A MAN who bought an abandoned mansion for just £272,000 has told how he now lives like a king.
Alun Lewis splashed his cash on an abandoned haunted-like house in Wales.
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Big House sits on a four-acre estate surrounded by a huge lake on the Cleddau at Landshipping in Pembrokeshire.
It was originally built in 1750 and owned by wealthy coal agents the Owen family.
The fisherman and hunter dreamt about the mansion on the river in the village of Llangwm since being a child.
The 62-year-old bought the property for a whopping £275,000 more than two decades ago in hopes of renovating it himself.
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He said: “I couldn’t turn the house down when it came up. It felt right. I’m still at it 23 years later but I’m getting there slowly.
“It’s certainly been a long old project and everyone else says I’m mad for doing it but I think it’ll be worth it in the end. It’s the spot that makes it.”
The mansion has been left to rot since 1890 and boasts misty windows destroyed roof where rain can get through.
He added: “There’s nothing else like this place that I’ve seen before. Nothing is straight here.
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“Nothing is square or tidy. It’s just what I’ve picked up along the way and it’s cost me nothing. A lot of it has taken me half an hour with a chainsaw.
But despite the tough state of the site, he admits it’s the perfect escape.
The home-owner has breathtaking views from the third-storey room to the medieval Picton Castle.
Alun said: “To be out on the water in the early hours of the morning, otters swimming around you, peace and quiet, it’s brilliant.
“Pembrokeshire is special and the estuary is special. It’s more than just a big house. It’s not being overlooked, no traffic, no noise. What more could you want?”
Although there is still work to be done on the Big House, Alun enjoys his life at the incredible mansion.
While works are still in progress, he lives in a camper van on the riverbank alongside his chickens, pigs ducks and horses.
He explained: “I’m paid to cull deer and boar and chop down trees so I eat some of the meat and use some of the timber.
“My costs are low. You haven’t got to earn a lot of money if you don’t need to spend anything have you? I don’t go to the supermarket often.
“We haven’t bought meat for donkey’s years but we live like kings here. The stuff I’ve caught I could sell for a fortune but I’m not about money.”
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It comes as a couple who wanted a bigger house and more land for their kids to grow up in have shared how they have transformed an old church into their dream home.
The couple shared their renovation story via a series of videos posted to their TikTok channel @bb_acres.
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