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Off over the Moor with the gang

Check out what we did with the family on Saturday. This is Jennifer with Rob before we set off. Click :- http://www.dartmooraccommodation.co.uk/jills-blog/general-blog/shower-ponies-ice-cream-and-sunshine/

Nesta and Shelley our ex battery hens.

We've had hens with a couple of small breaks since 1982.

When we ran the Bed and Breakfast in the eighties, we
had 

over 20 hens and a cockerel, but these days I don't
have 

so many breakfasts and evening meals to cook.

We took on 3 ex battery hens in April. This is Nesta.
She was hen pecked and her claws were so swollen she
couldn't walk properly. These days she is fit and fluffy
with plenty of feathers. Her back has a permanent
patch that will never recover, but
she is much more a happy little bird.

I am bonkers about hens.  And I'm so pleased
that battery houses have now been outlawed.
Sadly one of the 3 hens we brought home faded away
after a couple of days, but Nesta and Shelly
are now fighting fit and have each laid an egg a day
without fail for about 6 weeks . Bless !

How crazy is this? Would you take this on holiday?

Still waiting for the transfer to take place, so carrying out final tweaks to the new version of the website before it finally goes live.
I have added a few links to Amazon from the new website, and was staggered to find this suitcase for sale this morning..... Have you ever seen anything so off the wall as this ? Crazy !

Still waiting for the go-ahead on the updated website.

Trying to be patient. Still waiting for the go-ahead on the new website.

How frustating when I have lots and lots to write about including ...  

 

Liver and bacon in Okehampton at one place
followed by tea and cake at the next !

"I wonder how much she would like "

Yes I can manage that.....

 Thank you Sam Vincent for taking this flattering picture of me - not !

Why no blogs for the past 5 weeks ?

Because I have had my nose down busily working on the updated website which should be launched later today !!!!!

Tom is due in in about half an hour and we will be uploading the new look all singing all dancing www.dartmooraccommodation.co.uk
Hours have been spent learning Concrete5 so that I can input new info easily, and make small changes and updates using the database.
One of the real bonuses of that is that if one of my accommodation providers changes his or her price per night, then adding the change to the database will change the price on all the relevant pages without me laboriously bringing up each page to make the changes.


There are new features onboard which will grow as the site settles in. Pub quizzes will be listed, so if you know of a pub in the area with a regular pub quiz night let them know to get in touch to be added - no charge.

Hopefully before Autumn the town pages, Tavistock, Chagford, Ivybridge etc will have their own what's on events popping up as and when they are about to happen, and disappearing as the date passes.


All this has been made possible with the help of the massively clever Tom, who has now moved on to work at the Met Office (they knew a good thing when they saw it !) But as promised, he has continued to push me forward and encourage me to keep up with the times.
All I wanted was a cosy little website that would show a few B&B's and my comments, but hey - I have ended up nearly 15 years later, with a brilliant colourful go ahead site which more than holds it's head above water amongst other websites who get funding and subsidies, state support and everything else given to them on a plate.
I have never received a handout from anyone. No start up package, no input from officialdom. No overtime payments, no travel allowances.

Time will tell if all the hard work has been worth it.

Do take a look at the new site - preferable at the end of this week, when we have sorted out any gliches, and let me know what you think of it.


I'd better get the kettle on Tom The Magnificent will be here soon.

Oh yes, in the way of superstars talking from the red carpet podium .....
A MILLION THANKS also go to Rob my old man for bearing with me for the last 4 months as I have blastphemed my way to this point.  You my treasure deserve a medal X

Just when we think we're getting better

I'm back at the desk exhausted. That short lived drop of sunshine over lunch is to blame. Both of us recovering from the really nasty Chagford virus that is still in the village, me with complications of bronchitis and now sinusitis, we finished lunch off and thought that a stroll down the lane to Sandy Park would be 'good for us'.
Twenty minutes later 2 elderly walkers could be seen clinging to life and each other as they bravely fought to open the gate back into the garden, having stopped repeatedly on the way home to recover breath and colour.
Upon reaching home I went straight away for a lie down in the sitting room and slept for half an hour, and Rob rang a neighbour to ask if his gardener might kindly come round to mow our lawn for us, because he didn't think he had the strength to even get the mower out of the shed. Now if anyone knows my Robert, they know that he would rather eat his own arm than ask anyone for help.
So you should know just how lowering the Chagford Lurghi can make you.

