Ringmer B&B, South Downs, England

Planet

I don’t know exactly how old the farm building is, but there was a date in the barn that said 1839, so it must be at least that old. When we moved in it was falling apart. Rather than restore it, we basically took it apart and re-built it using all of the original materials that were still in working order so to keep it in its original design. A lot of it was good to re-use and it has all the original beams, a lot of original timber and slate. Any new materials we used were locally sourced from the surrounding area.

Being a farm at the foot of the South Downs there is a lot of natural wildlife living around us. In the farm itself we have horses and sheep and sometimes pigs. Living around us are lots of birds in the bushes and trees. There are some pheasants, lots of kites and a local owl that is always about at around 7 o’clock. Our natural pond attracts ducks in the summer before they migrate off again.

We try to be green by recycling and using solar panels on the roof. We also have underground heating system to extract heat from the ground that has been warmed up by the sun and we use the eggs from our own hens and get our meat and dairy from local farms to reduce food miles. We also grow some of our own fruit, with fruit trees and strawberries in the summer.

People

I’m involved in the community through the school that my children attend. We often do fundraising for the school in the form of fates or fundraising events such as karaoke nights. There are other local fates in Ringmer as well that raise money for the school and the village.

There are also lots of other villages and towns nearby that host plenty of history and charm; we are very close to Glyndebourne, only about a 5 minute drive along a country lane and lots of people come to stay for Glyndebourne’s famous opera. Historical Lewes is a bus ride away with Lewes Castle and Anne of Cleaves House to visit and Firle is also not far and the walk up to the beacon is tremendous.

If people are staying with us then I always recommend a visit to The Green Man pub. It’s the closest one too us; within walking distance. The owners are lovely people and they do really nice food. Their delicious ice creams and puddings all come from the dairy farm next door. I also get my dairy from the dairy farm next door. We get our bacon and sausages for your Full English from Turners Farm, the eggs come from our own hens and when we do have pigs we make our own sausages.