Hello Everyone
Where has the Summer gone? Since writing our last newsletter in March (was it really that long ago?), we have had a very busy season for which we feel very fortunate and would like to thank you, our guests, both returning and new visitors for your custom.
April brought an unexpected but very welcome letter from Quality in Tourism. We were delighted to receive “GOLD” award on both cottages. To achieve this our quality scores have to be 84% and above for 4 star (The Mistal) and 91% and above for 5 star (The Barn). This is the first year of the awards and almost 1,500 of the 20,000 properties inspected achieved the Gold award. The award is valid for one year and we feel very honoured to have received it. We will work hard and strive to maintain the award next year.
The rear garden of The Barn and also the garden as you enter the gates have both been planted up and once we got over the initial problem of the rabbits eating the plants, both gardens are now looking established. The front garden to The Barn has also been tidied and replanted in one section. We also keep cutting back and tidying around the land and hopefully guests can see a difference. There is still a lot of work to do and we have many projects, but Rome wasn’t built in a day!
Both cottages have had new garden furniture this year, and although we haven’t had the Summer that was promised to us, the furniture has been put to good use. We have also put a pavilion chair up on the top of the bank taking in the view.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have much luck with hatching the Bantams this year and consequently only have two young, both hens, so I will keep them for breeding next year. The large hens seem to have come to the end of their laying and we have recently brought in eight new hens to produce eggs. Two of the hens have started laying but we are eagerly
awaiting the others to start as egg production is very low. We are having to buy in eggs to do the baking each week - this really goes against the grain!! (No pun intended)
As guests who have visited us since Easter will know, we now have another dog - Wesley. He is a rescue dog and was five months old when we adopted him. He had already had two homes before us, so had quite a rough start to his life, but our home should now be his home for good. It was a little difficult to train him when he first arrived, but we have persevered and he is coming along nicely. There is a photograph on the website for anyone that hasn’t met him yet. The other three dogs are fine. Meg is getting old and slow but Wesley perks her up.
Our forward bookings for 2010 and even 2011 are outstanding. If anyone is considering visiting us, please book early to avoid disappointment. As always, we are happy to “pencil” in bookings for next year and will contact you in the New Year to confirm. If your circumstances have changed or you no longer want the reservation, it isn’t a problem, we will just put the time up for re-letting. Full availability is on the website and is always up to date (except for operator error)
We have a couple of odd weeks available in October - The Barn week commencing 3rd October and The Mistal week commencing 17th October, both unfortunately due to cancellations. If anyone is interested, please contact us for details.
We know some guests have experienced difficulties with their employment, but sincerely hope you are all surviving the recession. The news this week is that things are starting to turn, lets hope so.
As always, we wish you all the best of health and hopefully look forward to seeing you in the future.
Best Wishes.
Diane & Tim
Meg, Archie, Floss & Wesley