IN PICTURES: From Hobbit hole to Wyre Forest rock house retreat via Grand Designs
It looks like the home of a Hobbit from the hit movie Lord of the Rings.
But this is actually a luxury home in the Wyre Forest that has been created inside an 800-year-old abandoned cave, near Kidderminster.
Despite being in a cliff-face, the new home has electricity, running water, underfloor heating and even wi-fi.
Featured on the popular Channel 4 programme Grand Designs, the cave took eight months to transform into a living space as Angelo Mastropietro carved, cut and drilled his way into the sandstone hillside at Low Habberley. The process included excavating a whopping 70 tons of stone by hand.
Last lived in during the 1960s, the cave is cut into 50ft high sandstone cliffs in an area which apparently inspired JRR Tolkien to create Middle Earth for Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Mr Mastropietro, 37, who has suffered from MS since 2007 bought the hillside retreat for £62,000 in 2010.
He had originally stumbled across the property11 years earlier when he was forced to seek shelter from a torrential downpour while out cycling.
He said: "It's in a beautiful location, it's uplifting, it makes you feel good, it's very relaxing. While you are a mile from the nearest pub or supermarket, you're a thousand miles back in history."
Mr Mastropietro set himself a budget of £100,000 to complete the project, including
laying electricity cables through his next door neighbour's field and making his wooden door frames and window frames fit uneven and obscure rock shapes.
The home features a bedroom, kitchen and living room area, as well as a bathroom that includes a shower and bath that is built into the rock.
He said of the project: "I want to celebrate that it is a cave dwellings, but I want to add modern day luxuries. It definitely has a modern feel but hopefully retains some cave charm."
