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Stunning wood burner guarantees a cosy winter

Now guests at St. Swithins Cottage are guaranteed a cosy mesmeric winter!

This Saturday just gone, 5th September 2009, was a big day for the cottage as it has been many years since a real fire roared in the oldest part of the house. Owner, Dean Milroy, had planned for this since 2003 but as with all major restoration projects it takes time to fully achieve one's objectives as there were many phases to this plan.

The incredibly brave Henry, Dean's youngest son, erected a massive scaffold tower. Just look at these pictures.

I for one just couldn't go much more than half way up it. What happened to all the bravery of my youth?

This was required to feed the 7 metre flexible flue liner down the ancient chimney. That in itself was a major achievement as it had to wind its way down a fairly complex series of turns and the person at the bottom, trying to pull down the rope attached to the bottom of the flue liner, got covered in horrible ancient soot.

Then with Jamie's, Dean's oldest son, aid we connected the flue to the burner and then swapped the cowls over and hey presto on this Saturday – we were fire starters!

Saturday night came and a band of locals from the Green Man decided to celebrate with a "Fire Starter" party. We Scots always like a chance to throw a cèilidh and this was no exception. An evening of frenzied almost corybantic dancing was enjoyed helped down with much Vino de Plaisir into wee small hours of Sunday morning. Even James the "Tank" danced his little socks off as evidenced from this little picture. Many thanks to one and all as it was a fitting celebration for another milestone in the steeped and varied history of St. Swithins Cottage.

It is a truly amazing fire to sit down in front of and will change the experience of St. Swithins Cottage for one and all.

When I came up with my design concept back in 2004 I could never really imagined it to be so effective. This is a very powerful multi-fuel burner and when it is in full capacity it is like a raging inferno, a volcano erupting, a heat monster waiting to be unleashed.

However this is where the design is so good and unfortunately you cannot appreciate it from any photographs as the human eye is incredibly clever some times.

The burner is of a matt black metal construction with a contemporary stainless steel handle. This handle is complimented by the fireplace surround also being constructed from stainless steel. However between this surround and the actual burner, itself, is the fireplace void and here is the really clever bit.

The entire void is painted in a very cool soft pale blue which is further enhanced by blue LED lights concealed in the canopy. When the fire is raging it is lovely to view but when the fire is raging and you turn on the lights – well it's magical. Somehow the cool blue light contains the fire and changes it from being a monster into an almost hypnotic form which can captivate your eyes and mind for hours.

Bring on the cold nights I say as now I may spend more time in the lounge as opposed to the snug!

The transformation of St. Swithins Cottage is almost complete………

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