Making your dream come true isn’t always easy.  In fact, it can mean years of hard work and extraordinary determination.
Back in 1976, when William and Hazel Batchelor decided to turn their dream of living in a lovely country cottage into a reality, they didn’t realise how much devoted effort it would require.  Penny Pot

Cottage, a traditional brick and flint Buckinghamshire country dwelling, stands on an idyllic crest of the Chiltern Hills with marvellous views in all directions.

But originally, the plot it stands on was, says William Batchelor, "an acre of solid jungle.  It had all manner of problems, but

we could see that it had great potential."  Rather than employing an army of architects and builders – not that, as William points out, they were in any economic position to do so – they drew up plans and built every inch of the house themselves.  It was back breaking work, particularly because – as William ruefully

admits "we made it much more difficult for ourselves by choosing to build in traditional brick and flint".

There was a lot of blood, sweat and tears involved: for example, before they could lay the foundations they had to pull trees down with a winch.  Neither was there much

respite at the end of the day, as their home for the duration of the building programme was a shack on the property.  Starting with an investment of £5,000, they financed the work month by month from William’s salary as a structural engineer and a consultant.
"I suppose the whole project has cost us about £75,000," he estimates."  We have

ended up with a property worth in excess of £400,000."  And, of course, they’ve never had a mortgage.

"We have not had a holiday for 25 years, but we are not bothered since living here is like being permanently on holiday," says William.  Today they keep horses and are

hard at work building an extension, again in brick and flint, with a slate roof, completely DIY.  "Some people may think we are mad, waiting so long for something we really wanted, but we have enjoyed living here during the entire building process.  And we’ll leave behind a monument representing our years of toil."

The Batchelor’s purchased their 5–door Toyota RAV4 in 1995 on the recommendation of a Toyota–owning neighbour.  It’s the family car, but they’ve also used it for carrying building materials, horse feed and towing their small trailer.
Living atop a steep hill, where mud or snow can isolate them for days during the winter,

William Batchelor is deeply impressed by the car’s toughness.  Moreover, as their neighbour’s ‘86 Toyota is still going strong, the Batchelors look forward to driving their RAV4 for years to come – truly a dream car for their dream home.

If you’re inspired by the Batchelors

achievements – and motivated to do more yourself then click here to enter our Club Toyota prize draw to win copy of the ‘Readers Digest Complete DIY Manual’!

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