YOU must remember that childhood song "A mouse lived in a windmill in old Amsterdam", well, surely a little part of you dreamt of living in such a mill. Round rooms, views for miles and the quirkiness of it all...
The Lawrence family did it. They sold their bungalow and took on a "project"... "and how happy they were..."
Thirty-five years ago, Mike and Yvonne, now 74 and 73, decided it was time to move. They were living in Cropwell Bishop in a bungalow with children Shaun and Sarah and had their eye on a piece of land on which to build.
But the bungalow was taking its time to sell and, though the landowner was patient, he couldn't wait for ever. The land eventually sold and so did the Lawrence's bungalow – a week later.
They continued their search for land, sold the bungalow and rented for a year. "We loved the Vale of Belvoir and so wanted something in this area," says Yvonne.
Then one Saturday, Yvonne bought a copy of the Post and "here was this place".
"Mike's brother is a master carpenter. We asked him if he thought we could restore it and he said it could be done but it would be a five-year project."
"More like 30-year," jokes Mike, "and I'm still doing it. A heritage project is never really done."
So, on February 10, 1978, the deal was done. The family bought The Windmill and the adventure began.
"It was a shambles when we bought it," says Yvonne.
The now-kitchen was just a barn and the entire interior needed renovating.
The mill was originally owned by the Gash family, who established a bus company in the village in 1919, and there had been buses parked in what are now the gardens.
"We employed a building company to carry out the renovation in the beginning," Yvonne says.
"The scaffolding went up and work began. But the company did more damage than a little and one day, Mike just said, 'right, that's it, no-one is going to touch the old girl again but me' and from that point on we did everything we could ourselves."
Mike has carried out all the major work, rewiring, plumbing... and all the time the family were living in a 28ft caravan at the bottom of the garden, with the children camping out when the weather allowed
"We kept the cast iron windows and had them shot-blasted to clean them up," says Yvonne. "The uneven floor in the sitting room was re-laid – Mike and I took a pickaxe to that one day – sewers have been renovated and every floor and staircase, Mike has done."
In the process, there was heartache but the couple made some good friends along the way.
They talk of local farmer Robert Lockwood and of Stan Wright, who welcomed them to the village from the off.
Stan died earlier this month. "Stan was a true gentleman of the village and was such a help to us when we moved in. He lent us his cherry-picker, provided an oak beam from his wood yard," Yvonne recalls.
"It took six men to bring that beam in," she says, pointing to the beam above our heads in the dining room, "and it was lifted using a block and tackle."
An extension was put on to the side of the mill to create the kitchen, utility and garage area and now the accommodation also includes a reception hallway, a cloakroom, a shower room, a dining room, a lounge and three bedrooms.
"We reclaimed materials where possible. There was a hotel on the Saxondale island that was demolished to make way for the Shell station years ago. We used windows from there in the extension.
"The whole idea was to keep everything as simple as possible and everything in keeping."
After three years of hard work, the family finally moved in. And then the question has to be: do you need special furniture for round rooms? Yvonne says not. "The curve isn't that great so everything we have is ordinary furniture."
The Windmill, which was listed in March 1986, stands on the edge of the village and, at 50ft high, has some fantastic views from each of its five floors out over open countryside towards Belvoir Castle and the surrounding area. The half-acre garden is a haven for wildlife and includes lawns, a veg garden and fruit trees. There is also a large store.
The mill was featured in a Post article in October 1983, when Yvonne was quoted as saying: "There were times when we felt like giving in when it got very expensive and the repairs seemed endless but she is such a lovely old mill that we wouldn't dream of selling and moving now."
But the time has now come to downsize. Sarah and Shaun, now 40 and 42, have moved out and so it's just the two of them. Yvonne says: "We've had a lovely life here and have enjoyed doing it."
Mike adds: "It is a great achievement, there aren't many people that can say they've restored a windmill in their lifetime."