Cabin & Summerhouse, Historical and Budget shed.
Walter’s shed will now go on to compete for the overall title.
The winner will receive £1,000 courtesy of sponsors Cuprinol along with a wooden plaque, £100 worth of Cuprinol products and a giant crown for their shed.
Of the gin shed, its owners say:”Two years ago this was a dilapidated hen house and an assorted pile of old junk. Now, after some very sporadic work it has become the Inshriach Farm shop, Ladies waiting room, Saloon Bar and Distillery.
“The General stores is a shop selling items we have carved or whittled on the farm and eggs and produce from the gardens. The ladies waiting room is a cheeky recycled velour upholstered piano bar and the saloon is a dirty wild west gin joint.
“In an unexpected twist to the shed tale, word got out that the bar was coming together and that we had juniper growing on the farm and before we knew it the shed became home to its very own gin distillery, complete with a lovely hand hammered set of stills from Portugal and its own all Scottish gin brand, Crossbill.
“The chickens now live in a turret built from the discarded remains of the smallest and highest railway station in the British Isles and their old house has become the scene of some very surprising parties
“The roof was all rusty sheets and woodworm in the joists so the rafters and onduline roofing are new – a job carried out in a miserable blizzard. The oak parquet floor – complete with a million nails sticking out of it – was salvaged for free from a bar in Aviemore, the insulation underneath it is made up out of breakthroughs from from a childrens TV show, the glass doors are from the tip, so are the patio doors.
“The bar front and the cupboards in the bar were kicking around from other projects or pinched from round the farm, the sash windows are from a house in Edinburgh, the crittal window in the distillery was dropped off by our mortgage advisor when he came round for a meeting. The doors and the furniture are either made for the purpose or they are all tip finds, as is the piano – it has been tuned but need another go.
“All the new looking timber is actually scrap or seconds from a sawmill. We spent some money on a roll of wire to put wiring and plug sockets through the shed.”
It cost more than £500 to build.