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Spring is here and Attractions are opening soon

The daffodils are blooming and the days are getting a little bit longer. We have had some mixed weather but no ‘Beast from the East’ so far this year. Had some lovely sunny spells between the showers and looking forward to more days out. Started planting up in the greenhouse ready to make the garden pretty for the guests. Chatsworth has just announced its programme of events this year and we are pleased to see an exhibition to celebrate man and woman’s best friend. Looks like some stunning sculptures in the gardens to visit. The Carriage House cafe has also had an additional doggy friendly seating area and here is plenty of treats and toys in the Stables Shop to treat your pet. We have just become Friends of Chatsworth as it is one of my favourite places to visit. Also worth a visit is Haddon Hall. They have a good restaurant for lunch or maybe afternoon tea.
Visit www.chatsworth.org.

Christmas festivities start in Parwich

The Parwich Church, Hall & Legion are holding there Christmas Fayre on Sunday 4th December. The fayre will be opened by the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Denise Brown at 3pm. The church is open 3 – 5pm, the Hall and Legion 4-6pm. The Chameleon Choral Coir will perform in the Hall and the Legion and there will be lots of stalls with gifts decorations, cards, wreaths, homemade food raffles and homemade crafts and much more. A BBq is planned and there will be mulled wine in the church. To support the fayre we have put a decorated Christmas Tree from Orchard Farm and Tom and Douglas’s guests.img_0666

Additional attractions with Privilege Card

There are some new attractions added to the list of treats available with the Premier Cottages special privileges card. Amongst them are Renishaw Hall, Thornbridge Hall Gardens (new discounts), Hassop Station Cafe, Village Green Cafe Eyam, Carsington Water Sports and Leisure, Hartington Cheese Shop.

Bikes for our guests to use

Monsal Trail has been voted the UK’s favourite cycle route. We have 2 bikes and helmets that our guests can use. Monsal is just one of the many safe cycle routes around here.

Two Country Mice from Parwich go to London

The Addison Singers 24 November 2012

Every so often John and I are lucky enough to hit the highlights and enjoy a pleasure driven weekend in London, thanks to our London-based young and their many friends. It doesn’t take much to find an excuse for a visit; this weekend our daughter Ruthie was singing in a concert with the Addison Singers. Being fond and proud groupies we were delighted to be able to go; and even more delighted when Ruthie suggest she also get us all tickets on the Friday night before, for ‘A Chorus of Disapproval’ one of Alan Ayckbourn’s terrific plays we were lucky enough to see when it first came out, in the Theatre in the Round, Scarborough, in the days when we lived in Scarborough.

It is on at the Harold Pinter Theatre, directed by Trevor Nunn, with Rob Brydon in the key role as Dafydd ap Llewellyn the long-suffering Welshman trying against the odds to produce an amateur production of the Beggars’ Opera. The play within the play reflects the similarities between the pimps, prostitutes and minor criminals of the 18th play and the would-be actors of the current version. The whole is clever, witty and very funny and we would whole-heartedly recommend it.

As we would also the Thai meal we enjoyed beforehand, at the Busaba Ethai, almost opposite the theatre. The food was good and the service attentive; this was slightly marred for us by John’s overhearing the waiters’ team briefing when we arrived (for a pre theatre meal). ‘ Be very charming, make lots of money!’ the manager was exhorting… As everything was pretty expensive anyway, we didn’t see the need for any extra charm.

The concert was superb, by any standards. St Peter’s Church, Notting Hill, was full to the brim; one of Ruth’s and our friends found herself talking music to the interesting man sitting next to her, who turned out to be the Master of the Queen’s Music, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, who had come to hear the London premiere of ‘Proverb’, his own recent work! The main feature was the Mozart Requiem; there were several other works including Mozart’s Ave Verum corpus and Proverb (see above!).

A meringue for one!

