Cotswolds holiday cottages, sleeps 4, England
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
We are part of The Green Tourism initiative and our efforts have so far been recognised with a 'silver' in Green Tourism.
Wildlife.
We began a conservation project in the late 1970's and have planted our 70 acres of land with a wide range of plants and trees to encourage a diversity of birds and wildlife. We aim to provide as wide a diversity as possible of wildlife habitats by planting shrubs and low growing trees around the plantation margins as this is where most animals like to live. We also try to leave wide rides around the plantations. Along with the tree planting two wildflower meadows have been created. A small area of woodland beside the entrance drive has been underplanted with woodland species of wildflowers. These are all now well established, produce an abundance of colour during the season, and attract large numbers of butterflies.
All the work that has been done certainly seems to suit the wildlife as we regularly see around 50 bird species, and have even had nightingales. The conservation work has definitely provided habitats for species that we never saw in the past, such as buzzards which are now commonplace. As well as all the birds you will also see many mammals resident here such as Roe Deer, Muntjac, Badger, Fox, possibly Mink, many Rabbits, Stoats and Weasels. There are quantities of Field Voles, Moles and of course Squirrels.
Our old farm buildings were renovated using local stone (some from the premises and the rest from local quarry and villages). The conversion respected the original inward facing horseshoe shape of a traditional farmyard in this area. We used almost exclusively British hardwoods for windows, doors and beams and furniture. Some of this wood was from the farm's own trees. We continue to manage our woodlands to support the production of good timber in the future which will enable our joinery to continue to make and replace furniture and fittings of the cottages and others in the area.
Community
We list local food and service providers in each of our cottages. We sell our homegrown nuts at local farmers markets and a local farmshop so we have good contact with our local food producing community. Recently we have had a baker set up shop on the farm and we are trying to find a way for our customers to be able to order their bread from her.
We have leaflets for local massage and treatment as well as a whole range of activities locally like horse riding, golf and walking.
We always have our local theatres brochures available and are regular visitors ourselves. We have recently begun to use twitter and have advertised local events coming up in this way.
Our cottages were converted and furnished using skills of local craftsmen and are kept scrupulously clean by ourselves and our cleaners with whom we have a good and long lasting relationship. The grounds are maintained with the help of a local employee from whom we have learned a lot about traditional country practices and knowledge of flora and fauna.
We donate £1 from every booking to 'Step into the Cotswolds' a charity to support local conservation efforts and we encourage our guests to find out more about their work in case they would like to support it too. We have allocated a part of land to be used by the local 'Forest Schools' project and have weekly visits from schoolchildren to their corner of the woods. We have also hosted woodcraft folk events and parties.
Landscape
We have made a map of our land and suggested a few different walks on it. In the information we give we highlight some of the trees we have planted and ask our visitors to see if they can identify them on their walks. We also recommend and have maps detailing local bridleways and foot paths.
We mention the various nuts and fruits that grow wild (cherry plums, blackberries) and encourage our guests to try some on their walks around the farm.
We belong to the Oxfordshire Woodland group and just recently held our first open day sharing information about hazel coppicing and products, woodland management and charcoal burning. We hope to find other ways to share information about hazel coppicing and encourage our guest to take an interest in traditional crafts.
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