You can hardly move for spring here..........

Well, it has arrived. In bucket loads of springy things.
The first to arrive were the tulips I had planted in pots last autumn. For those of you who garden this may not seem too exciting, but I am not much of a gardener and that sort of forward planning can be a little too long term for me. But the benefits of swathes of lipstick pink, creamy white and deep burgundy/black has been near to miraculous for me.
The trees are now wearing blossom and an astonishing array of shades of green and the woods are full of bluebells. Like the proverbial carpet of blue they drift between the deciduous trees and their scent is incredible.
The wildlife is enjoying a busy time - birds are singing and twittering and I am not sure how they find the energy with all the nest building and mate attracting they are also doing. The rabbits appear to be multiplying, well, like rabbits. It is apparent down in the woods that the ducks, wild geese and pheasants are laying eggs and that the fox and carrion crows are finding them and enjoying the bounty of fresh eggs.
We have also had 4 chicks hatch out and are hopeful of another 3 soon which are under one of the bantams at the moment. Added to this we have had another surprise lamb - another boy who the girls have named Dylan which could make his intended destiny of the freezer slightly difficult to bring about. It was impossible not to give him a cuddle and I am glad I got hold of him while he was under 24 hrs old as he is way too quick for me now!
I have also noticed today that the water lilies and irises are also on their way which hint at the summer that will follow.

Let us keep fingers crossed for a lovely summer, but we are enjoying a great spring here in the Eastern Dales so far.

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What to do in spring.........

I am looking around and I can see spring in all its glory. The countryside and garden are showing and almost infinite array of green colours, the trees are covered in blossom and the spring flowers are nodding their cheery heads. Add to that the fabulous amounts on sunshine then it is so lovely to be outside. We have cleared the border in front of the house and I am enjoying planning it for a summer display so we can dig it up in the autumn and get rid of the last of the bindweed and Chinese Lanterns. Those of you who have been here will now just how vigorously those have taken over that area of the garden and we needed to take control.

Talking of lovely spring displays we went to Thorpe Perrow Arboretum and Birds of Prey Centre yesterday. The grounds are just stunning with wild flowers and beautiful shrubs in bloom. It is an incredibly tranquil place and we enjoyed glorious sunshine with a light breeze and birdsong in the background.

We often recommend Thorpe Perrow to guests, particularly those who use wheelchairs as the management there are very, very keen for guests, who need them, to use the powered mobility scooters they provide. This is a great facility and there is no charge, although they do ask for a donation towards the running and replacement costs. Fair enough, I say. We have had several guests come back and say that they had been pushing a wheelchair when they had been approached by Lord Ropner who had taken them back to the entrance and personally sorted them out a scooter. This is a brilliant piece of spontaneous customer care and certainly enhanced the enjoyment of the day for our guests.

One of our party yesterday is a wheelchair user and we did book a scooter for him. When we arrived we realised that the lack of use in his right hand was going to cause a problem so we pushed him in his own chair. As if on cue, and outside the Birds of Prey Centre, we were approached by Lord Ropner who was most concerned that we were not using a powered chair and made suggestions on how we could get round the problem. We carried on as we were, but it was nice to see such genuine care being shown by the top man.

We also took time to watch a flying display - I just love birds of prey and to see them close up and on the wing is awesome. The third display was a falcon. The falconer was explaining that they are a little highly strung and had to be brought out with a hood on. Once the hood was off and the bird was flying, he said, he would fly around for several minutes to check out the area and any other potential predators before he came in for the lure which was being swung around on the end of a piece of leather. He went on to explain that unlike the other birds we had seen this was not a bird to take food from the ground. As this explanation was being given we all watched the bird above our heads, soaring and swooping while travelling at incredible speed.

And then a pigeon came into view, flying nice and slowly and well below the falcon. You may be ahead of me now, but as we watched the falcon, who has been with them for 8 years and so is quite experienced in flying for the public, reverted to its breeding and instinct. He tucked his wings in and plummeted out of the sky and as he closed in on the pigeon in a manner that looked like it could only have one outcome they both disappeared behind the tree line.