While waiting for our train back to Derbyshire on Sunday, we decided to have a coffee in the St Pancras Hotel, in what is still called ‘The Booking Office’ (do you remember it?). St Pancras is such a delight anyway: every time I find myself there I feel privileged and grateful to the likes of Sir John Betjeman who prevented it all being rased to the ground and replaced with some ghastly modern monstrosity.

We hadn’t been to the hotel before. Next time we shall go for a cocktail – or you could have afternoon tea. Our coffee was a delightful experience. We were impeccably served by charming waitresses in very neat uniforms whom one could have mistaken for an air hostess. John’s meringue turned out to be the size of a small loaf of bread, very tactfully served with two knives and forks, so with very little reluctance I helped John make short work of it. We did feel the the embarrassing pile of meringue crumbs underneath us might perhaps have lowered the tone somewhat!

Finally, I must mention the Christmas lights. We had not given them a thought, so when the bus turned into Oxford Street John and I were like little children, totally overwhelmed, and John who is hardly ever without his camera was cursing the fact he hadn’t brought it.

We had to make do with mine, which unknowingly I had set on video mode (you can see what an expert I am…). Anyway, it does capture a little of the atmosphere as seen from the top of the 94 bus but sadly I have failed tonight to upload them onto this post!!

Historic Swedish Art in Staffordshire

First, a little teaser: would you want to play with these, build with these or eat them? In fact you shouldn’t really do any of these things, but least of all eat Sue Prince’s paint box!

At the risk of somewhat overdoing a Staffordshire theme, albeit quite unintentionally, last weekend we were back into Staffordshire, although in this case only a few miles from here.Sue Prince, one of those people who fills one with awe because they achieve so much and so successfully, but who turn out to be quite charming and normal when one meets them, had organised an art event at her home, as part of the Staffordshire Open Studios Open Art programme.

It was a pleasure to have an excuse to visit Sue and Terry’s organic Beechenhill Farm, in a beautiful setting right up high above Ilam.

View from Beechenhill Farm

Here they have converted one of their barns into a very striking high ceilinged studio cum art gallery/meeting/party room.

Sue’s art is amazing. Reminiscent of the style of the Bayeux tapestry, the process, inspired by 18th century decorative wall hangings known as Bonads, is based on an ancient Swedish type of painting which no one in Sweden knew how to do any more until Sue started going back to teach them!

Also exhibiting, as well as Sue, were several other artists including Parwich’s very own Jean Wayne, who was demonstrating her very attractive felting ‘creations’. We do have an impressive number of artistic souls in Parwich; that surely is the subject for another post, soon…!

Sharing Secret and Other Domestic Tips and Delights

A disclaimer, just in case anyone thinks I have suddenly grown my hair, affected an American accent and become a wonder housewife overnight: the heroine of this secret-revealing video is not me!

Having got that clear, here are one or two little snippets which are probably more momentous this side of the fence than yours…

The first ‘secret’, to fulfil several recent requests – and in fact this might be the best one of all – is to give you the link to our Fake Bakewell Tart recipe, which we are asked for so very very often.

Perhaps we ought to have a video of this wonder housewife/cook making the recipe? (I think not, probably!)

And now for an eBay delight, about dinner plates, no less… It can’t have escaped recent Tom’s Barn guests that there were only 5 dinner plates on the rack, six or more of everything else. Ever since the sixth and last of our supply was withdrawn from active service we have tried, absolutely in vain, to ‘source’ as they say these days, some Wedgwood Garden Maze replacements, even going to the Wedgwood factory shop in Stoke. I scoured sites that stock odd plates, and kept checking on eBay, where one could find everything possible from soup tureens to serving platters but neery a dinner plate.

Last night our daughter Ruthie rang to say she had successfully bid for SIX on eBay!! Can you believe it? So that is one problem off the list. The alternative would have to have been replacing everything. (Five Stars – everything in a set must be matching…).

The next ongoing ‘issue’ has been a debilitating and permanent difficulty we have all shared in the Orchard Farm laundry department over folding fitted sheets so they’re fit to grace a Tom’s or Douglas’s Barn bed which for a Five Star listing has to have immaculately laundered bedlinen.

