Visting the accommodation providers at last

Finally I am getting out from the office to say hello to

some of the accommodation providers on my website.

Last Saturday, when she had just cleaned through her holiday let, in those precious few hours that cottage owners have from waving goodbye to one set of holiday makers and smiling hello to the next lot, I called in to see Hilary Jarvis and her family.

This few short hours when anyone in the family that can be rallied to push a hoover or wash a few windows is rallied, is called the changeover. Usually from 10 or 11 in the morning to around 4 or 5 in the afternoon and the amount of work to be carried out to get the holiday let back into pristine condition depends entirely on the state in which the outgoing guests leave the place. Some really nice people will leave the place almost as they found it a week ago, with just a neat pile of outgoing soiled linen by the back door ready for you to deal with as you carry in an armful of clean linen.
Others of course, fortunately not so many, walk out to their cars with a 'you're having a laugh aren't you ' brave face with hardly a backward glance at the dishevelled mess of unmade beds and occasionally dishes in the sink. Which is stupid really because home owners are quite at liberty to withold some of the damage deposit that these days all incoming holidaymakers have to pay. We once delivered a narrowboat back to base after a party of youngish (in their twenties) delivered a hire boat back to base on a sunny Summer morning, and the boat base was not at all happy about the state of the boat. The final night of the holiday had culminated in a boozy party and the crew had finished off the holiday with full on hangovers as one of their party manouvered the boat back to base. They foolishly thought that all they had to do was transfer their tatty belongings into their cars and drive away home. But the boatyard staff had other ideas.

A stand off ensued once the cars were packed and the party made to depart......
But a barrier had been lowered from the boat yard car park, and the manager, a big bloke went about his work and totally ignored them. Brilliant !

We watched all this from the grandstand position on the top of our own boat as we took a final mug of tea at the end of our clean out.....

It was just like a wild west shoot out... the kids were full of muster, determined to be off, but penned in by the metal bar. Three male members of their party studied the locking device and scratched their heads whilst the females slumped on cars smoking and goading their men folk on to bring about what they saw as their right to be released and away.

It was at this stage that I was dragooned by the lady cleaners to go and witness the state of the boat, in case of any comeback, and I was completely stunned at the state of it. The galley was just a sea of dirty dishes, bottles and cans, the beds looked as if they had been used for a month, and the bathroom, well I won't bother telling you.

After some time, one of the lads came and talked to the cleaning ladies, offering them money to clean up the boat, but they referred him to the boss, who was in full view but back turned with his total attention seemingly on other things......

The boy didn't have the bottle to go on his own, and went back to the car park to reinforce himself with the other 2 boys, and in a threesome they approached Mr. Chunky.

The first thing we heard was "I'm gonna phone my Dad"

Chunky came back with "Good, I look forward to meeting him"

There then followed some debate as to the likelihood of the deposit being returned.....
"No there will be no return of the deposit. Plus there will be an extra charge to be paid right now, for the work that the cleaners have to carry out to turn the boat around ....... or else"

"Else wot ?" asked the mouthiest of the bunch.

"Or else you can get those girls off their backsides and back into that boat to clean it. Your choice"

It was pure theatre to watch. I loved every minute of it. And you know what happened don't you. Just what we guessed. They paid up and ran. They had to pool money together so that they could leave, and that is what they did !
But the cleaners had the last laugh, because after we had loaded our car to go and went back to finalise things at the desk, the cleaners took a coffee break from the worst of their endeavours and came into the office in a happy mood. Not only were there toiletries and food to be divvied up between them, they had found a pack of cards and quite a bit of money on the floor under the fixed table. They did well out of that day, but they deserved every penny.

Anyway, to get back to Hilary. ...
I found her on her hands and knees washing the floor to the hall in her self catering cottage, working backwards with the bucket as she came towards me. ....

