DECEMBER DIARY

November was a very sad month for us as our beloved horse, Lucy, died - she was 35 years old. The one good thing was that she did not suffer, she just died after her eating her tea. It's strange not to see her wandering around the farm with her friends - the sheep.

On a brighter note, November saw the final completion of the Tea room and we were able to welcome group bookings for evening buffets. Although the weather during the past couple of weeks with the snow and ice is proving to be disadvantage as the country roads have been icy and impassable at times.

I must get myself motivated and put up my Christmas tree and decorations. I have started baking mince pies (yum) and Christmas sherry trifle (hic) - there is usually not much left for any one else to sample! Really looking forward to turkey and all the trimmings, followed by christmas pudding and lots of rum custard. Hope your day is as fulfilling as mine! (I must think about a diet in the New Year but only think ........).

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all visitors (both old and new) to Abbot Park and my blog a very happy Christmas and peaceful new year.

Best wishes


Carole

OCTOBER DIARY

Dear Guests

October has arrived and the weather is really warm and sunny for the time of year. We have managed to capture some lovely autumn pictures above.

The campsite is winding down but is still open until the end of November. I am really pleased to advise that the tea room is now open. We played host to a large group from a local parish tour who enjoyed afternoon tea (light snacks and cakes) and everyone seemed to enjoy the fare on offer.

We have started receiving enquiries about Christmas buffet lunches so we would welcome any further bookings for these or from Ramblers or other associations who would like to call at Abbot Park Tea Room for afternoon tea to complement their planned walk. Bookings can be made by calling 01229 861447.

If you would like a small piece of Lakeland, I have Herdwick sheepskin rugs for sale. Please telephone or e-mail for further details.

Best regards

Carole

SEPTEMBER DIARY

Dear Guests

We had a very busy time in August, lots of campers visited us and it was lovely to welcome families who obviously appreciated the beauty of the area and were able to take advantage of weather as we were lucky to have some sunny weekends during the month.

Following on from last month, I was able to pick some blackberries and make some apple and blackberry crumbles and blackberry jelly - lovely on fresh homemade scones! The farm has been busy with the second cut of silage and some further little calves were born. I have also been trying to make use of the fine days and do some maintenance - staining the gates (not one of my favourite jobs :-) ).

The tea room is making good progress and it is currently looking as though it should be completed by the end of September/early October so I should be busy baking soon!!!

Best wishes

Carole

AUGUST DIARY

Dear Guests

We have had a lot of wet weather during the past couple of weeks, but the hose pipe ban still remains in the North West. Despite the weather we have still managed to welcome more visitors to the camp site who have still managed to enjoy the beauty of the Lake District.

This month's photos include the baby ducklings, views of Colton and Morecambe Bay, red deer hind, cows at Three Foot Oak and blackberry flowers and heather - I personally love the blackberry flowers and I cannot wait until they turn to berries and I can make a blackberry and apple pie - yum - lovely with fresh cream!

On the topic of food (one of my favourite hobbies), the tea room is well underway and I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will be open for mid September.

I hope to see you soon, if you have not yet had a chance to visit us and equally I look forward to welcoming you back for a return visit.

Best wishes

Carole

JULY DIARY

Dear Guests

July has arrived along with some welcome rain. Luckily we had managed to get our first cut of silage completed, although due to the warm, dry weather the crop was not as good as usual.

We also managed to complete the sheep shearing.

Further to last month's update, we had 3 cute little ducklings which have hatched out. We have taken them to a friend who has a little run until they get a bit bigger.

This month we have included some lovely photos of the mid summer moon and next month we will have some pictures of the ducklings.

Kind regards

Carole

JUNE DIARY

Dear Guests

We have had a lovely month so far, we have had some lovely sunny days but unfortunately the ground is in need of some rain. Due to the dry conditions we have not been able to begin our first crop of silage, so we will be later than usual.

We have welcomed more guests to the campsite during the month and it was lovely to see all the children taking an interest in the hens, geese and ducks. We currently have a hen sat on some duck eggs (poor thing appears to be mixed up!) so we are keeping our fingers crossed that we have some ducklings hatching very soon.

Jobs on the farm are continuing and sheep shearing is just around the corner.

We have more lovely photographs, taken by our regular visitor to the campsite, to enjoy (who needs the Country File calendar!!!).

Hope you will visit us soon whilst the weather is nice - the forthcoming week is predicting more warm weather.

Best regards

Carole

MAY DIARY

Dear Guests

Here we are in May already - I cannot believe how quickly the time is passing.

We have welcomed more visitors to the campsite during the last month so it has been quite a busy period alongside the work needed on the farm as well. We have been busy maintaining the hedgerows and have planted lots of hedging plants during this weekend.

This month's photos were again taken by our regular guest and I think you will agree that the true essence of the Lake District countryside has been captured (photos show lambs and Lucy the horse at Abbot Park and views of Oxen Park and Rusland). One of the photos is of a monitoring aircraft from Cranfield Research Institute monitoring the ash cover in the atmosphere over Bethecar Moor. It had been to Manchester and was going north to Glasgow and the West Coast of Scotland when all the aircraft in the UK were grounded.

Although the weather is cool for May we have had some beautiful sunny and fine days which makes for ideal walking conditions so we hope you will visit us soon.

Best regards

Carole

APRIL UPDATE

Dear Guests

We welcomed our first visitors to the campsite at the end of March and now we are receiving numerous enquiries regarding mini breaks - unfortunately the weather has spoiled it for some, but the last couple of weekends have been lovely. The tea room is not yet open but we are hoping to be up and running in June. Just to confirm that unfortunately we are unable to allow camp fires as we were finding that they were damaging the grass and we want to make sure the facilities stay nice for everyone's enjoyment. We are, however, looking into a dedicated fire area which can be enjoyed by all.

We are still busy with the lambs but hopefully this month should see the majority born. Please note the lovely photos above, which were taken by one of our regular guests during the last couple of weeks.

Hope you visit us soon.


Carole