December Diary

Dear Guests

Here we are celebrating Christmas day - hope you are all having a very very merry Christmas (I am .....!).  My neighbour has popped round for one drink and he is still here - he has just had some tea (he has been really chatty since he arrived and he brought a bottle of gin, so I am not complaining!). 

The camping barns are taking longer than expected but I have to say they are looking lovely - I cannot wait until they are finished.  The awful weather has delayed the builders and prevented them completing to schedule, however I have started shopping for homeware bits and pieces in readiness.

Santa was really kind this year, he brought me my very own tractor so I am totally independent - I can manage to feed the animals without my son's supervision.  It's fab - it's a nice old green John Deere - it's old like me and is not computerised (I could not manage to drive my son's tractor, so this one is much more me).

I have had a really busy day feeding all the animals, I hope they are all going to do OK as it has been so wet for them - hopefully early 2013 will see some dry weather. 

I would like to take the opportunity to thank you all very much for your support during 2012 and to wish you all the very best for a happy and healthy New Year.

With best wishes


Carole


PS - I have uploaded a few photos taken today.

up date on camping barn

Dear guests

The weather as turned quite wintry, the hills around at the weekend were covered in snow and when the sun was out  the veiws were stunning. The camping barn as got all the block work done and they are busy putting the slates on, all the stone facing. electrics and plumbing are still to sort.I have put a realistic date on opening the camping barn for March 2013. When somebody visits with a camera I will get them to take some photos then you will see how we are progressing. We have fetched the cows in for winter now, as all the calves have gone. We thought we had lost jeff the sheep dog on sat night it was that frightened of all the banging fire works, he bolted off and we could not find him, but he came back on sunday, so we let him stay in the house now. I am going soft in my old age. Well bettter go and feed the sheep, it is raining again.
bye for now

carole

September Diary

Dear Guests

I hope you are all well, at least better than the weather.

It has been a disappointing few months due to the weather; we have had very few sunny days this year.  However, I would like to pass on a big “thank you” to all the guests who have returned to camp with us again, especially the Johnson family who have been every year since we opened.  This year was our 3^rd year and I love to see the Johnson’s on their unicycles and this year they had improved tremendously.

At the end of August we welcomed Ruth and her husband and daughter who had camped with us and it was an honour when she brought her parents back to celebrate their Ruby wedding with afternoon tea in the tea room – we had a lovely time.

I am really grateful to everybody for looking after the camping field and leaving it nice for the next campers and helping us to keep our campsite ‘special’ for all to experience. 

News on the camping barn - well progress is a bit slow due to all the bad weather but the foundations are in and the block work has started progressing.  As soon as I know of a completion date, photos will be published on the web site.  

Well, I know it’s early but today I have started to think about making my Christmas cakes – I cannot believe it is October tomorrow!

Best wishes

Carole

JULY DIARY

Dear Guests

Here we are in July and due to the wet weather we have had no campers for the last couple of weeks.  We have a group of Scouts undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh Award staying tonight so I hope it stays fine for them.  I just hope the weather picks up for August and the school holidays.

I have been experiencing problems with my computer following a power surge when lightening struck a couple of weeks ago, so apologies to all campers if you have been expecting an e-mail response to a booking enquiry and have not received anything.

My sister was given some German friendship cake (goes by the name of Herman), to look after and she baked it on Thursday night.  It's really rather good, I enjoyed munching on that - she has started a new batch of mixture and will be passing some over for me to look after - I just hope Herman keeps bubbling and I don't kill him.  My diet is not going too well at all at the moment and I also went out for a lovely Indian meal last night so I will have to get back on track next week.  I treated myself to a couple of new items in the Next sale, so I have an incentive to loose a couple of pounds (although I am rather partial to the Philadelphia chocolate flavour spread - it goes really nice with homemake flapjack!  It takes a lot of willpower not to eat the whole tub! :-) lol).

Best regards


Carole



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Glamping at Abbot Park farm Campsite/tearoom

Dear Guests
May as drifted by and now it is flaming June, but the weather is not good for campers,I hope you have had a good jubilee weekend, and all the happy campers who stayed here got home safely . I have now got planning permision to build a camping barn,Glamping is coming to Abbot Park, it will be 2 seperate barns each having a wet room shower etc,sleeping platform with matresses, woodburner/cooker and bedding and towels provided if required, you wont have to  fetch a thing, Work should be starting on them in the next couple of weeks getting them ready for september, I am really excited about this new project.I hope the plans will give you an idea of what it will be like.   I had a sheep lamb about 2 weeks ago and it had 4 lambs, she as managed to feed them herself until now ,so I am just off to give them their lunch as I have had mine, while writing this.Pardon the english as I cant multi task.
bye for now
carole

spring

19/4/12
 Dear Guests

I just had to tell you that the first swallows arrived back on the 7th of april, and this morning when I was walking round the last of the lambing sheep I heard the cuckoo, I think it as come back earlier than last year.The weather is still cold here and lots of showers, some very heavy .The mayflowers are coming out and some woods loook quite blue with the blue bells.Hopefully May will be a lot warmer.

The first of this years new arrivals.

February Diary

Dear Guests

January has whizzed by quickly - the weather has been absolutely dreadful. First we had a load of rain and now it's snow and ice - I just wish we could have a nice cold and dry sunny spell. My dad fell on the ice and broke is wrist so we have had a few hospital visits and the sheep have really suffered because of the weather. Looking on the bright side :-), I am hoping the worst is over and it means we will get a super Easter for all the campers who have booked.

My diet is going quite well, I was lucky to be taken out recently and I was able to get into my symetrical gold, brown and turquoise mini dress and knee high boots (no it isn't a joke - I really did wear this). My sister bought me the dress for Christmas so I thought if you can't beat them join them and it give me an incentive to loose a few pounds - I'll try and keep going - I could in in a bikini by Summer (ha ha only joking)!! Anyway, the dress raised a few eyebrows.

We have had quite a mountain bikers and walkers visiting the tea room during January. Dogs are also welcome in the tea room as long as they are kept on a lead.

The cows are going to start calving this month so we will have some new additions to the farm. I was really disappointed to find that the legbar hen, which we bought in December and was supposed to lay blue eggs, only lays brown ones.

Anyway, I think I will go and have a well earned coffee now in my new Emma Bridgewater Alice mug.

Hope to see you soon.

Carole