This was her last job in getting things back to normal. She had asked me to take some up to date shots for her website, and with this in mind she brought out the welcome cake that she cooks each week 'for the next lot' It looked utterly delicious. See above. click the pic to see it in all it's glory. The dog in the pot is Harvey who gets on with all visitors and visiting dogs, and the hens are her free range flock fully free ranging and looking in the peak of condition. If you stay in the her self catering you can buy some of the eggs...
Take a look at Hilary's website http://www.pittpark.co.uk/ to see for yourself how inviting it looks....

Not far from Widecombe, very family minded.

Fortunately Hilary's Mum was busy in the home kitchen making fresh bread and carrot soup, and the new ice cream maker was being put through it's paces, so I had a very tasty lunch before I journeyed home.
I still reckon this is a great job. Only one drawback. If I told you that the time is now past midnight, and that I never seem to fully get through all my little jobs, I think you will understand. Goodnight one and all.

4 bed and breakfasts visited in one wet afternoon

Jane and I decided that we needed to get out of the office.. so we rang a few of our accommodation providers and asked if we could come and visit... When we set out just after lunch the weather was dry but overcast. By the time we reached the Oratory in Princetown, first picture, it was raining, but the warm welcome from Sally made up for that. The first shot is of one of her double rooms.It has a private shower room just along the corridor, a tea tray, telly and usual trimmings. On the way over Jane and I had discussed the merits of Princetown as a holiday destination, and it has much to commend it. For one it is at the hub of many breathtaking walks, there are several good places to eat that are not off the chart pricewise, and every vistor must have a natural curiosity about the prison itself. Masses of history, check out the Prison Museum. Sally offers 2 double rooms and a large annexe with it's own front door. She welcomes children and dogs and her vistors book is stuffed with complimentary comments.
Find her on our price range one page. http://www.dartmooraccommodation.co.uk/accommodation/dartmoor_b&b_price_range_1.html

Already behind schedule we arrived at Barnabas House in Yelverton just as Carolyn was taking cakes and quiches out of the oven that were destined for
a visit from the Bishop to the local church the following day. One thing I did comment on to Carolyn as we walked round taking pics of all the bedrooms, was that her whole house was gloriously clean without any whiff of the dreaded airfresheners and fabric conditioners that I often come across these days. I don't know why some landladies think that visitors will appreciate this overpowering usually cinnamon pong. In the early 80's Rob and I visited New York and the lasting memory is of the synthetic stink that whafted through any and every shopping mall. Carolyn agreed wholeheartedly that artificial cover up smells should be outlawed. Her's is the room with the purple throw on the bed. She has 7 rooms on offer in total. So if you have a group of 16 that you want to house, (the family room will take 5) then

give her a ring in plenty of time. We were even further behind on the timetable when we arrived at Pixeycombe near to the village of Meavy where the cheerful Trevor ushered us in from the lashing rain and offered us tea and chocolate biscuits. Sue arrived in no time and we were treated to a tour of their comfortable family home to see the 2 letting rooms. The house is full of wonderful oil paintings and prints. I love the furnishings and the guest sitting room with it's giant settee and eye catching fireplace. This is one of those the bed and breakfasts where you arrive as a guest and leave as a friend. I know that sounds really corny, and I hate to see it on websites, but Trevor is friendly, interesting AND interested. Both he and Sue have enjoyed having folks to stay and share their space. They have an 11 year old son who meets a new set of friends each Summer, much as our 2 girls did in our busiest B&B years. The local pub, The Royal Oak in Meavy is perfect for evening meals. The pic above with the 2 double beds is the twin /family room which has an adjacent private bathroom. They have an impressive garden with views and a deep empty pond that Trevor refuses to fill in case any toddler comes to grief. Eggs for breakfast come from their own hens so of course they naturally get an extra tick there, me being bonkers about chucks.

