Holiday Cottage New Terrace for 2011

Holiday Cottage terrace

The holiday cottage terrace is a lovely south facing spot.  On sunny change over days I really enjoy having lunch there, just for a change.  In the hot spring sunshine I sat on the bench with my coffee and thought it was more like North Africa than North Staffordshire.  Now the new garden beds are flowering (need new picture to show you) there is a more English rose look.  And just over those trees, across the Churnet Valley, nestles an enormous theme park, Alton Towers.  You wouldn't even know it was there unless you were one of our many guests who'd booked a stay after googling Self catering near Alton Towers or similar.

We have had families staying over the summer and the parents relax on the terrace while the children are larking about on the area we call the playing field.

One of the reasons we put the terrace in is to make the most of the winter sun.  I love to take every sunny opportunity to perch in the sun for 10 minutes with a mug of tea, simply to take stock of my day.

Gorgeous autumn walking

These early autumn mornings should be savoured. They are nourishment for the soul.
The slight crispness in the air, the dew and light mists, and a few heather plants on the moorland make an early walk very uplifting.
A quick pause on the ridge just to share it with you. Good morning everyone!

Comments from our holiday cottage guests

A huge thank you to all our self catering guests for their lovely comments on our Facebook page.

Angela and her family have just stayed in the cottage for a full week and were kind enough to drop us a line onto the  Facebook wall.  I am always pleased that people have enjoyed the area, having done more than just visit Alton Towers.

We have two pigs!

My goodness our two piglets are lovely!  We have a male and female of 7 weeks old in an enclosure in the field we call (optimistically) The Orchard.  The enclosure took some preparation!  We scythed a square route through the nettles and docks, because it was too tough for the strimmer, and erected an electric fence straight from Colditz.  Can't risk these lovelies breaking out and heading for the nearest veg patch!

The girls that are self catering guests in the holiday cottage came back from their day at Alton Towers and have been sitting on the fence admiring the piglets.  Ahhh!

These piglets are small and quite vulnerable at the moment, but soon they will be enormous.  I am a firm believer in happy pork and will do everything we can to make sure these two have a happy life in The Orchard.