A woodcutter who built his own Hobbit House says he has never watched Lord of the Rings - and lives almost off-grid despite being nearly 90. Great-grandad Stuart Grant moved into the cottage he bought as a wreck with no roof and no doors in 1984 while he was renovating a house.
But he found it so satisfying doing DIY on the quirky outbuilding, which dated back 200 years, that he decided to make it his home. Dad-of-two Stuart, who turns 90 on Tuesday, January 17, trained as a joiner, but suffered from ME for 46 years so said he worked 'in slow motion' on the three-bedroom rustic pad.
He has been inundated with visitors to his home in Tomich, near Inverness, after his house was posted on a French tourist board's recommendations for north Scotland. He doesn't have a mobile phone or use the internet and no longer drives due to his age, but he loves getting out and meeting people.