Imagine my delight, then, to discover on Pinterest this YouTube video showing one how simple it really should be.

Source: thehairpin.com via Ashley on Pinterest

 

A Too Rare Trip into Neighbouring Staffordshire

Considering Parwich is almost in Staffordshire, in a manner of speaking, it is amazing how rarely we venture any further afield than crossing the Dove at Dovedale, lunching/dining at the George at Alstonefield and occasional walks up the Manifold valley.

All that was about to change. We have long had it in the diary for today to pay a visit to the Farmers’ Market in Leek, which takes place on the third Saturday of every month.To add to the lure, Nita and Darren of Ringehay Farm, fellow Premier Cottage owners, had suggested we pop in on our way back, to see them at Ringehaye, three miles this side of Leek. Most fortuitously, we discovered later that their farm is very close to the local RSPB Coombes Valley Nature Reserve…

Everything conspired to make it a very happy day. The sun shone, we managed to find a parking spot quite near the market in spite of all the road works and hold ups, and – more than we could possibly have asked for – our very favourite Bill Bailey jazz group was playing in the market square as we arrived. The image is meant to be a video, but isn’t – and I don’t know why.

We sampled and bought homemade breads, scotch eggs (including a black pudding one), local beer, Staffordshire Cheese Co. cheese and Polish cakes (Poles who have settled in Leek). ‘Purchased out’ we then stopped for a coffee sitting outside in the sun while some Morris Dancers danced, and then wandered back to the car getting a feel of what Leek has to offer in the way of shops. The architecture and the history are/must be extremely fascinating but that must be for a google search or perhaps another blog, another day.

There seemed to be the usual national stores like Boots (we saw two branches) but lots also of little ‘Totally Locally’ one-off shops, many looking very attractive. The overall atmosphere seemed cheerful and purposeful, although at the moment somewhat hampered by rather extensive roadworks but once out of the car it doesn’t really matter. And by sheer good luck we managed to get out of Leek extremely quickly.

Our next port of call was the RSPB Coombes Valley Nature Reserve, in a beautiful wooded steep valley setting this side of Leek. We only had time for a quick walk and a couple of chats with two of the very helpful volunteers there but we shall certainly return and feel that many of our guests who are interested in birds and ‘nature’ would enjoy a visit, so we came back armed with pamphlets for our barns.

Then, next stop: Nita and Darren at Ringehay Farm. We were so impressed. Their setting is superb and their stone buildings very attractive: not a pale grey limestone like ours but wonderfully muted shades of grey, pinks and olive greens.

We didn’t take any photos, strangely, but if you look on their website you will see what we mean. They have at least five rather beautiful dogs (see Jess, just one of them, on the left) and two holiday cottages, one sleeping six and one four and although we couldn’t see inside as both were occupied we came away feeling we would love to stay there. We do not always feel that!

We had a good day. if this blog post sounds too cosily enthusiastic, I hasten to assure you it comes from the heart, no money or promises have been exchanged with anyone, not even Jess!

Tom’s Barn ‘Dog Policy’

We are often asked for our `Dog Policy’, and have to admit rather sheepishly that we are a bit anti policies (there’re too many around already) and we are also a bit lazy and do not yet have one as such. But we are also often asked our advice by other holiday cottage owners who are wondering about whether they should accept dogs so this little piece will try to do both.

We have always really loved having dogs and their owners. There is something rather special about most dog owners – we no longer are (dog owners I mean). Mostly they come to enjoy the countryside and walking and the countryside round here is second to none, and the walking quite superb so they are all happy. Also, we have found that top quality cottages that also accept dogs are rarer than is convenient, so we find Tom’s Barn is always in great demand well in advance, when organised dog owners plan their trips. Douglas’s Barn is in as great demand but the bookings tend on the whole to be less dramatically in advance.

