Good weather for polar bears

We had a taste of real winter yesterday when we woke up to a garden covered in snow. There was heavy fog hanging over the fields around us and it was definitely a day for staying in and lighting the fire!


Today, there's no sign of any snow at all - did we dream it?

Why is it harder to miss than hit?

There was an entry in the Guinness Book Of Records, years ago, which said that the most isolated tree in the world (in the middle of the Sahara, hundreds of miles from anywhere) was no longer there. It had been knocked flat by a French Army lorry.
The son of that driver is obviously alive and well and driving tractors in the Golden Valley as he managed to hit this pole which supplies our electricity. As you can see, it has been repaired but not until we'd been without any power at all for 17 hours and the the power surges before we were completely disconnected had fried one laptop computer, a DSL filter and our central heating!
The guy was ploughing with headlights at 7.30 in the evening and obviously couldn't see the cables and the pole. Hope he's not allowed on the road!
Everything is sorted now and we're warm again (2 days later)

The joys of country living!

Another terrific sunset

We are 500ft above sea level with a view that is 14 miles to Hay Bluff(that pointy bit). We get lots of amazing sunsets and I'd love to photograph them all but I'd run out memory(personal and computer).

Take a Guided Tour in Your Own Car!

The local tour guides association (with facilities help from BBC Hereford and Worcester) have produced a really good CD guide to the Golden Valley which recent guests have found both interesting and helpful. Our copy is available to our guests so you can start your tour a mile or so from Yew Tree House or at any point on the route and take as long or as short a time as you like visiting this beautiful area in the comfort of your own car. Ideal if you don't feel like walking!

Where eagles dare...

We finally gritted our teeth and made the climb up Hay Bluff (the short direct route) and were greeted by spectacular views all round - I'm sure I could see the London Eye or was it the effects of the climb and altitude sickness? There were a number of para-gliders and a pair of buzzards keeping them company but the most spectacular visitor was Cossack, a Steppe Eagle,(this link really is worth a look) who his new owner was teaching to fly with the para-gliders. To see him soar and then stoop down to his handler was amazing.

An unsolicited testimonial!

Despite the power cut we suffered last night, our guests seemed to enjoy their stay. Emily and her parents were on their way from York to their holiday cottage near St Davids and she wrote us this note.

Somewhere over.......

After 2 days of lovely sunshine (was that Summer?) the rain returned this morning but with an added bonus. I tried very hard but couldn't find the crock of gold. It's out there somewhere.

Mistle Thrushes and Black Redstarts

As trainee twitchers, we were amazed to see a flock of about 40 mistle thrushes descend on the garden for the last 2 days. We think they are after the ants and we are eagerly awaiting their arrival today. Not only have we rarely seen a single specimen but to see about 40 at once was really exciting (we dont get out much!). Even more exciting was to see today a juvenile Black Redstart. It was trapped in the conservatory/ half-greenhouse lean-to and then flew up into the cherry tree so we had time to get the binoculars out and have a good look. We read that there are only about 100 breeding pairs in the country and they are concentrated in London, with some in Birmingham and the Black Country.

The picture shows that I need to do yet more weeding!

Vegetables from the Garden

We used the vegetable patch as a bonfire site whilst we cleared the garden. Many fires were lit as a lot of stuff got burnt!

Once the fires were over we started clearing and planting.

We are lucky enough to have an asparagus bed although it's a bit tired and needs replacing. This was the first sign of growth last year but plenty more popped up during the short season.

And this is the vegetable patch now. In here there are carrots, beetroot, purple podded peas, lettuce, onions, runner beans, garlic and asparagus although the high winds and heavy rains have caused devastation. We may well move the veg. patch up towards the artichokes, rhubarb and gooseberries.


We're not experts (see the previous post!), but there really is something in eating produce that you have grown yourself!!

Over-excited carrots

I

I'm certainly no expert veg. grower otherwise I would have thinned out the carrots. However, it does produce some interesting specimens!

Doing Up The House - The Living Room

Continuing the theme 'Doing up the House' this week we'll look at the living room........

These posts are not necessarily in chronological order, however, as we renovated the whole house at the same time, many different rooms were worked on simultaneously. I should also mention that a lot of the 'before' shots were taken on my old camera, not the digital one. Hence these pictures are of the 'during' and 'after' phases!

The living room required a lot of work doing to it, not least because we had to lay a new floor.

This picture shows the extent of the work, and also the cellar we discovered underneath. A lot of the plaster was removed so we could apply a damp course. The doorway the picture was taken from had been boarded up.

All the beams in the house required treating to solve the wood worm problem. This picture was taken from the dining room. The new floor and fireplace had been fitted and the windows were in the process of being installed.

So now the living room looks like this............


This picture is a bit on the dark side, but hopefully shows how cosy the room actually is!

Next week: The Top Bedroom

Out and About - Arthur's Stone

Arthur's Stone, is a burial chamber that dates back somewhere between approximately 3700 to 2700 BC.

The tomb is named Arthur's Stone because, according to folklore, it marks the spot of one of King Arthur's battles. This legend however dates from thousands of years after the stone tomb was erected!!

My cousin and I walked from the house to Arthur's Stone which is about eight miles.



For a map of this location click here

Out and About - View from Hay Bluff

Today the rain subsided and there was actually some blue sky! We drove to Hay Bluff and strolled about for a while enjoying the views.

To view a map of this location click here

Doing Up The House - The Kitchen

When we bought Yew Tree House in 2005, with the intention of converting it into a bed and breakfast, we knew it would be a massive task. The house is over 200 years old and was quite run down.

