Hill House Farm

After the Parelli course in October we then had an even busier half term with a lot of riders staying for the Equestrian Escapes package which is still a really popular short break even at this time of the year!  Guests don't seem to mind the risk of getting wet - although most riders have been lucky and avoided the heavier showers!  We also have excellent drying facilities here so any item of clothing that did get wet we dried out before the next ride!!

We had some very sad news, a couple of weeks ago we lost Bridie, our older Labrador, which was devastating for all of us.  We didn't plan to get another lab until next year but then a friend of Nick's had a 3 month old bitch he wanted to find a home for so we have got a young puppy to entertain us.

On a brighter note the new chickens are laying really well, so we seem to have a surplus of eggs, and as I hate waste it means I have been doing a lot of extra baking! 

Fortunately I have had a couple of meetings here which have required lots of cakes!  Last week we had a Quality in Tourism(QIT) Meeting here, when the Area Accessor came and talked to people in the area who were either thinking of starting a bed and breakfast or who was already running an ungraded one. QIT are responsible for the Star Grading Certificate given to graded properties providing accommodation.  This was an interesting day meeting new people and sharing knowledge and experience.

Nick and I have recently returned from a week in Maderia, where we re-charged our batteries, soaked up a bit of sunshine (by a beautiful pool next to the sea - with a useful pool bar!) and explored the Island of Maderia.  We had a great time and were back home before we knew it!

We have just completed our first residential equine course here for Parelli - for those of you not horsey this is a method of training horses and owners.  Rachael Morland, a Parelli Instructor, came and ran the course with most participants and their horses staying here and everyone ate together in the dining room, so quite a busy week for me in the kitchen, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  It was great to see the improvement in the horses and owners and how pleased they were with the progress the horses had made at the end of the course. 

More courses are planned for next year!

We have had a lot of people staying with us for the Riding holidays organised by Equestrian Escapes which are proving very popular. The holidays are tailor-made to suit most people personal requirements, riding takes place at a nearby riding establishment and can be lessons or hacks or a combination of both, which is what most people choose. The feedback from the guests about the riding has been very positive and everyone seems to have thoroughly enjoyed their experience from total beginners to the more experienced rider, they have horses to suit everyone.

The schools have gone back now, the Summer holidays have flown by, it only seems like yesterday when they were breaking up and we are still waiting for the Indian Summer!!!

We are having a busy Summer, like most parts of the country we are hoping for some drier weather but no sign as yet! 

This summer we have acquired two black (& a little bit of white) kittens, we have called them Ebb and Flo, they are sisters and are almost identical!  They live outside in the yard - although Flo has tried to sneak in through the front door with some of the guests as she has taken a shine to being indoors - but we seem to have stopped that at the moment!  They are really friendly kittens, great fun and have kept me amused while washing up as they are usually playing games with each other or up to some sort of mischief in the yard outside my kitchen window!

They are meant to help Grommit keep the mouse population under control, although I think Grommit seems to prefers Spring rabbits and he can usually be found curled up in his bed in the feed room resting!  Sadly we lost Grommits sister last Christmas so we planned to find him some company once the weather warmed up!  We are still waiting for the weather!

AA Friendlist Landlady of the Year 2008 - FinalistThe first week of June has been a really busy week for us, going to London on Wednesday 4th June for AA Friendlist Landlady of the Year, where we enjoyed a fabulous lunch at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hyde Park. 

We were welcomed with a Champagne Reception and then for our starter we were served with 'Tartare of fresh and smoked salmon, crab, roast tomato and avocado, golden sultana and ver jus vinaigrette', our main course consisted of 'Roast corn fed chicken, sweetcorn and pearl barley risotto, point cabbage and bacon, green beans, alsace bacon and red wine jus' which was exquisitely presented, sweet was 'Summer Pudding, creme fraiche and pouring cream' and finally having had a glass of wine (or two!) with our meal we had 'Coffee and Petits Fours'. 

After this amazing feast we were then presented with our award which was a lovely engraved Villeroy & Boch Decanter for being one of the finalists.  We had a wonderful day making some new friends over dinner and exchanging details before heading back home both Nick and I agreed it had been a really 'Special' day out for us. 

Then on Friday evening we attended the Visit Chester and Cheshire Awards Evening where we were finalists for B & B of the Year 2008, where again we had a lovely meal met some more interesting people, but were the winning honours eluded us once again!