When asked whether we’d recommend accepting dogs our answer is always an emphatic ‘Yes!’ in theory but of course it does need to be thought through.

We do stipulate well-behaved. We do stipulate that dogs aren’t allowed upstairs. If asked whether dogs can be left in the cottage unattended we say it’s OK by us if they can fully trust their dog a) not to be unhappy and yelp and whine and b) not do start chewing the furniture in frustrated loneliness!

Other than that we tend to leave it to the owners’ own good sense, as ultimately it is the they that are responsible for any harm that their dog might do to others or to the fixtures and fittings. If the dog owners have any concerns about their dog or about the suitability of our accommodation we stress that it is vital please that they discuss this with us. Anything that might impinge on the peace of mind of the guests in Douglas’s Barn would be a clear no. Similarly, any dog prone to constant barking or chewing furniture would not be welcome, but this would be obvious to most owners.

On the other hand, we will warn the owners that our garden is not secure and that there is nowhere where a dog could be left safely on his own outside. People still come after we have told them all our ‘cons’ when they specifically ask but it does’t seem to put them off; they just know where they are.

We charge £25 per dog, with a normal minimum of two but we have (after prior discussion) agreed to three if they are all tiny and their good behaviour is vouchsafed!

From the cottage owner’s point of view, that £25 is well-earned. Taking dogs does make more work, much more work and more wear and tear. Dogs do usually leave a hairy mess behind them that can take at least three complete hooverings to remove; they can come in somewhat damp (even after a good towelling outside) and damp dogs can leave a doggy smell that has to be completely eradicated. The old bedspreads and sheets we leave so that guests can cover the furniture if necessary all have to be washed.

One has to be neurotic that no incoming guest should smell dog, or see a single dog hair. Non dog-owning people tend to be on the look out for any evidence of a dog’s presence; Janet who does Tom’s Barn now always asks one of us to do the ‘sniff test’ check generally. A fresh set of eyes (and a fresh nose in the case of dogs) is invaluable.

We are lucky to have a council operated dog poo bin 50 yards away but we warn that there would need to be an easy way for owners to cope otherwise you might nasty surprises might be left on lawns or lurking in your rubbish bins!!!

Ideally owners that take dogs provide washing down facilities but ours unfortunately are fairly rudimentary. Careful owners won’t let their dogs in until they have ensured they are clean.

We don’t provide bedding. After a suggestion from a guest, we do now provide a spare bowl, lead etc, just in case anyone has forgotten theirs, which can happen.

Putting it all down like this makes it look scary, but it hasn’t been at all for us and we have had hardly any problems. I suppose one must acknowledge that you may also find you risk putting off a minority who may have chosen you just because you do not take dogs but you’ll never know about that, unless they tell you. We had one couple recently who booked the dog cottage, Tom’s Barn, rather than our dogless Douglas, simply to avoid the risk of the other guests having a dog…!

For any holiday cottage owner who has lots of other cottages and guests fairly nearby it is a little more complicated. Is there one of them where dogs and their garden would be hidden from general view? And also possibly where owners can park their car nearby as we have noticed that some dogs like to sleep in the back of the car sometimes.

I hope this gives you the basis of a dog policy plus some tips for other holiday cottage owners. I am a great believer in anticipating problems so that one can prevent them ever happening, so it may all sound rather problematic. We have never regretted for a moment taking dogs and find we have so many really lovely people coming back and back, who would not dream of holidaying without their dog, especially if they are coming for a country, walking type holiday.

Coping without a Car

One of Parwich’s many charms is its idyllic rural location. The fact we are not on the route anywhere is a wonderful attraction: the only traffic is local and we don’t have speeding cars hurtling through on their way somewhere else.

There is another side to the coin, however, for the carless! We have had several guests recently who have decided for various good reasons to abandon all thought of driving here. Getting here without a car is quite doable if slightly longwinded but for some that is part of the charm and we try to supply these wise souls with helpful suggestions. We have some more people coming under their own steam soon so I thought it might be helpful for them and us all if we gathered some useful ideas and links together and had them all in one place for reference.

