Dek the aerial man was pretty upset with us last week. He had been expecting a simple digital aerial installation but we turned out to be customers with exacting requirements that did not want more holes drilled through our walls. Poor Dek! He left the aerial wire wrapped in a coil hanging off the chimney and drove off just slightly grumpy. Now we await the arrival of Richard, the electrician, who is coming back to explain the mysteries of the aerial wires that he put in place earlier in the year when we had Barks renovated.
Since our holiday cottage is so good for families with pre-teen children it seems only fair to offer decent TV. Children who have hiked or cycled most of the day deserve to chill out, and those that have had adrenalin rushes all day at Alton Towers maybe need to sit down for medical reasons. Reception on all TV channels is great - at night we can look across the Trent Valley and just see the distant aerials around Birmingham glittering red against the horizon.
Broadband Wifi access is already available to guests. So hurry up Richard, we need the digital TV sorted out before some 9 year old boys come to stay during the bank holiday week.
Bilberry Season
In June 2008 I read an article in The Guardian newspaper about the Bilberry, aka Winberry or Blueberry, and its northern roots. link: http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/food/story/0,,2284528,00.html#article_continue
Apparently this superfruit is sold in Morrisons in its northerly outlets; I wonder how much for. Curiously, readers of this Guardian article were advised that the season is August and September - maybe that is so in the north. Here in the Midlands, however, it is prime bilberry season in early July.
Favourite uses in our household are bilberry and strawberry jelly and freshly collected bilberries on our breakfast cereal. I trek into the woods first thing to gather them for breakfast (double health benefits from this).
Personally I am not keen on them when they become over-ripe. There is something about the smell of processed bilberries that can be off-putting, especially in cartons of juice and bottled squash. They have to be fresh from the woods for us.
Bilberry Tourism to Churnet Valley
There are some woods and moorlands around our holiday cottage that are full of bilberry bushes. In the spring the woods are buzzing with bees visiting the bilberry flowers (pictured above).
This is a popular area with walkers as it is, but in the July bilberry season we become a tourist destination for bilberry fans. Some stop for a chat and seek permission to pick these super-fruits. Walkers are such polite people. Really keen pickers come with those comb-like bilberry pickers that really speed up the fiddle of the picking. I slightly regret not buying a bilberry picker when I saw one during our holiday in Norway. But on the other hand it doesn't take long to pick a breakfast worth. Some local friends make wine - I have yet to try it.
Two thoughts for eager, younger pickers: don't eat too many when out picking or you'll get purple poo (!) and please could you mind the walls with your purple fingers when you get back to our holiday cottage!?
Apart from that, enjoy foraging for these fruits of the forest and connecting with the spirit of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Bilberries are very therapeutic for so many reasons - physical and spiritual.
Apparently this superfruit is sold in Morrisons in its northerly outlets; I wonder how much for. Curiously, readers of this Guardian article were advised that the season is August and September - maybe that is so in the north. Here in the Midlands, however, it is prime bilberry season in early July.
Favourite uses in our household are bilberry and strawberry jelly and freshly collected bilberries on our breakfast cereal. I trek into the woods first thing to gather them for breakfast (double health benefits from this).
Personally I am not keen on them when they become over-ripe. There is something about the smell of processed bilberries that can be off-putting, especially in cartons of juice and bottled squash. They have to be fresh from the woods for us.
Bilberry Tourism to Churnet Valley
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| From Walking the Moorlands - Walks around Barks Holiday Cottage |
This is a popular area with walkers as it is, but in the July bilberry season we become a tourist destination for bilberry fans. Some stop for a chat and seek permission to pick these super-fruits. Walkers are such polite people. Really keen pickers come with those comb-like bilberry pickers that really speed up the fiddle of the picking. I slightly regret not buying a bilberry picker when I saw one during our holiday in Norway. But on the other hand it doesn't take long to pick a breakfast worth. Some local friends make wine - I have yet to try it.
Two thoughts for eager, younger pickers: don't eat too many when out picking or you'll get purple poo (!) and please could you mind the walls with your purple fingers when you get back to our holiday cottage!?
Apart from that, enjoy foraging for these fruits of the forest and connecting with the spirit of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Bilberries are very therapeutic for so many reasons - physical and spiritual.
