Sorry, No Dogs Allowed

We have tried our best to accommodate dog owners but, sadly, to no avail. Yes, mistakes happen, dogs accudentally get loose, but we cannot afford for these sorts of mistakes to happen in a sanctuary setting. We have several cats wandering around, plus wildlife that includes badgers, pine martens and red squirrels to consider. Sadly, owing to yet another 'mistake' by owners with reactive dogs, we now have no other option than to withdraw our 'well behaved pets welcome' policy. This rule is effective immediately, no exceptions. 

Members and regulars can get in contact with me (Susan) to discuss future bookings.

Volunteers Invited

Knowledgeable, responsible volunteers needed to help look after 6 rescued & retired ponies and 2 goats in rural southwest Scotland. May suit vanlifers (park-up available) or someone looking to try simple, off-grid living in a small cabin (Scottish hut). Ideally suited to singles or possibly a couple. This is not full-time living, it is initially for 4 weeks with immediate start for the right person/people. Not suitable for children or dogs owing to other aspects of the project. Anyone interested should send details and relevant experience via email to frugaldom@gmail.com 

CONTACT FRUGALDOM

We are totally off-grid with no electricity, no phone lines, no water, no sewerage system and almost no mobile phone signal so PLEASE DO NOT CALL and PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE VOICEMAIL. I cannot access voicemail without a mobile phone signal and cannot answer calls while outside seeing to animals / livestock.

HOW TO GET IN CONTACT

Email - frugaldom@gmail.com

Text - 07795 870688

WhatsApp - 07795 870688

Facebook - @Frugaldom

Messenger - @Frugaldom

Twitter X - @Frugaldom

Instagram - @Frugaldom

For campervans and motorhomes up to 7.5m, we have no booking system and, to date, have never been full. Just turn up anytime between12 noon and 5pm. 

Wildlife Hide

With plans changing daily to suit scheduled work and deliveries that fail to arrive, we decided to build a hide. Several of our visitors have asked about the possibilities in the past, so it wasn't new to me when one of our latest visitors said similar. (We do already have a makeshift hide but it isn't, currently, accessible to visitors.) So here goes...

What is a wildlife hide?

Our hide is basically a little patch of land, partially hidden from site by a wooden fence, some weather protection and a bench inside for wildlife watchers or photographers. 

One of the Friends of Frugaldom brought along some camouflage netting and black tarpaulin to make blinds and a door covering so the whole structure now resembles a medieval knight's helmet or, as some have suggested, Count Binface. This past weekend was spent wildlife watching and some great photos were captured from the hide.

We have had numerous wildlife photographers visiting, including some fairly well known and respected individuals.

The pine martens are firm favourites with our wildlife watchers, especially when these shy little mustelids arrive during daylight. Ronnie also asked about an easily accessible wildlife hide so I hope he is happy with this latest one.

Geoff managed to capture many photos of badgers and pine martens over the weekend, filming from both the hide and hut 2. Other visitors will be returning in their campervan soon for another episode of 'Badgers by the Back Door'. 🦡🦡😆

Who can visit Frugaldom? 

Anyone. Frugaldom operates as a social enterprise and, as such, is run by Susan King and Harvey Mayson. Harvey is the artist who creates almost all of the environmental art sculptures that can be seen here. The surrounding land is home to several rescued, retired and rehomed ponies and goats, as well as the feral and stray cats who have found there way here. 

The project is primarily about nature and the environment, having been rewilded over the past 12 years. We are not a charity, but we do accept donations and tips to help us cover the costs of animal feed. 😊 We are licensed by the Caledonian Touring Club, so we can provide parking for up to 3 campervans or motorhomes (max. 7.5m). We currently charge £15 for 1 night or £25 for 2 nights. Frugaldom is partially funded by these site fees, along with membership fees from our Friends of Frugaldom support group, details of which can be found at www.ko-fi.com/Frugaldom 

Group members are welcome to come along anytime but it is always best to message  ahead of arrival to let us know to expect you. Likewise if you want one of the wildlife watching park-up spots - choose from Badger's Holt, Pine Marten View or the Bird Garden.

Site Improvements

Welcome to July! Summer is here and we have already had some scorching weather followed by some, which always leave us with puddles. So... The next phase of Frugaldom improvements is about to begin to help improve our driveway. We have campers booked in this weekend and through until the morning of the 7th (Tuesday) then our scheduled delivery should arrive after that.

20 tonnes of whinstone chips at a cost of £662 have been ordered to improve the access route into Frugaldom. The lorry will be tipping these along the driveway, rendering it impassable until we spread out the stone using rakes, shovels and wheelbarrows. With only 2 of us here and all the animals to attend to first, it could take some time. Access will be restricted until all the potholes have been filled and the track resurfaced to help improve drainage. 

We thank you for your patience during the work, which we hope to completed within a couple of days. I just hope the weather is kind to us as we are both getting a little old for this type of manual labour! If anyone can get here to help, we would really appreciate it. 

Edited in - the delivery of stone never arrived - apparently there is a backlog of deliveries waiting to go out from Thomsons but they failed to let us know this! Now, it is a waiting game of whenever suits them, which means we now need to have several small deliveries rather than one large lorry load. This is now the 13th July and no stone has been delivered nor date given.