Finally and after Jane had rung to apologise, we arrived at Hunter's Lodge, close to Badgers Holt at Dartmeet, a honeypot for holidaymakers in the centre of the Moor and overlooking the stunning River Dart. I have had Toni and John's B&B and annexe on my website for over 12 years and have tried to meet up with them a couple of times without success. Reticent about why I should need to visit them at all, I was hoping to reassure them that I am in no way a travel inspector or similar, merely that I want to have a look around their place for when visitors ask me the inevitable "What's it really like?" or "Do you rate it?" along with odd stuff like, "Can we bring a barbecue?" and "Is the bath big enough for my fat husband ?" (I kid you not)

The one point that I do wish to get across to you is that Hunter's Lodge is so much better than I was lead to expect from the website. Toni and John are quiet gentle people and their house is beautifully kitted out in a cross between Country Living and Amish style. There is no tv. Possibly because reception there might be poor, but largely I think because that is not their way. Help yourself to one of the many books on offer, meet up with the family around the fire in the sitting room, on the large comfy sofas. They will spend time showing you the best walks on a map that you can borrow.
John has taken the trouble to fit an almost silent extractor fan in an enclosed bathroom, and they were both keen to let me know. It is important to look after our holidaymakers in this way. I used to love waving folks off at the end of their stay, when I knew that they had taken a chance to unwind and recover in this quality landscape.
Toni and John will let you do just that without intruding. I plan to go back and see inside their holiday cottage at a later date as the weather by now was truly dire. But as we drove off through thick fog at Princetown we agreed that come Summer all these places will be ever better in the sunshine. All four of these B&B's can be found on my B&B's price range one page.
Here is the link :-
http://www.dartmooraccommodation.co.uk/accommodation/dartmoor_b&b_price_range_1.html

Norfolk gives me a bad back !

I should have known better really. I've got an iffy back, and when Rob needed to go and help Elizabeth with things in Norfolk, I should have done the sensible thing and stayed here. But, any Mum will tell you that when you don't see your kids as often as you would wish, your own common sense gets ignored - at my peril !

From Devon to Norfolk by road. There's no easy way. And we've tried them all. Every one is a 6 hour slog.

Elizabeth is almost in her new home and office set up, but it has been a rocky ride with an inept plumber and a not 100% committed builder on site. Maybe they took advantage of her, knowing that she couldn't possibly know the real cost of things, how long it would take to replaster etc. who knows? But one thing is for sure. She sure as hell needed Daddy to sort her out BIG TIME. The next time she takes on a building project it had better be within easy reach of Rob, or else I shall throw my rattle right out of the pram....

She had some photography work for me to tackle and the lady behind the bar is Cheryl at the Crown Inn that E is building a website for. The mat bowl and candle in front of a swimming pool is likewise a website build for the Shining Tree near to where E lives. I was offered a dip in the pool and maybe I should have taken it. As it was when we retuned back to the office I was in agony with my back - maybe from kicking/pushing a walking machine into better light for a shot ...
So from then on I was bent over like a 90 year old rice planter wishing I hadn't got the journey home to contend with. Add to that the fact that we were scheduled to collect 40 five foot trees from a Norfolk tree grower for the folks at Stone Lane Gardens and Arboretum in Chagford, which we knew would take up the major space in the car. Rob had taken out the back seats in order to house the trees, so on the way home, knowing that I would be best off in the lying position bless him he dropped the passenger seat right back, packed out the footwell and stretchered me back. It's a bizarre thing lying down in a car and only being able to see the sky, tops of trees and the odd lorry driver picking his nose as we overtake his truck. Rob kindly plied me with fruit, sweets, drinks, chocolate, the papers and such, so that by the time we reached home my tight space looked like a space pod after a six week mission. And our lovely 7 foot wide bed was just like Shangri La ..... Pure Bliss....

And the white bust ? The beauty with the ringlets ? I took her picture at the auction in Chagford on Saturday. Where a bottle of Chateau Latour wine made £100 for church funds. I was there taking a pic for the Okehampton Times. What a shame that the buyer was absent.

Just as soon as the back is ready, I plan to visit all the accommodation providers on my website www.dartmooraccommodation.co.uk and take some up to date pictures of each place. The sun is shining and there are signs of Spring on the way ... Great Bring it on !