The present day property known as Crookedstane Rig once formed part of a much larger holding that stretched for thousands of acres on both sides of the present-day A74(M) road north of Beattock in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It was used for sheep farming. When the original owner, a bachelor, discovered in the 1970's that he was dying of an incurable disease, he began to sell off chunks of his land, first to the Forestry Commission, then to myself and another owner for private forestry, and lastly, the farmhouse itself and its outbuildings and surrounding land to another family where they raise llamas as well as sheep.

The 'Crookedstane' (Crooked stone) is a megalithic - stone age (2,000-600BC) -
marker, perhaps of tribal territory. It was deliberately planted at a slant - there must be as much stone beneath the earth as there is above it (2 metres). It stands opposite the place where two small rivers (the Daer and the Potrail ) meet in the Southern Uplands of Scotland to form the River Clyde.

I bought my share of Crookedstane Rig for forestry plantation without seeing it. I was desperate to invest in forestry a wonderful windfall which I had received on the 50th anniversary celebrations of my father's firm, and time was running out to qualify the investment for tax allowances. Little did I guess then (in 1983) what joy and interest the place was to bring me when, in 1994, with my husband's help after he retired, I built a little house at Crookedstane and we moved to live there. Luckily, I have kept diaries recording those early days and will post excerpts on the website.