The Greenhouse at the Cottage

The greenhouse is in the process of producing a first for the Cottage. We have our first bunch of grapes!! Can you actually see them in the photo? At the moment they are the size of a full stop but I can assure you that they are there. If you are visiting over the next couple of months why not pop down to the greenhouse and have a look for yourself.
We also have a fantastic crop of tomatoes again this year which will be available in the dining room very soon for guests to sample at breakfast time or to take away as part of a picnic.
The chilli plants are coming on well as are the courgettes and cucumbers. Samples should be available very soon.

Quality in Tourism Inspection

We are delighted to announce that following our recent inspection that we have maintained our 4 star rating for both the B&B and the Self Catering parts of the business. Not only that but we have also been awarded the coveted Gold Award for the third year in a row.
The inspector was very pleased with the standard that we are providing and was impressed to see that the business was doing so well during the current economical situation.

A Guest gets to feed the lambs

One of our recent guests, all the way from Canada, was fortunate enough to be around at the right time to pop round to the farm and get a chance to feed the lambs. These lambs are the third ones to be born from the ewes and as the ewes can only manage to feed two the third has to get hand fed.
Rebecca was lucky enough to feed them and to give them a cuddle as well. The lambs will only be kept in the pens for a short time and will be let out into the fields quite soon.
Rob, the farmer, also has some fine Tamworth pigs at the moment so hopefully we can get a photo of them soon.

Spring Gardening

The hard work has started in the garden again but we had a willing volunteer to help us the other day. Meisie decided that giving a helping hand meant hitching a lift in the wheelbarrow.
The bulbs are bursting forth and all of the shrubs are coming to life. Hopefully in a couple of weeks we will start to see some green shoots if we keep having the weather like today. It was so warm and sunny with only a breath of wind and just so pleasant.

Spring is here

Despite the cold weather and the fact that the snow keeps threatening the snowdrops have started to peep through. The garden has a number of clumps of snowdrops straining upwards to catch the sunshine.
Elsewhere in the garden a number of the shrubs are starting to show signs of buds appearing so things are starting to look a bit healthier.
Why not spend a short break with us to make the long months pass a bit quicker?

Garden Wildlife

The garden is still full of wildlife even at this time of the year with the bird feeders attracting some lovely birds. However we had an intruder at the feeders the other day as a squirrel decided to attempt to get some of the nuts.
Pam managed to catch it in the act and it looks like some robber in a set of white overalls!!
We even managed to see a woodpecker at the feeders the other day but unfortunately we were not quick enough to get a photograph. Watch this space........

Breakfast Award

We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded the newly launched Breakfast Award by Visit England. Only 7% of B&B establishments throughout the country have received this award and the girls are thrilled that their quality breakfasts have been recognised in our recent assessment.
The fact that we source the majority of the components of our breakfasts from the local farms has paid dividends. Hayway Farm in Broadway and our own local Mabels Farm in Back Street have maintained their high standard of produce and we are pleased to keep using them.