Time for some clotted cream by post I think

This is such rotten weather that I think I will follow my own advice and order a pot of clotted cream through the post. Maybe a gurt dollop of yellow cream all thick and gooey to go on top of a batch of scones might lift my mood.
It's raining, Rob and I are both suffering from a really nasty bug that is doing the rounds in Chagford, and I am stuck at the desk trying to work on the new website. Every so often the screen freezes and throws a wobbly, usually when I have completed a whole page of carefully thought out typing.
Much better that I go and make some scones in time for the postman's delivery.
Looks like 7ozs will be enough for the 2 of us don't you think ?

Why I'm not blogging at the moment

I'm raring to let you have 2 new food reviews, but with the launch of my new updated website pending, I am told that I have to put all my efforts into that.
So apologies for missing blogs. The plan is that on the new website I will be adding my ramblings on a more regular basis for the benefit of facebook and twitter.
They are dragging me into new technology mindsets when all I want to do is go and muck the rhubarb and say hello to my new hens.......
You know how kids moan in the back of the car "Are we there yet ?"
You can just hear me at the desk ...."Can I go now?"

My monthly hits up by 64.5% shows much interest in UK holidays

A check on 24th Feb to 24th March figures this morning shows a huge increase of 64% in page views on last year's figures.
Hopefully this means that the British holidaymaker is considering staying in the UK for his holiday this year....

No race to the airport

No fretting on the way - on the motorways, Underground, airport car parks.

No passport to worry about.

No money to be exchanged.

No long waits in the airport lounge.

No airport taxes.
No worries about using your credit cards abroad at extortionate prices

No sitting next to someone with bad breath for a 4 hour+ flight.
No airport passport control at the other end. (I was once pulled aside and interrogated for 10 minutes by a very aggressive woman security officer on arrival at Chicago for having a paperweight for my Aunty Sue in my suitcase. They had seen it on the screen as a possible hand grenade. I suggested that I just open the bag to show them, but I think they thought I was a suicide bomber. It was not pleasant.)

No foreign language to battle with.

No foreign food for your tummy to manage.
No embarrassing Brit yobs showing you up unless you are in the wrong place here!

I could go on and on.....

Do yourself a huge favour - take a British holiday this year and discover some totally stunning parts of this country.
Such as Dartmoor !!!

The caravan trail heralds a great Summer here in the South West

Love them or loathe them they are a perfect indicator of holiday activity for me.
Caravans !!
Having a keen interest in the flow of holiday visitors into the south west, both as a landlady in the early 80's and for the last 20 years as tourist information, I tend to head count the caravan traffic to gauge overall incomers whenever we travel into Exeter, which these days is about once a week. On the stretch from Whiddon Down to the city, after all these years I can't help myself from looking out at the start of each year for any significant show of caravans.
In the early days with the kids in the back, we would count the caravans from A to B and cheer if the numbers were high. From memory the highest we counted before the Exeter turn off was 120+, but then again we rarely covered the journey on a Friday evening, as we would usually have bed and breakfast guests indoors ourselves.
But how things have changed in those few short years.....
There was a time when the girls saw in the distance coming towards us what we all thought to be a caravan only to discover as it drew closer that it was a motor home. Points had to be deducted !
they didn't count !
Today the motorhome seems to have outnumbered the caravans. Last night on our journey home from the supermarket shop, there were over a dozen motorhomes cruising along and only 2 caravans hooked up and travelling.
Our pals George and Linda have a state of the art motorhome which they take out at the start and end of the season and they absolutely love it.
Myself I can see the appeal. When our two were very little we would pack up our secondhand teeny tiny caravan, the smallest one in the Sprite range, (naturally we called it the Sprout) and secondhand at that. I would spend most of Friday packing in home cooking and a change of clothes, the dog bed, potty, matches etc and off we would go into some neighbouring county for the weekend. We rarely went on long excursions, chiefly because in those days we couldn't afford the petrol. Which was of course much less miles per gallon even with a small outfit being towed on the back.
We used to belong to the Caravan Club, and they would organise some great family events. In the early 80's we took ourselves off to Dovedale and had a great Easter weekend making new friends and winning the Easter Bonnet competition hands down. Fortunately for me we had taken Easter Eggs and a things to do box with scissors, glue and a old yellow towel for drying off the dog which when cut into long strips, came in very handy as trimmings !!
Ever resourceful hey ?
I don't think the owners of some of the expensive campervan outfits would want us to pitch up next to them in such a tinkerish way today. Their vehicles are all shiny and stuffed with every conceivable mod con. But we all need to get away from our daily routine now and again and take a fresh look at life whether it's in expensive swank or 'let's just go' mode. And the weather is certainly cheering up in Devon. Hawthorn is showing proper green, the daffs this year are the best show ever and I am picking up my latest clutch of ex-battery hens this Thursday.
I've already been out and turned my compost heap this morning and I plan to pick purple sprouting and rhubarb off the veg patch before lunch.
Maybe tomorrow we can take ourselves off over the Moor to see all the new growth and catch a good sunset shot. The skies have been clear blue just lately with a touch of frost overnight. Perfect for pix.
Have a great weekend yourself.
Come down to Dartmoor why not ?
See you soon I hope !!

