The man who built a Hobbit house by accident

Stuart Grant said he got carried away converting an old byre into a house

Stuart Grant has spent decades transforming a ruined farm building into an ornately-decorated home which has been dubbed the Hobbit house.

But the 90-year-old says that it was not his intention when he started work on the project in the 1980s.

"It's all a mistake really. It was only meant to be temporary," said Stuart.

"When I started doing it up I was just getting such a buzz doing it.

"I got carried away and I ended up with this."

His little house is located in the woods in Glen Affric, in the Highlands.

The great-grandfather bought the plot of land - which contained a derelict house and a dilapidated livestock shed, known as a byre - back in 1984.

Stuart at his hand-made oval front door

The properties had originally belonged to a shoemaker. Over the years, previous residents of the byre had included a cow, a donkey and a pig.

Stuart, a skilled joiner, had intended to renovate the house and make it his home in the Highlands after two stints living and working in Australia, which amounted to a total of 14 years.

But before starting work on the house, he decided to convert the byre into temporary accommodation.

That stop-gap then become a labour of love.

When he began, there were no doors. All that remained of the byre was its four walls and two entrances.

He connected the property to mains electricity, but at the start his only household electrical appliance was a 100W bulb.

Over the years Stuart has turned it into a cosy little home, largely using wood in its construction and furnishing it with items including a stove rescued from a scrapheap.

He has also installed stained glass windows and carved owl heads into each step of a staircase.

Stuart has many years' experience working with wood. His first job was as a woodcutter, back when Clydesdale horses were still used to haul timber out of Highland forests.

He then served an apprenticeship as a joiner before working in sawmills in Scotland and Australia.

The property's oval door and overall aesthetic has led to it being nicknamed the Hobbit house by neighbours and visitors.

Stuart has never seen the films based on JRR Tolkien's books

But Stuart told BBC Radio Scotland's Out of Doors programme this was "just a coincidence".

He has not read JRR Tolkien's books The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings, or seen any of the film or TV adaptations of the author's work.

For Stuart, it is simply called home - and he believes it is nothing special.

He is still working to convert the main house, but jokes that he will be 130 by the time that project is completed. Stuart is still working away on his projects, though concedes old age has slowed down the progress.

And even after all his hard work to make the byre into a house, it still seems to be an attraction to livestock.

Stuart added: "The sheep in the neighbouring field sometimes get in here and I get woken by sheep jumping on my roof."