Independant Travel Witers

About a month ago a Travel writer from The Independant came to stay with a local man called John Sparshatt. John has created a new long distance walk called The Six Dales Trail and it sets off from Otley and finishes in Middleham. The writer, Rhiannon Batten, published her article on Saturday 26th June to coincide with the launch of the walk by Janet Street Porter in Otley.

You can see the article using the following link

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/yorkshire-striding-ahead-in-the-six-dales-2010641.html

Sheep Shearing in Blubberhouses

What a wonderful day it must be for a sheep when the shearers hit town!! The weather has varied quite a bit this week but generally its been warm, too warm to carry a fleece of wool on your back!!
The shearers are James Wilson on the right who farms with his Dad Kevin next door to us and the chap on the left is Brad Rogers all the way from sunny New Zealand. Brad has just spent two months shearing in Italy and is now here for the rest of the summer shearing before going home later in the year to start the shearing season there. Its hard work but they obviously like it! I think it pays well!. James has been to NZ for the last 3 winters shearing too.
I very much dislike this job and will find any excuse not to be involved. I used to wrap and pack all the wool for Chris but now my excuse is Im too busy, or Im waiting for guests to arrive , too old, too tired etc etc. Just anything really!!!
Brad and James make it all look so easy and can shear about 40 sheep an hour each, the wool comes off in a complete fleece and then its rolled up and packed into a large bag called a wool sheet. Chris does this now and it makes him move abit just trying to keep up with the shearers, especially if theres a third man with them which there often is !! But then he is considerably, dare I say it, older than them!!
Once the shearing is finished all the bags will be taken to the Wool Board depot in Bradford to be sorted and graded.

Another hot day!

This is brilliant! Two hot days in a row, has summer finally arrived? Probably not but the cows are enjoying it anyway. They look very relaxed with nothing to do. The sheep are not enjoying it quite so much as its the time of year when the fleeces are heavy and they are ready to be shorn. We have the shearers, James and New Zealander Brad coming along on Sunday to make a start, so for that we need this good weather to stick around as you can't shear sheep when they are wet.
The hens dont venture out quite as much when its hot, they dont like the heat, but then again they dont much care for the cold either, or snow, or wind or rain!!

Yesterday was a lovely day. I took a trip up to Clapham to see some friends John and Di who have just moved there from Kent to open a B&B. Its the most idyllic setting with amazing views which go on forever. And its so peaceful, not a sound except the birds singing and the occasional sheep calling to its lamb.I think they will do very well there, I hope so anyway. Its been a big life changing move for them but they've practised cooking the eggs (poached were particularly terrifying), theres homemade bread and yogurt and they are just waiting for the phone to start ringing!!. www.crooklandsclapham.co.uk. We sat in the garden and had tea and cakes, I could have sat there for ever but duty called and I headed back to Blubberhouses, but it wasnt all bad because we went to The Hopper for a meal with some friends which was really nice. All in all a very good day!

The Inspector Calls

I recently had the Visit England Inspector to stay with me, always a joy when they hand their card over when paying to tell you who they really are!! Then you panic to try and remember if youve said anything wrong!!
Everything it seems is fine and I was delighted to retain my Four Stars and the Gold Award and even more pleased to be given one of the new Breakfast Awards.
Ive just spent ages trying to put the logo on my website but had to admit defeat and stop wasting time by asking Al at Mullins in Kendal to put it on for me. Stupid thing was I forgot to attach it to the email for him to be able to do this!! Maybe I should go back to bed!

On a sad note the Chickens we were trying to hatch didnt make it, I dont know why they couldnt hatch but Chris thinks they were too dry, so next time we do this we have to get more humidity to them. Shame really as I was looking forward to having some chicks around. Elsie has returned to her friends in the main chicken shed and is resuming normal activities and seems unperturbed by the whole business.

Walking in Fewston

Day two in Blog land!!Today has been gloriously sunny here in Blubberhouses, well in most places in the UK I think but as Ive only been here, and most of the day has been in either the Laundry or the office I cant comment!!
My friend Daphne rescued me at 4pm and we went for a lovely walk, going from here along the land behind the Hopper Lane Hotel, crossing the A59, and then going down towards Fewston Reservoir. We passed through the woods, the Bluebells are beautiful at the moment, and then we passed through a gap in the wall and the picture is the view that greeted us. It was spectacular. We then walked the path back along the waters edge and back home. Absolutely exhausting in the heat but it was great to be out there and smell the countryside.

The first thing I did when I got back was to check on Elsie, one of our hens, who has been sitting on some eggs for three weeks now. Im keeping everything crossed for them to hatch out tomorrow. Shes sitting on 7 eggs now as one got broken but we dont know when. So Ill keep you posted and let you know how they get on, all being well it should be tomorrow

Farmhouse Breakfast Week 2010

In January 2010 we hosted a three day Farmhouse Breakfast Week event in aid of The ARC -Addington Fund. Over the three days, with the help of great friends and fellow Farm Stay members, 164 people were served Farmhouse Breakfasts . Local food producers were so generous and much of the food we served was donated to us.

We are very grateful to Barclays Bank for lending us David Jones and for all their support.

In April we presented a cheque to ARC Addington for £4462.

The national charity helps maintain the economic and social fabric of UK farming communities, notably through its Strategic Rural Housing Scheme, which provides housing for farmers and their families who have to leave their farm and cannot find anywhere suitable to live.

Farm Stay Guide Cover

Farm Stay UK

We are delighted to be chosen as the cover shot for the 2010 edition of Farm Stay UK (with a print run in the region of 100,000) a nationwide network of farm accommodation providers. Farm Stay's members open their homes to provide top quality B&B with superb, traditional farmhouse breakfasts, self-catering holidays offering an unforgettable experience and caravan and campsites equipped to the highest standards.

Blog Land

Well this is a first! The land of Blog! Never quite thought I would be doing this but decided to give it a whirl, and as its pouring with rain and I cant do anything in the garden or dry the washing its a good excuse for a sit down and to contemplate my thoughts! Having said that Ive still got all my rooms to clean, its been a very busy weekend, so I probably should have the hoover revved up by now.
And then theres yet another trolley dash round the supermarket before the next guests arrive...Hey Ho!