We’ve had an incredibly busy and successful start at Fornside Farm since moving here in March. We were lucky enough to hit the ground running with a fabulously informative handover from the previous owners, but it didn’t take us too long to begin put our own stamp on the cottages and to start planning for an exciting future here.
We very quickly expanded our flock of chickens (current count: 14), which means we can always give our guests beautiful fresh and very free-range eggs. If you would like to try duck eggs, our two ducks lay a few eggs per week as well.
The two goslings have proven a beautiful and amusing adornment to the pond and we plan to find some girl goslings to join them shortly. Another current crop is wild strawberries; in this fabulous weather they just keep on coming! The hot weather has also prompted us to invest in four brand new wooden picnic tables, each a different design. Which one will you try?
Inside the cottages, we have started a huge investment. For us, holidays are as much about rest as they are about adventure, so we have replaced all our beds. Each cottage now has a king-sized bed and every one of our beds now has a new high-end Sealy Ennerdale mattress (with zip’n’link options in our larger cottages). We even added a touch of luxury to the single beds by giving them double duvets. Take a peek at the new-look bedrooms on our website. Every living room has also had a make-over, with brand-spanking-new John Lewis sofas and armchairs. We have taken delivery of a carefully chosen selection of beautiful fabrics and Joanna is dusting down her sewing machine to create some luxurious cushions for these. Technology-wise, there are new TVs and Blu-Ray DVD players, and you can now relax listening to your own music through Bluetooth Ruark speakers … perhaps whilst sipping something bubbly in our classy new champagne glasses?
Finally, on the off-grid and eco-friendly fronts we have also made strides. Previous guests will know that we filter and treat our own water directly from the fell. We are now supplied with electricity from Ecotricity, so it all comes directly from the wind and the sun. We are shortly going to seek planning permission to install a Ground Source Heat Pump for all our heating and hot water supplies, which will mean we will no longer need any oil or LPG. As this system uses a tad more electricity, we will seek to install PV cells on the roof of a barn to generate some of our own electricity.
Check back in a few months and see how our plans are coming along or, better still, visit us and see for yourself!