Dogs and Barks
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Pets welcome at Barks holiday cottage. Dogs especially . . .
It is great dog-walking country and we are dog owners who know the joy of taking your pet dog with you on your well-earned break. Barks holiday cottage has a lot of merits as a dog-friendly destination: plenty of off-the-lead walking in the woods for well-behaved dogs, and lovely safe tracks that avoid lambs/sheep and ground-nesting birds etc.
If you want dog-sitting or dog-walking services, while you are out at Alton Towers with the children or loading up with fine china in Stoke-on-Trent, then we can try to help out if we can.
Dogs to Alton Towers? Please, please do not be tempted to leave your dog in your car while you go to Alton Towers, because there is no shade and the car parks and rides are miles apart. Barks guests can book in advance for a 'dog sitting' session.
We'd like to point out that Barks does not have a fenced-in garden. There is a field opposite for late night walkies - and spades to clear up field and garden as required.
If you are looking for a destination that is equally child and dog-friendly, this has to be it! If you are interested in bringing other pets, please contact us to discuss suitability.
Please call Catherine and James on 01538 703163 to discuss arrangements for bringing your dog to our rural pet-friendly holiday cottage.
Walking the Moorlands
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This is a lovely spot for a picnic with views on all sides across the Staffordshire Moorlands and over the wooded Churnet Valley. It is easily reached from Barks, even by quite young children. There are no roads to cross on the way, and there is normally plenty to look at in the woods on the way up.
This part of the ridge does have sheep and lambs grazing, so dogs need to be reliable and under close control.
Parents might like to point out the 'bear scratches' on these rocks: claw marks made in the rock during ancient times, or maybe the bears are still around waiting to have their picnic, who knows . . ?
Cycling holidays
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Staffordshire County Council have produced a clear map on the many cycling and walking opportunities across the county. Please note that some of the best are available on our doorstep.
I cycled with my 4 year old on our tow-along bike from Moneystone to Denstone last weekend. The descent into Oakamoor needs brakes that work (ours aren't up to the job), but the disused railway track is an easy, quiet track which was lined with bluebells. There is a gorgeous farm shop in Denstone which has a cafe and sells yummy ice cream - we thought after 5 miles cycling we deserved to treat ourselves. I confess that we did get a lift back, but we had just played tennis in Denstone. This track is also a great dog walking spot.
There are many quiet picnic spots along the Oakamoor to Denstone disused railway. My favourites are the Oakamoor picnic ground and park area, Dimmings Dale (where there is a great tea room with gardens), and a lovely spot beyond Alton where you can either sit on a footbridge or paddle in the river. Guests can ask for more details on any of these if they want to make a day of walking or cycling in the area.
Other nearby cycle routes nearby are Manifold Valley, an easy trail from Waterhouses going into the heart of the White Peak, and the Tissington Trail, which has great views of the Peak District all along its route from Ashbourne Buxton. Both of these trails have local cycle hire.
The link to Staffordshire County Council maps is http://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/transport/walkingandcycling/maps/ and I recommend the Staffordshire Moorlands map and the Key.
lambs on the hillside
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The guests who came last weekend walked onto the ridge to show their children the young lambs. They had been misled about the wind conditions, because Barks is sheltered by the ridge and the woods. Last weekend there was an unusually bitter, cold, northeast wind. Up on the ridge, our London guests enjoyed more fresh air than they bargained for. They left on Sunday night thinking that we inhabit the frozen north, but on Monday the sun came out, spring returned and the new lambs danced with joy in the hot sunshine.
Alton Towers
Went to Alton Towers to get literature for the holiday cottage and was reminded about the smart way to book tickets for the theme park. The best deals come via offers and promotions from retailers - Woolworths have/had an offer so look out for similar deals. Next best is to check the website and the most crazy, expensive way is to poll up on the day when you have to pay approx £24 per adult.
Alton Towers theme park is a good family day out. And Splash Landings is a fun way to spend a morning or afternoon.
Alton Towers theme park is a good family day out. And Splash Landings is a fun way to spend a morning or afternoon.
The season has started
We had our first guests last weekend. Cathy & Brian, and their children Louis and Hugo. A family we know from London who had stayed with us before. They narrowly missed the picturesque dusting of snow that made the Staffordshire Moorlands look so beautiful, and presented a great tobogganing opportunity . . .
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