John Fisher, a builder, and his wife Elizabeth wanted more living space, so they left their small flat for an old 40-meter-high castle tower. They have spent five years turning it into a beautiful home with six floors, winning three architectural prizes. "I love the space, and being private," Elizabeth says. "You feel separated from the world. If I am in the kitchen, which is 25 meters above the ground floor, and the doorbell rings, I don't have to answer it because visitors can't see I am in!" There are 142 steps to the top so if I go up and down five or six times a day, it's very good exercise! But having to carry heavy things to the top is terrible, so I never buy more than two bags of shopping from the supermarket at a time. Except for that, it's a brilliant place to live. "When we first saw the place, I asked my father's advice about buying it, because we couldn't decide. After paying for it, we were a bit worried because it looked awful. But we really loved it, and knew how we wanted it to look." "Living here can be difficult--yesterday I climbed a four-meter ladder to clean the windows. But when you stand on the roof you can see all the way out to the sea on a clear day, and that's a wonderful experience. I am really glad we moved. " What problem does Elizabeth have with living in such a tall building?
Her visitors find it hard to see if she is at home. She feels separated from others. She cannot bring home lots of shopping at once. It is impossible to clean any of the windows.