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-

 

 

 

 

 

 

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..  

 

 

 Joys Sewing Chipping Campden

(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 :-) !!

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The Old Silk Mill

 photos of Crafty Cottage, Chipping Campden & The Cotswolds
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and of course by keeping a regular eye on this, - our Blog :-)!

-S-
 



 

"Not quite the Archers George, - but almost :-) !!...."

Yes, -  I know I only did my last blog fairly recently, - but this morning (Saturday) was so lovely and sunny in Chipping Campden I just had to go down into town and ...... well I just can't help myself!

As soon as you have set foot on its High Street, Chipping Campden can often make you feel as though you have been strangely transported into an episode of Midsummer Murders, (the older variety with the lovely John Nettles of course !)  lots of muddy wellies pounding up and down the pavements hitting terraferma after landing in town from one of the many footpaths in the hills. Tweed jackets mixing with Matalan jumpers - a great place, with a wonderful community feel, as well as being the destination of many tourists visiting the Cotswolds from all over the world.

And this morning was no different of course!

The first person I came across was Luigi (his name has been changed to protect his identity!)  at La Tradition French Patisserie on the High Street, - inside - their counter looked so inviting piled high with freshly made croissants, delicious pastries and yeasty smelling bread .... yum yum.... although he did look slightly intimidating stood in the doorway waving a tea towel in the air like a flag,  -  if this was Midsummer Murders he was definitely shifty enough to be one of the suspects !! ...  only joking of course :-)  .... I jumped the queue to take a photo for the blog!  - at which point he gave me one of the delicious pastries for the free advertising, .... .. !! only joking again of course !!  :-)

  

Chipping Campden was just starting to wake up,  -  it was so great to see the sun shining, and as it hit the Cotswold Stone - the whole place seemed to glow with pride!

The Old Market Hall

It was wonderful to see shadows again after the long winter !

The area around the Old Market Hall was just perfect!  -  a couple of people wandering around enjoying the sunshine, - mooching around the small independent shops.  I noticed a few cyclists passing through town - one resting on the War Memorial ..... (Midsummer Murders:  the unsuspecting victim maybe !!!)

Inside the Old Market Hall

The unsuspecting victim
(for the greater good!!)

Both neighbouring shops Frankie Doodle and The Bay Tree were displaying their goodies on the pavement, if I was a visitor to the town this morning - I would seriously be re-considering whether to ever  leave !

      

    Frankie Doodle                     The Bay Tree Florist

Did I mention that the sun was shining?! .... there was  a real good feel factor to the Town.

      

... meanwhile,  on the opposite side of the High Street the Daffodils at Drinkwaters were shouting out to me to buy a bunch!  I loved the way the bunches of cut daffs were stacked in wicker baskets each side of the door - and of course I had to oblige, and now have a beautiful splash of yellow to brighten up the table at Crafty Cottage :-)

Is Spring really here .... ?  it actually doesn't seem that long ago that I was taking photos of the Christmas Wreaths at the Bay Tree, and Drinkwaters !

-----

.... and all of a sudden it's Thursday, and with my lovely B&B guests gone after breakfast this morning, the next thing on the agenda was lunch at The Dormy House Hotel with my good friend Denise.

 

Once Denise arrived, our day started with a delicious coffee at Campden Coffee Company, -I just love the new décor, and the coffee was delicious ! it was a hard decision not to add cake to our list of things to do, but it had to be done on this occasion to make sure we would enjoy our visit to the Dormy.  

 

 

  

 

Campden Coffee Company

 

We did however manage a quick mooch around The Gallery at The Guild, which is based within the Old Silk Mill behind Crafty Cottage, and it was very interesting to see the lovely local crafts and talent exhibited.

 

 

View from Silk Mill staircase overlooking
Crafty Cottage

 




The new shoe shop on the High Street beckoned us .. Molemi Shoes. Today however, we were running short of time so a quick peek through the window had to suffice - but definitely worth another visit one day!  With a personal weakness for a decent boot, - I could have gone beserk inside that shop if time allowed !!
                                                           
... At last, we were on our way to The Dormy,  I was really looking forward to seeing it for the first time since a recent refurbishment.  The Barn Owl restaurant had been a favourite of mine in the past, and a table booked in The Potting Shed had our name on it !

  

The Dormy House

 

The Dormy House stands proudly on the hill between Chipping Campden and Broadway, - with excellent views in all directions, and I loved it !  Denise and I were a little early, - which was fine, - as we were invited to sit in the lounge with our good friend Pinot Grigio for a while.

 

We moved across to our table in the Potting Shed soon enough, where we had a delicious meal. - thank you to all the friendly staff :-)  It would be lovely to hear that future guests at Crafty Cottage would choose either lunch, dinner or even Afternoon Tea at The Dormy during their visit to the Cotswolds. 

-----

......  and before I knew it, - Friday again!  Campden Market once more selling all those yummy local edible scrummy things in the Town Hall , - and of course Judith's lovely soap :-)
Shakespeares sisters soap

It's becoming a bit of a habit, possibly an addiction on a Friday morning now! - and once again Judith and I felt the uncontrollable urge to have a coffee and a chat about things!  This week we decided on the Campden Pantry,  - piled high with chocolate brownies, home made sausage rolls and lots of deliciously wicked temptations !   After a very friendly welcome it wasn't long before we were chatting away to one another clinging onto our respective coffee cups!

 

The sun was pouring through the door at

The Campden Pantry

 

It's been a lovely week in Chipping Campden .....

 

:-)

 

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....  or send an email to enquiries@craftycottages.com and come stay at Crafty Cottage :-)

 

-S-

 

 

 



 

Campden Country Market

A quick update on the blog today,  -  Friday morning, and a very rainy day which is such a shame as the past couple of days have been almost 'spring like'! ...

