Parliament Camp

The cabin in the woods.

Disclaimer

Permission was fully granted from the landowner to use, camp and build in the woodland, and to publicise images of the woodland.

Where The Name "Parliament" Came From

The name "Parliament" refers to the rookery of birds that sit in the trees near the camp throughout the day. A rookery of birds is known as a parliament of birds.

Why The Cabin Was Built

Our last camp, Camp Fox, was destroyed by thunderstorms at the beginning of 2022, so we decided to build a log cabin in another secret location.

2024 Goals

Completed ✅

Reinforce the roof - The old roof was thin and had no overhang, so it wasn't a great insulator and water may have been dripping into the cavities, so we're going to make the roof double-skinned.
Stable Door - The old door had a gap around the edge, so we're going to install a stable door with a tighter fit, and so we can have the top half open if it gets too warm inside from the fire without having to open the full door.
Laminate flooring in the main part - We currently have carpeted flooring in the main part of the cabin, however it's difficult to clean and is becoming old and tatty, so we're swapping it for laminate with edging strips on the weekend commencing the 5th of February 2024.
Install new log burner - The log burner we've been using since the cabin was built was an Outbacker Bell Tent Stove. It did the job but the chimney had to be cleaned out for every camp and isn't designed to be used to the capacity we push it to. The new one is a multi fuel one, so it can burn coal as well as wood, and it puts out a lot more heat. We've managed without any indoor fire for the best part of a month as we'd taken the old one out in December 2023. We plan to install the new fire on the weekend commencing the 5th of February 2024.

Outstanding ❌

Laminate flooring in the extension - Currently the extension has half carpet and half laminate. We plan to make it all laminate to match the main part and so it's easier to clean.

Tent Camping

Below are some photographs of us camping in a Pomoly tent at Parliament before we had the Cabin Brainwave.

March 2022

The Cabin Project - Timeline

Below are some photographs showing how the cabin has shaped up over the months.

Note that photos were only taken from the point that the extension/2nd part was built. The main part was not documented as we didn't know how far we'd take it.

October 2022

We split up some pallets and screwed them together to create an extension coming from the front, extending the cabin to be 18 foot long.

Extension Walls and Floor

The extension walls are 7 inches thick with insulation inside.

The cabin is 8 foot wide.

November 2022

Extension Roof

December 2023

Cladding

January 2023

Boarding Up The Walls Inside

2nd Part

Main Part

February 2023

Painting

January 2024

Reinforced Roof

23 foot long once we built a double skinned roof.

3 foot of overhang on the front of the cabin and another 2 foot of overhang on the back of the cabin (to store the outdoor furniture under when not in use).