South Downs B&B near Goodwood, England

Environment

In our garden we encourage wildlife by growing a diverse range of beautiful plants and flowers. The walnut tree provides food each year for the squirrels with a hearty crop and also endless fun for them. We have several bird feeders but the squirrels often snag the treats here. And our dogs sometimes chase off the visiting pheasants but we do try to keep them all happy in the garden. Our guests have access to our lovely sunny wisteria-clad courtyard. The wisteria is over 100 years old (the house is 400 years old) and is now a sprawling mass of beautiful hanging purples and violets that encircles the whole courtyard. The smells are delightful. Guests will also get to sample our home-made fruits and jams. In the garden we produce raspberries and a variety of plums (including damsons and greengage). And also vegetables such as green beans, carrots, beetroot, and parsnips (though I’m not too sure guests will want these for breakfast!!). To organically produce all this delicious produce we compost all our food waste and collect rain water in butts.

Community

In our small community of Lavant we are very conscientious of making decisions that benefit the people who live here. Regarding campaigns we recently had a proposed gravel pit overturned on the grounds that it would bring a lot of unwanted traffic and noise to our quiet village. Furthermore, the digging is intrusive to the landscape and the dust would envelop us. The charity we most ardently support is Chestnut Tree House in Arundel. This is the only hospice for terminally ill children in Sussex.

We support local supplies wherever possible and we choose Fair Trade brands for any imported products. We are proud to serve locally made sausages from O’Hagan’s for breakfast, the first specialist sausage shop it the world. The delicious sausages are also supplied to Harrods. The pub directly opposite the house is the Earl of March. We do not just recommend it because it is so close but because the standard of food is exceptional, the staff are extremely friendly and always take good care of our guests.

Landscape

From our house, beyond the Goodwood Racecourse and onto the South Downs way is a especially interesting part of the 100+ mile trail for the landscape changes somewhat into rather uncharacteristic but beautiful woodlands. Nearby, to the north lie the steep hangers of Heyshott Down. This is a steep climb to the ascent but is well worth it and not just for the great sense of achievement that awaits you at the top. The climb takes you through a small chalkland nature reserve being overseen by the Murray Downland Trust. There reason for the conservation is that Heyshott Down was once quarried for its chalk. The long-disused chalk pits have fortunately been re-colonised by the wild grasses largely thanks to the efforts of the Trust. And as a result, Heyshott Down is now welcoming back numerous native plant species such as the Horseshoe Vetch (the only food source of the beautiful Chalkhill Blue butterfly), Round-headed Rampion (the ‘Pride of Sussex – the county’s flower emblem) and stunning Bee Orchids.