A trip down into Chipping Campden this morning found me at the Country Market which is in the Town Hall every Friday morning from 9 - 11am.  Mainly to catch up with my dear friend Judith from  http://shakespearessisterssoap.com  who creates the most amazing soaps, and balms.

I arrived towards the end of the morning, but still got a feel for the lovely "countryside" atmosphere in the Town Hall, particularly as it had been classed as "Marmalade Morning"! Judith explained - and luckily for late arrivals there were still a few jars to be had, alongside home baked goodies, spring bulbs and lots of other lovely stuff ....

   

Judith's soaps and balms

 

Spring bulbs

Jams & Marmalades

A spokesperson for Campden Country Market told me "there is an obvious quality to these products"  (you know who you are :-) !!)  ... and looking around the room I had to agree!

all that was left of the homebaked goodies!

handmade cards

The reservation enquiries for Crafty Cottage are now coming in most days, and we have taken some great bookings particularly during summer - a big thank you to everyone if you're reading!  I would like to think you would enjoy mooching around the Campden Country Market during your visit to Chipping Campden, and your stay at Crafty Cottage :-)

After visiting the Market I headed around to the cottage to drop a few things off & generally check up on things.  I've recently added a new feature to our kitchen window ...... do you like him :-) ?

 

The cottage always feels so cosy when I pop in, - and I usually have the overwhelming temptation to light the log burner -  put the telly on, pour myself a nice glass of wine & .... move in !

One of my little jobs this morning was to update the visitor information, - there's a selection of leaflets & business cards on the dresser ready for guests to look through.

this morning I added info on Chipping Campden Literature Festival 2014 which is 6th - 11th May 

Crafty Cottage local information

  

.... and if you're wondering,  - (hard to believe I know !!) Crafty Cottage still is available during the Literature Festival !

You might even enjoy yourselves so much you'd want to write a book about it :-)

-S-

  Crafty Cottage is on Facebook

and Twitter ... although i'm a total beginner!

and Pinterest .... total newby!

"... the angle of the mangle!"

It seems ages ago now,  but at some point last year - can't remember when exactly - I was mooching my way around ebay and found an old mangle for sale not too far away, - in Gloucester....

     

I had a cunning plan!  .... and as we have been led to believe the crafty cottage garden was once where families of the guildsmen did their washing on a daily basis (beside the 6 privies in the corner), I thought it might be quite nice to remember them by adding a mangle in the corner, .... and if I get it right, it may even look as tho they left it behind perhaps :-) !

I am ashamed to say I had my Iphone on the table beside me in "Michaels" the night it was declared I had the winning bid, - so apologies for anyone watching at the time!

The good news is that the mangle was a great buy! still fully operational although I have no ambition to try it out on my B&B sheets thank you very much!!  The bad news, -  ....  it's red and blue, which I am afraid just doesn't go with my colour scheme!  Hence the mangle was dragged from the garage where it had been hibernating for most of the winter, - and into my lovely kitchen, where an old curtain seeped up the drips of hammerite as I covered the apposing colours with a lovely shiny black paint whilst watching "Bargain Hunt" at the same time, and most importantly being in the warm!

Not knowing much about mangles,  I was keen to do some Google research, and after making out the words "Taywil Hero" on the side of the base beneath the drive wheel/handle found enough information to satisfy my curiosity:

TAYLOR AND WILSON

of Taywil Works, Accrington, Lancashire. Telephone: 2519 Accrington. Telegraphic Address: "Taywil, Accrington". (1937)

1866 Company founded.

1894 Private company.

1928 Patent - Improvements relating to the mounting of tables, especially in mangles. ^[1]

1931 Patent - Improvements relating to wringing and mangling machines. ^[2]

1937 Listed Exhibitor - British Industries Fair. Washing, Wringing and Mangling Machines. Also Household Step Ladders. Our Washers are fitted with Copper Pan and Lid. Also supplied Gas Heated. Mangles fitted with Wood or Rubber Rollers. (Stand No. A.717). ^[3]

1961 Manufacturers of washing, wringing and mangling machines, gas heated boilers, garden seats and step ladders.

All about mangles

As Charles Ashbee and his guildsmen arrived in Chipping Campden in 1902, I thought the dates were near enough for me to be authentic!  Arts and Crafts in Chipping Campden

Well,  my mangle became more or less a permanent feature for a couple of weeks in the kitchen,  - too heavy for me to move, and I was usually too busy doing something else to finish painting it!  ... eventually it was moved into the utility where it spent a couple of days being something of a clothes horse to resident Rob's biking gear !

Eventually,  I had caught up with my odd jobs and was able to focus on finishing off the mangle, with only the wooden tray left to paint beneath the rollers.  I can only assume this was there originally to catch the squeezed items before they fell into a tin bath beneath ready to hang on the washing line ....  if one good thing has come out of this recent exercise it is that I have learnt to love my tumble drier even more :-)!

And to dispel the worries of any future Crafty Cottage guests,  - yes the washing machine also has a dryer!

There were two reasons why I chose F&B Lichen to paint the wooden tray,  - 1.  it "goes" with the black! and for those of us who may be a tad OCD this matches perfectly with the exterior look of the cottage. and   2. there was a tin already open in the garage!

and   ....   "Hey Presto"

The angle of the mangle !

Taking up residence in the corner of the garden!

 ..... the plan is to wind Ivy around the mangle, and overgrow it with instant history!

it's wooden tray will be the ideal spot for spring bedding plants ...

so watch this space   - you'll be "hard pressed" for anything more exciting!

-S-

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