Firstly, getting here: The nearest mainline stations are Derby and Chesterfield (both roughly 20 miles away. There are others, slightly further away, including Sheffield, Stafford and Uttoxeter and Macclesfield, best researched via National Rail but unless there was a pressing reason to approach us any other way East Midland Trains to Derby is the obvious choice.

Thereafter, apart from a couple of existing branch lines (see below), to get here one more or less has to rely on buses or taxis, unless one fancies cycling or even walking, both possible but not for the faint-hearted. We would always help out too if we could but hesitate to lay too much stress on this because we may well be busy and unable to help, so don’t include this in your thinking.

We are short on local branch lines. In the olden days my grandparents used to come up here all the way from Lichfield to Alsop-en-le-dale by train. Now we have the Tissington and High Peak Trails instead. However, there are still two little East Midland Trains railway lines which may be useful: firstly, one can take a leisurely journey from Derby to Matlock via various rather picturesque stops, roughly 10 or 11 miles from here. Also, from Manchester via Macclesfield, and Sheffield one can get to Buxton from where it is possible with High Peak Bus bus connections to get to Parwich, I suspect via Ashbourne so it won’t be speedy!

Once you have reached the peace and seclusion of Orchard Farm you will I am sure appreciate finding your kitchen cupboards and fridge well stocked with a pre-ordered delivery from Waitrose or Riverford. So, as part of the pleasure of planning for your holiday we suggest you think about what you’d like to find waiting for you, maybe including a few little luxuries because after all you are saving the environment! For this, refer to the Carless Catering post and also perhaps have a look at Forward Planning for Effortless Catering in the More Info Section of our website.

So! There you are, having got yourselves here and sorted out the food situation; you’re warm, dry and comfortable, with ample food and drink stowed away and with nothing more to worry about apart from enjoying yourself. The possibilities are endless and would take numerous posts. Fortunately the bookshelves in both barns are bursting with maps and walk books and circular walk routes starting at the front door and you will find lots of helpful comments from other guests in the Visitors’ Books.

Parwich itself warrants a good explore: already thriving by the time of the Domesday Book it is a most interesting place with its higgledy-pggledy lanes and snickets and houses which have grown up somewhat haphazardly over the centuries. It has its own (Victorian) church, primary school, tennis courts,bowling green pub and little shop-in-the-pub, and British Legion.

There are several other all very different villages within easy walking distance, such as Tissington, Alsop-en-le-Dale, Pikehall, Bradbourne and Brassington (where you’ll find The Gate a great local pub which several years ago Sawday’s described as “the best pub in Derbyshire’.

We have two bikes we are delighted to lend out – no charge but you obviously are responsible for your own safety and need to provide your own helmet and any special gear you feel necessary. There are a few buses (see here for a bus timetable) each day into Ashbourne if you feel like venturing further afield, but you may find there is more than enough to do right here in Parwich.

After all you don’t want to be so busy you leave yourselves no time to sit back in your own little world… and just relax, as you feel all the stresses and pressures melt away.


LATEST NEWS

  • EV Charging available on site

    We are pleased to be able to offer an EV charging point on site for guests staying in the barns. Charges for its use will be based on the price per kwh that we will be paying to our supplies at the time of use.

  • Welcome 2024 and welcome Ollie

    Wishing all our past present and future guests a very Happy New Year. Following the sad passing of Barni in June we made a decision to have another dog to keep Izzy company. We were hoping to rehome a Vizsla but there were none suitable. Izzy’s sister was in pup and we were lucky enough […]

  • Open Gardens at Orchard Farm

    Its open gardens again tomorrow at Orchard Farm. The lovely hot sunny weather has been great for us but the gardens have really suffered. Lots of rain in the last few days have saved the day and everything is looking lovely for Parwich Open Gardens tomorrow. Rambling Rector is again in full bloom! Lots of […]

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