Over the next few weeks I will post 'before and after' photos of the rooms and garden to give an idea of the work involved.

First up is the kitchen.

The lovely thing about the kitchen is its size and the breakfast room leading off it. As you can see from this picture, it was quite badly outdated.

Nearly there, just the finishing touches to go.

We now have a serious oven (actually it's the third one, but that's another story!) and a generally much brighter and more modern space. We spend a lot of time in here....

B&B Blogging

We are very new to the world of blogging. It wasn't even our idea, but it has opened the eyes to a completely new world!! And I must admit it is quite good fun.

Over the coming weeks more pictures will be posted of the house and garden, as well as the wonderful surroundings.

If you like what you see, then perhaps you could vote by clicking here:

or by using the link on the right hand side.

Thank you.

P.S. Please do keep popping back. And if you want to find out more about staying with us, then follow this link to Yew Tree House.

Night Skies

Another wonderful sky last night (in between the downpours!). We are lucky to be able to see right across the valley and have the most amazing sunsets which John always tries to catch on camera but the photos can never be as good as the real thing. Here are a couple of examples

Somehow the sunsets are more spectacular if there's a bit of cloud about!

Another example of a recent Herefordshire sunset can be found here on The Compostbin blog.

Ledbury Poetry Festival

The Ledbury Poetry Festival runs from the 29th June to the 8th of July and has a full programme of events over the 10 days.

From the official website:

"The Festival includes readings, performances, exhibitions, music, walks & talks, workshops and a wonderful atmosphere. Ledbury is unique in its historical associations with poets and is a charming mediaeval market town nestling in the Malvern Hills.A visit to Ledbury Poetry Festival is a memorable and uplifting experience, valued by many of our audience members who come back to see us year after year."

Ledbury is just 25 miles from Yew Tree House

A non-paying guest!!

The weather this morning was atrocious. Low cloud and drizzle. No sign of Hay Bluff. I went out at o7.30 and found this very bedraggled racing pigeon (3 leg rings) sitting on the drive. He/she (would I know?) was obviously knackered but wouldn't be picked up or ushered into the garden which is full of things that birds eat. Happy to just sit on the gravel and doze. He eat a few of the sunflower seeds I'd scattered. Later on he/she (would I know?) went on to the roof above Mission Control and but still woudn't be tempted down by the delicious lentils and the mouth-watering uncooked rice (I'd read the RPRA website advice) I'd put out. We'd grown quite fond of him and had thoughts of winning big-money races with him but he left.
Didn't pay his bill,though!

Queen of all she surveys...

Our cat Deedee has found a gap in the thunderstorms to climb the hedge and check we haven't been washed away! Surprisingly her presence doesn't put the birds off at all.....

Pages from 25 Beautiful Homes

As I mentioned previously, we were written up in the July issue of 25 Beautiful Homes. Here are the pages I scanned (not great I'm afraid, but there you go!).

They used some 'Before' and 'After' shots that really remind us of what a job it was to convert this house to a bed and breakfast.

Visitors to the garden

Since we've been living here, we've seen a great variety of birds in the garden, but this is the first time we've had a visit from a Green Woodpecker. He spent 20 minutes pottering about and digging up insects before flying off to the fields behind us. We were surprised at how big he was, but not as big as the pheasant who has taken up residence!

Write up of Yew Tree House

About six months ago we were visited by a photographer from 25 Beautiful Homes magazine. He spent a couple of hours roaming round the house taking photos of each room. It was all very exciting.

The pictures taken that day have just been published in the July issue!

The Herefordshire Trail

We are very lucky to live in one of the most beautiful counties in England. The local countryside provides some quite breathtaking views when out walking.

There are some wonderful walks around Yew Tree House. The Herefordshire Trail, which is made up of 150 miles using existing public rights of way to give a circular tour around our county, passes by the village of Kilpeck. The trail links the five market towns of Leominster, Bromyard, Ledbury, Ross-on-Wye and Kington.

This picture, which looks across south Herefordshire towards the Black Mountains, is part of a beautiful collection of photographs on the Herefordshire Trail website. Click on the picture to view the rest of the gallery.

Three Counties Show

The Three Counties Show takes place from the 15th to the 17th June. The show is regarded as the region’s rural showcase, and still its biggest annual event, the show is a celebration of British food and farming at its very best.



The show takes place at the Malvern Showground which is 30 miles from Yew Tree House

Herefordshire Walking Festival

The Herefordshire Walking Festival is taking place from the 16th until the 24th June. This looks like it's going to be a great opportunity to get out and about in the Herefordshire countryside next month and if the weather is anything like it is today, then you will see the county at its beautiful best. There are 60 guided walks taking place all over the county, so it's a great opportunity to see many different areas of the countryside. Walks are graded from Easy to Very Energetic, so there should be something for everyone.More information about the programme and what's happening where.

Herefordshire - Potato Country!

The local potato farmer, Ian, has 2,000 acres, some of which is adjacent to the garden. At the weekend the tractors arrived on mass for the planting of this year's crop.

This picture is taken from our garden looking south-west across the recently planted fields. There are two old oaks that really stand out now.



There were five tractors in total that spent the whole day on the one field.

Boxes upon boxes of seed potatoes arrived before loading onto the back of the tractors.

With all this planting going on, my grandson and I watered our vegetable patch. We have potatoes in here too!!

Another Beautiful Herefordshire Morning