Thinking inside the Box

We left Saltcoats this morning and drove up to Helensburgh to pick up Daughter Two, who was arriving by train from Edinburgh. Those of you who know Helensburgh, 30 miles west of Glasgow, might know the Hill House, designed by Charles Rennie Macintosh for Walter Blackie and built in 1903. Unfortunately Macintosh decided to use new materials which maybe hadn't been sufficiently tested and his structure of sandstone covered with cement render hasn't stood the test of time and has become permanently saturated with rain. The National Trust for Scotland decided to build a massive chain-link box - 32.4 million rings - to protect the building, allowing just 13% of rain in, so that the building can dry out naturally, when renovation can begin. This may take three years and the box might stay in place for up to 10 years! See - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-48461850

In the meantime visitors can book a spot to see around the house and garden, and also to climb into the box to view the house hiding inside. Quite a structure! Moral of the story - don't try to be innovative on such a scale!