Mhairi's Room: A front-row seat to nature

Tucked away behind Mhairi’s cottage in the heart of Thornbury, the garden feels like its own little ecosystem. Dragonflies skim across the pond, birds flit between the planting, and as evening falls, bats emerge overhead while foxes and hedgehogs begin their nightly visits.

From the decking of their Little Green Room, Mhairi and her family have a front-row seat to it all. Positioned beside the pond, the room has become a place to slow down, watch the seasons change and enjoy the wildlife they’ve worked so carefully to encourage.

The pond itself is a relatively new addition. Keen to make their garden a more welcoming place for wildlife, Mhairi and her family created it just last year, carefully positioning their new garden room alongside it so the two would feel intrinsically connected.

“We thought it would be idyllic to have the garden room overlooking the pond so we could sit and admire and watch the wildlife developing.”

It didn’t take long for nature to find its way in.

Today, the pond is alive with dragonflies, damselflies, and countless other insects. Birds arrive throughout the day to feed and drink, while bats swoop low across the water in the evening. Hidden wildlife cameras have even captured regular visits from foxes and hedgehogs under the cover of darkness, offering glimpses into a world that’s easy to miss.

For Neil and their daughter Millie, both keen wildlife photographers, the garden room has become the perfect vantage point. Camera in hand, they spend hours patiently waiting for the next visitor, never quite knowing what might appear.

“Being a keen gardener, you get so involved in working in the garden that you forget to sit back and actually enjoy it.”

The garden room has changed that. Rather than becoming another project, it’s become somewhere to pause. A place to sit with a cup of tea, listen to the gentle sound of water flowing through the stream, and simply watch the garden evolve from one season to the next.

The old summerhouse that once stood in the same spot was only really useful during the warmer months. The enclosed garden room has transformed how often the family spends time there. In winter, it’s warm and cosy with the heater on. In summer, the doors slide open onto the decking and the boundary between inside and out almost disappears.

While the connection to nature is what first draws you in, it’s the flexibility of the space that has made it such an important part of family life.

Mhairi’s youngest son escapes there to study for his A-levels whenever he needs some peace and quiet. Neil occasionally works from the desk overlooking the pond. A sofa bed means it can become an extra bedroom when the extended family come to stay, giving everyone a little more room to spread out. Most evenings, though, it returns to its favourite role: a quiet retreat where Mhairi and Neil can unwind together after the day is done.

“It’s definitely a multifunctional space.”

Perhaps that’s what makes the room feel so at home within the garden. It doesn’t have one fixed purpose or belong to one person. Instead, it quietly adapts to whatever the family needs, whether that’s somewhere to study, somewhere to host loved ones, or simply somewhere to sit and watch the natural world carry on around them.

As the pond continues to mature, each passing season brings new discoveries. More insects, different birds and the occasional surprise appearance on the wildlife cameras all remind the family that nature has a way of rewarding patience.

And from their quiet spot at the bottom of the garden, they’ll have the perfect place to watch it unfold.