Tuesday 8 April 2014

Bacon Butties, Castles & Fish & Chips!

In the mood to Blog again! and  share the products of my new camera ... and gloat :-)

The day started by my friend Denise joining me, we had been invited to visit Sudeley Castle and on the way to Winchcombe took the opportunity to call off for a quick coffee and bacon butty at Hayles Fruit Farm .   Just a quick visit but worth it as we discovered the farm shop with loads of jams, chutney, Cotswold meringues and of course apple juice! ..... no doubt in my mind we'll be back :-) !

Sudeley Castle had beckoned, and what a wonderful place!  less than half an hour's drive away and so picturesque and scenic.

 
 
 
 
 
The weather wasn't too bad,  - a few spits of rain, then lovely sunshine!  - Thank goodness Denise had her emergency sunglasses with her :-)
 
 we both thought one of the most amazing things of the morning was to see so many signatures, - Elizabeth I, Henry VII, Henry VIII, Florence Nightingale!
 

 

 
We had spent a refined morning at Sudeley,-  almost like Downton Abbey sisters !  and it was now time to hot foot it to the nearest pub in Winchcombe which just happened to be the White Hart / Wine & Sausage where we had the most delicious fish & chips!  .....  can life really get any better than this ? 
 
mobile photo - a bit fuzzy!


 
... and finally!
 
following a mooch around one of the little shops in Winchcombe
I couldn't resist the William Morris Strawberry Thief trinket box
to add to the cottage!
 
 

such a fab day!
 
-S-
 
 
 
 
 

Saturday 5 April 2014

Our tick list ... past - present & future :-) !

Another good week has passed, .... once again lovely guests at the cottage -and  during a walk around town Tuesday evening I called in to meet them both.  It was great to see how comfy they were finding Crafty Cottage and they were such nice people who had obviously enjoyed their time in the Cotswolds.   .... it was also so sweet of them to leave a 'thank you' card & gift from their part of the world when they left!  Thank you :-)
 
 
Feedback and reviews are very important to us, and during the last couple of days we were also lucky enough to receive our second TripAdvisor review for the cottage which was great to see appear online:   Thank you Sean B from Rugby!
 
... there are only a few things left before Crafty Cottage is fully 'complete' in our eyes! and this week were able to remove the bed valance from our tick list :-)    Soft furnishings at the cottage have been a very important thing for me in particular, and a visit from 'Joy' yesterday brought everything together!                                                                                                                                                                      

Joy and her daughter have a wonderful little shop hidden away behind Chipping Campden High Street  - an Aladin's cave of fabrics, tiebacks & finials..  
 
 
(if you visit via Google you can get a peek around their shop!)
  ..........
 Meanwhile ....  outside in the Crafty Cottage garden ....
an up to date peek at what's going on,  ... and growing up !
 




The Clematis is growing very quickly up the gatepost to the garden, and has now reached the archway,  escapee shoots and buds are now starting to peep through the fence panel to the big wide world outside of the garden ... which will in future years enhance the drive and pathway, so they're forgiven for their sins !

 
Our first Lily
 
 


The weather just lately has been perfect for the garden, giving all the new plants a good start to the summer.  - Our visitors book mentions how some guests have already shared a bottle of wine in our little "sun trap" !  which was great to read :-)

...  thinking we should be adding a garden parasol to the tick list :-)


Another thing on our list for the future has always been a second cottage if possible ..  hopefully in the next couple of years or so,  as we have enjoyed creating Crafty Cottage.  Little did we know it was going to be a matter of months, not years when this would be happening ! - and we are really chuffed and excited to be adding the cottage next door to Crafty Cottage as our next project :-)

"No 6" has 2 bedrooms so it is great that we will also be able to accommodate families, or couples travelling together.   We have some tweaking to do, - put the Crafty Cottage mark on the place! - but it should be up and running in time for the summer season this year hopefully :-) .... a doddle !!

In the meantime,  I will leave you with the view from the bathroom window of the new "No.6"


Cottages on the High St.

So,  exciting times ahead,  ....  will be keeping you posted again of course :-) !!

 As usual you can follow us on Facebook

Twitter
Tweet Me :-)!
 Pinterest

The Old Silk Mill
 photos of Crafty Cottage, Chipping Campden & The Cotswolds
Phone us, write to us, shout at us!
 
and of course by keeping a regular eye on this, - our Blog :-)!

-S-