Jilly P

Middle Cottage, self catering at a family budget price.

Not every holiday cottage is bang up to the minute, contemporary, top of the range.
But that doesn't mean they are not all worthy.
I visited this one last week that's new to my website, and it did cross my mind that today's Tourism Inspectors would be making copious notes about one or two things on offer.
The crockery is not all the same pattern, and some of the glasses are not a standard size.
The settees and chairs are not all of one suite, but hey it's very much home from home.
And that is reflected in the price.
What is does have is lots of space for your kids to run outdoors, a barbeque area in the garden, 3 toilets, easy parking, peace and quiet, and something that may well appeal to larger families - it's very close, but totally seperate to an up to the minute (flat screen installed) ground floor let, again with good sized garden, so if you have members of your family who want to be on their own, it's an ideal set up.
Both cottages have a clear night sky to enjoy with no light pollution, so anyone with a good telescope would appreciate the set up.
here's my review of Middle Cottage if you want to take a closer look.

Back from Norfolk and already on my soapbox

Just back from a few nights in Norfolk with our younger daughter Elizabeth.
Yes thanks had a lovely time.. We made full use of our Senior Railcards and journeyed from Devon and back for just £64.90 (for 2 of us return !! bargain)
Back at the desk now with fresh inspiration and keen to get under way with my new website which should be in place in time for Easter.

Just before I went away I visited The Welcome Stranger, a pub on the very edge of Dartmoor not far from Trago Mills. Slightly off the beaten track, but nice and friendly, well priced and I think perfect if you want to see all that Dartmoor has on offer, not be far away from the south coast, and keep within your budget too.
At long last accommodation providers are getting their acts together as to what the customer is looking for, nay what the customer now expects from a holiday in the UK.
Number one on the list - they expect en-suite facilties or their own private adjacent bathroom.
Most of us don't mind a second or two on the landing twixt bedroom and bathroom, but there are a few who will only book if the bathing facilities are able to be entered from the bedroom without the threat of prying eyes. As a great many of us have this luxury at home, it's only natural that we don't want to have to dodge fellow guests in any likely toilet queue.
So top marks to Petra at the Welcome Stranger. She has installed brand new up to the minute shower rooms with her 2 bed and breakfast rooms. Click the picture and you will see the quality fittings. Good space and good heating. I applaud you Petra.
Last year I was asked to build a website for a charming B&B, again on the south of the Moor, with the most dreamy garden and very nice interior. They had worked hard at bringing the property up to date, BUT the letting rooms all shared a bathroom. Not only that but the bathroom backed onto the bedhead in the best room, and I instantly made a mental note to only recommend the place to families.
Early this year the owner rang to say that they were closing.


