Hello everyone, and a very Happy New Year to you all!
We have now been open for two full seasons, and have welcomed many guests and doggy visitors. We love that we are getting repeat business now and it feels just like welcoming back old friends 🙂 So many lovely guests have come through our doors and we enjoy meeting every single one of you! During 2017 we welcomed visitors from New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Israel, Japan, China, America, Canada the UK, and Bermuda – WOW – we’re feeling quite international!
We are particularly loving the dog-friendly aspect of the bed and breakfast. So many people are now choosing to travel with their four legged companions and understandably they also like a bit of human luxury for themselves too! Our association with Dotty 4 Paws – The Directory for Dogs and The Good Dog Guide have helped us to keep a steady stream of canine guests coming through our doors. Check out their websites for lots of info on travelling with your pup. Don’t forget to see our frequent “Pup-Dates” on our Facebook page – we take pics and introduce all our doggy guests!
Our big news of the year was that we were nominated for a Bristol, Bath & Somerset Tourism Award and won Gold in the Bed & Breakfast of the Year category!! We also won a Guest Review Award from Booking.com and have received a Certificate of Excellence from Trip Advisor. We continue to hold our Visit England Four Star Silver designation as well. We thank every single guest who took the time to leave us a review throughout the year. Your feedback means a lot to us.
We are also pleased to continue to offer as much locally sourced produce as we are able to. We regularly source from Burns the Bread Bakery (Glastonbury) , Bumblee’s Jams and Marmalades (Taunton), Miles Tea and Coffee (Porlock), The Horrington Milk Hut as well as continuing to produce our own home-cured bacon, fresh made granola, home baked goodies and preserves. Whilst on the subject of fresh and delicious food and drink we can’t forget to mention both The Poachers Pocket Pub (walking distance from us) and The Strode Arms (a quick 5 minute drive away in Cranmore) as our local pubs of choice. They both offer a warm welcome and great nosh but be sure to book in advance – they’re that good!
On a personal note, Alyson’s parents relocated to the UK, and are now living right next door in a beautiful converted barn on the property – you will undoubtably be greeted with waggy tails by their two pups, Bonnie & Charlie when you visit us. Miss B&B graduated from university and has started
studying for her Masters in London, and Jasper continues to grow and greatly resembles a small lion!
As we start the new year we are embarking on some painting touch ups in our gorgeous dining room and the Hay Loft Room will be refitted with a brand new bathroom. We’ll be closing for the week of the 8th January/18 to complete the work and will be open again from the 15th January. We’re also working on producing some walking guides for the local area and gathering more information that we can leave for you in your B&B guide in your room.
We’re looking forward to welcoming friends old and new in 2018. Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous new year!
Aly, Simon and Jasper xx
