TV Production comes to Folly Farm Cottage

Ilmington has just joined the TV era with filming for the BBC series Father Brown taking place in the Manor in the centre of the village. We were very fortunate that one of the cars used in the series was parked at the cottage as the owners were staying with us for a couple of nights. The car is a beautiful 1935 Rolls Royce and as you can see from the photograph it is in immaculate condition.
Pam was fortunate enough to be given a drive in the car by the owner prior to it getting used on set. Father Brown features Mark Williams who very kindly autographed a couple of Harry Potter books for Lindsey's granchildren as he appeared as Mr Weasley in the films. He is pictured here signing the books in the Red Lion our fantastic village local.

Spring Lambs

Spring is well and truly here in the Cotswolds. On a recent walk I was fortunate enough to get an up close experience with some lovely lambs. While they were not confident enough to eat from my hand they were quite happy to have their noses stroked.

Today's task is to plant the tomato plants in the greenhouse. As any summer visitor to the cottage will know I am very proud of the tomatoes that we provide our guests at breakfast time which are fresh from the greenhouse. Hopefully we should get a good crop again this year. 

Day out at the Cotswolds Tourism Forum

Just back from a meeting of the Cotswolds Tourism Annual Forum at Cheltenham racecourse. A very interesting meeting and managed to see the Fabulous Baker Brothers up close. Also chairing the meeting was the Cotswold Chef, Rob Rees.
There was a big promotion of the excellent local food within the Cotswolds including the various cheeses, Gloucester Old Spot sausages and local beers.
Nice to see so much enthusiasm shown by the attractions in the area prior to the main season starting. The National Trust properties are starting to open up again and Sudeley Castle opens for business on the 17th March.

The annual strange looking tomato blog

As usual I have been growing tomatoes in the greenhouse for use for our guest's breakfasts. This year has been no exception in managing to provide an odd shaped tomato that can go on display. This fine shaped chap has been on display in the entrance hall for a while drawing many an admiring comment. I have to admit that the smile and eyes are not completely natural!

Autumn is well and truly with us now and with the clocks having changed the nights are getting dark so early now. We have still managed to get some lovely sunny days and Pam and I have managed to get some nice long walks in the sunshine albeit with a few extra layers of clothing on.

Shakespeare comes to Folly Farm Cottage

How many people can say that they have had their bathroom painted by a Shakespearean actor? One of our Villagers, actor Mark Carey, while resting between acting jobs takes on a few painting jobs. He recently painted the bathroom in the Orchard apartment for us as part of our ongoing maintenance works at the Cottage. He also spent some time painting our windows in the cottage to make sure that we maintain our four star gold award appearance.
Our annual inspection took place in May of this year and we were delighted to maintain the four star rating and to still be awarded a gold award for our service.

Pastoral Scene

What a lovely scene at Berry Orchard just up the road from the cottage yesterday afternoon with the site of some lovely new lambs and the ducks swimming past on the pond. The sun was out full and the picture was just perfect. How can you resist coming to Ilmington for a break?

The weather has definitely picked up again and the cold breeze of last week has almost gone. With the daffodils appearing round the village and the buds appearing on the trees I think Spring has made it's full appearance.

Bookings are coming in nicely now but there is still space for you to get in touch and book your room of choice.

We look forward to welcoming back previous guests and also new friends here at Folly Farm Cottage.

Has Spring arrived early?

It might be only late January but the snowdrops have started to show through in the garden. I guess it will be the mild weather that has prompted this early arrival but it is so nice to see. There are even buds on the trees showing already so let's hope that there is no sudden change in the weather or a snowfall or two.

The Cottage is looking as pretty as ever and the bookings are starting to come in for Springtime and the Summer.

We look forward to meeting old friends and new in this new year.