Next on the list of what I consider to be priorities, is the open house rule. Way back in the past poor souls at popular seaside resorts might be expected to leave the 'digs' by 10 and not come back until 5 o'clock, but nowadays guests expect to be able to come and go during the day.
Reasonable people will understand if homeowners have an appointment at the dentist and have to lock up for the odd hour or two. But for the rest of the time, these days visitors might well want just to lie on the bed all day watching the television if they so wish. They can do that at the large national chains such as Premier Inns and the like. ( which I hope all visitors will waive aside in favour of a real experience) Once in this beautiful part of the country, they will soon be itching to venture outside, and it is up to the host to provide information on what it going on in the area.
Good hosts will make sure that visitors can pick up a file with up to date menus from local eating houses too.
Oh dear the post has just arrived.... a week's worth to deal with. I had better get off my high horse at this stage and go and do some real work.
Nice talking to you though.... sorry this entry is rather disjointed.... my life is at the moment.
When the new website comes on line, Tom tells me that I will be entering the world of Tweeting.
I'm finding it hard to keep abreast of popular technology as it is....
Nice to be home.... Jilly

Oh yes, here's the link to my food review of the Welcome Stranger

Just when I yearn for a balaclava for the first time in my life...

Anyone been in the new cafe in Okehampton yet ? Called Toast ?
Click the link to see my review... and pics of the yummy carrot cake on offer.

Even if it's raining you'll be fascinated

Walk on Dartmoor right now and find millions
of treasures .....

You don't need to seek them out.
They are festooned over every surface.
Clinging on to bits of old wood felled on the forest floor. Sitting alongside a carpet of sphagnum moss or a blown up pile of old leaves, shapes and form all but disappeared.
All thriving in the drip drip drip of persistant light rain.
Layers of close fitting fungus like a bank of babies' ears.
Gentle and perfect.


And glistening in the wet grass ...
A few stray buff coloured Fairies' Bonnets.
Latin name Coprinus disseminatus.
Usually showing their heads in Spring, they are already here, eager to get going. Sometimes you come across great brigades of them making their way downhill in a clearing like mini sized extras on a Walt Disney film of the forest.
Dartmoor is stuffed full of such wonders.
Come and see

Click a photo - you can almost smell the undergrowth...

More entries for the auction this Saturday.

More entries for the auction in Chagford this coming weekend - John arrived with a couple of huge boxes, inside which were 113 collectible cars. Corgi classics etc.
You never know what will turn up at the sale. See you there. You'll spot me behind a bacon bap!
Chagford is well worth a visit anyway, as some of the shops have sales on now.
3 pubs and Whiddons Tea room are all great. The Three Crowns is still undergoing upgrading work. The New Forge is closed until Wednesday 25th, but over the road is the Courtyard with good veggie food and next to the post Office is Black's the village delicatessen stuffed with all manner of quiches, big fat olives. So, no need to be worried about food then ?

Chagford Auction in January, a chance for a bargain

If like me you enjoy a good auction, then get yourselves along to Chagford on Saturday 21st later this month for John Wood's regular 'Dartmoor Auctioneer' Auction. He holds them 4 or 5 times a year and I take the pictures for his website of some of the lots as they come in.
Two things that took my eye when he arrived with a bagful of jewellery this week were a large pendant with an iridescent blue stone set in silver.
I meant to ask John just what the stone is, when he came back to collect, but forgot. I think it might be Lapis Lazuli. And an amethyst and pearl ring is something else that Santa could leave in my stocking any year.
John does makes me laugh. Each auction he arrives a few weeks before with an array of goodies for me to picture, and always, he bemoans the fact that he hasn't got enough lots to offer, and then every time without fail for the last 4 years that I have been running his website, come the day of the auction he's saying that there are far too many lots and he doesn't know if he will get through them all. Sometimes late lots have to be held over for the next date.
There will no doubt be more items to show on his website as we get closer to the 21st.
He will arrive with something out of the ordinary under his arm asking me if I could add this to the website, plus one or two other interesting 'things' that happen to be in the back of his lorry.
All manner of stuff turns up. Last year he auctioned off a huge bottle of vintage champagne for charity. Fortunately for the auction onlookers, there are usually a couple of dozen chairs in the sale and the crowd has to rise as the chaps who point out the lots hold them aloft for all to see. Last time a wooden harpsicord made a good price and each time I spot some must-have thing to bid on that Rob puts his foot down about. I have been known to ask someone else in the hall to bid for me so that Rob doesn't get wound up, and then I get wound up at his side thinking that he might just cave in and make a last minute bid for the item if it's going for a low price.
So far that hasn't happened.
You have met Rob have you ?

Click here to see more jewellery on the auction website