When Roger Coe of Red House Farm in Saxtead, Suffolk began to grow weary of his boom-or-bust strawberry crop he started looking for a more reliable return on investment. Jump forwards a few years and the strawberry plants have disappeared, replaced by a beautiful lakeside log cabin site that sees holiday makers returning year after year.

Roger had no difficulty convincing the local council to give him planning permission for the 12 log cabins.
Roger says: “The Government was encouraging tourism at that time and as Windmill Lodges is located on the A1120 tourist route at a good distance from other holiday accommodation, the local council was happy to see a high quality holiday lodge site in the area”.

Made from the finest Estonian 8inch round logs, the mahogany and honey-coloured two and three-bedroom log cabins grace the lakeside at Windmill Lodges, attracting a perennial crop of enthusiastic holidaymakers.
 

Roger says: “Windmill Lodges has proved to be a very successful diversification project for us. We have 80% occupancy, 60% repeat bookings and each log cabin generates fantastic revenue”.
 

To ensure the site was attractive to holidaymakers, Roger designed the lodge layout around a central lake with the help of a local architect and asked Suffolk-based high quality log cabin supplier, The Bespoke Log Cabin Company, to supply the lakeside cabins.
 

Julian Holmes of The Bespoke Log Cabin Company says: “We have erected a range of two and three-bedroom cabins at Windmill Lodges, one of which has already been sold to someone looking for holiday rental investments.  A further four are now available for sale on 99 year leases for £90,000, with the log cabins available from £65,000 to £95,000”.
 

Julian is in no doubt that Roger will see the final four cabins sell quickly.
 

He says: “Our cabins are stunning as they are made from the highest quality round logs shipped over from Estonia and erected by highly skilled dedicated staff. The client can specify kitchens, bathrooms and other fittings up to 5 star standard or have the cabins supplied unfurnished. New buyers looking to rent out the cabins can rest assured that the existing cabins are generating around £13,000 income per year for their owners when Windmill Lodges manage bookings”.
 

Julian is also eager to point out the benefits to landowners of a holiday lodge diversification project.
 

He says: “The cabins are a great way for landowners to get more value from their land by offering leases for the plots. Their only investment is in terms of obtaining planning permission, purchasing the cabins and laying roads and services to each plot. As a young, proactive business, The Bespoke Log Cabin Company prides itself in offering free expert advice to landowners to give them more chance of success with planning permission applications”.
 

Farmers interested in developing a holiday lodge site can contact Julian Holmes at The Bespoke Log Cabin Company on 01473 249 002 or visit www.bespokelogcabincompany.co.uk.