The falconers face was a picture as he suggested that the bird may have missed and then cracked a few jokes while we waited to see if the falcon had failed and would then decide the lure was much easier food. We had a good few minutes and then, like a plane coming back to Bomber Command the falcon re-appeared to huge sighs of relief all round. He then went on to give his proper display but he was not going to be able to repeat the drama already produced. I have my idea of a bad day at the office - I guess that was the falconers bad one!

It is really worth a visit, plenty for all ages to see and do. Take a look at www.thorpeperrow.com.

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Dales Festival of Food 2nd, 3rd and 4th May

As those of you who have stayed here will know, the use of locally sourced produce is central to what we do. We have a fantastic range of suppliers in the immediate area and are proud that our breakfasts and evening meals are mainly made from ingredients sourced within 10 miles of our location.

However, we do sometimes like to look a little further afield and the Leyburn Festival of Food is a fantastic place to look for more lovely Yorkshire goodies. I am not sure if the exhibitors would like to hear this, but I don't need any tea following an afternoon sampling at this event!

Have a look at their website, www.dalesfestivaloffood.org for information and inspiration.

And if you want comfortable accommodation, a warm Yorkshire welcome and a breakfast using the best that this area has to offer, then give us a call and have a night or two with us as well.

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We have had a lovely Easter...............

To mark the advent of the Y marketing campaign by Yorkshire Tourist Board, the weather appears to have got the message and we have enjoyed a lovely
Easter this year. The wind could be a little parky out of the sun, but all told it was lovely.

The garden is bursting with blossom at the moment and we have had the house bursting with charming guests who have been making the most of the weather and seeing what the area has to offer. Top outing must have been up Penn Hill on a glorious day with views as far as the coast to the East and the Lakes to the West.

The Open Day on Good Friday at the racing yards in and around Middleham was another popular destination for our guests. This event goes from strength to strength every year we have been here. It is a fascinating insight into the yards and a perfect opportunity to get up close to some very good looking horses as well.

On the racing theme Ian and I enjoyed an afternoon at the Bedale Hunt Point to Point meet at Hornby Castle. Again the weather was lovely and the going was good. This has got to be one of the most stunning meets - the course runs up hill towards the castle sitting on the skyline, sweeps left across the front of the gardens and then an exciting downhill, a bit of an uphill followed by a more gentle downhill. It is a lovely social event for the area and we took one of our guests with us who really enjoyed the whole atmosphere. I take my hat off to the brave souls on board the horses, particularly the chap who came past us, clearly having parted company with his mount judging by the grass stains on his back and shoulders. In response to my (I hope) sympathetic smile he said " This is meant to be fun, but that definitely was not fun". I hope he enjoys the next one better.

And if you want to know, yes I did have a bet, and no, I did not win anything but if you want to know which horse will start out very well only to lose steam 3 from home then look no further.

We hope you all enjoyed your Easter break and look forward to greeting more guests as we get into spring and the warmer months. I have a good feeling that we are going to have a great Yorkshire summer this year.

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Heroic effort for heroes .........

I just want to mention my nephew, Kris, who, along with his two friends are undertaking to cycle from John O Groats to Lands End in under 7 days to raise funds for the Help for Heroes fund. This is memory of their friend who was killed in action recently.

The three of them, who serve with the Marines and Paratroop Regiment, are hoping to complete this herculean task with, what appears to my untrained eye, to be relatively little training. You may say that does not sound too promising, but my experience of Kris is that if he says he will do something like this then he simply gets on and does it. I suspect his chosen companions for this are the same.

If you want to read more about their efforts or support them then have a look at www.justforgiving.com/cyclingforheroes and see what they have to say. Any donation would be most gratefully received if you want to do that.

So best of luck to you lovely young men and your caring, brave, mad endeavour - I am sure James would have been very proud of you.

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