Autumn

Harptree Court drive in Autumn

Don't know why really but Autumn always sneaks up on us.  One minute the last few warm September days are beguiling you into believeing the weather is better than it really is. Then - Pow- October is here, the nights have a little bite to them and the trees suddenly start to show some colour.

I hope that this year autumn lingers a little, last year it seemed that as soon as the leaves turned they just fell off the trees. I much prefer it when our trees are a riot of different shades.

So we have just lit the hall fire for the first time, and played croquet for the last time this year, so that means guests will have to have tea and lemon cake in front of the fire and not outside. (Linda's Lemon cake is still world class).

It will very soon be time to pack the Yurt away for winter again, but our guests will be snug and warm in the treehouse all through the winter.

Trolley disaster strikes

For anybody that has come to stay in the treehouse or yurt since February, my little luggage trolley will have been a familiar sight. For many of the Bake off Production team, it was all too familiar as I pulled it into shot on an almost daily basis. Thank goodness they managed to edit me out.

Alas, after only eight months use a trolley bearing seized and I am being told that it is not possible for it to be repaired under guarantee.   So I have to claim a refund and get another or pay for a part to be sent from the States.

I fear that I'm ranting again but surely there is a more sensible and lest wasteful option? 

Linda fears that I have got too attached to the trolley and I should just let go!

Sheep

 

Contented sheep grazing in front of
The Great British Bake Off bridge




Less contented sheep being ushered into a field

This week has been sheep week at Harptree. In spite of the grass in the fields we have had escaped sheep in our gardens morning and evening for the last three days. They would have done a lot more damage in the spring.

Luckily our dogs are sheep aware and seem totally indifferent, except when a sheep comes towards them; then they try to hide!

 

GBBO Again!

Just watched episode 2 and the memories came flooding back - Mainly how did we manage to miss out on the Bagels? We did taste quite a lot of things, but not the bagels! We blamed the crew for weeks, but I think it was our fault; we were just too polite. (at least back then, The less said about Linda eating the directors specially selected baked delicacies the better.)!

Great British Bake Off

At last we can tell! After weeks of doing our best to keep the secret we can now admit that the whole of the third series of Great British Bake Off was filmed here. What a delightful group of people! Like a big family. Linda and her friends were delighted when Mary Berry used to come into our kitchen to warm herself next to our Aga, as it was so cold outside everyone needed a bit of thawing out. Harptree looked stunning on the first program last night. We held a small party to thank some of our friends who helped out during the 10 weeks that the crew were here. We continued to run the Bed and Breakfast and the treehouse and yurt while it was all going on and some of the guests were able to watch some of the filming. One lot of guests were quite surprised to be welcomed by Mel on arrival.
All in all we had great fun

First anniversary

The first anniversary for the Treehouse and the yurt have come and gone and our guests all seem to be delighted whatever the time of year or the weather! Linda and I couldn't resist popping in to the Garden at Alnwick recently and had a lovely meal in their treehouse restaurant. We're still delighted with ours but it does show what a reputed budget some 15-20 times ours can bring you.

Still, we did make the July issue of Vogue as one of the 'Now' places so we must be doing something right. Our friends tell us that we are the least likely people to ever feature in Vogue!

Rain, rain and flooding

Today was another day when East Harptree became world news.  A sustained cloudburst after a period of rain caused a few houses to be flooded today, I was out helping our neighbour (from whom we get our very free range breakfast eggs) who, in spite of six inches of flooding in their house, have refused to move out while everything dries.  East Harptree not only got on the ITN local news and Channel 4 news but we have just had an email from a regular guest from Swizerland who had seen it on the British news there. The world really is a small place these days. Glad to say that although both lakes overflowed, the roof didn't leak, the yurt and treehouse stayed snug and that all is well here.

see some pictures here: http://ruralchris.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/mayday/

Spring is in the air - along with snow and hail

I thought that January was so warm that all our spring bulbs were going to appear together and all be over before their proper time. However the icy blast delivered in late January and early February has corrected that. The large and spreading patches of crocus are all coming out now and look spectacular in the sunshine.

The treehouse is proving to be the romantic spot for proposals. It has just notched up another one last weekend. Congratulations!

Still a month to go before the Yurt goes back up. I have just been checking the base and preparing myself - why do I expect it to be raining just as I need to put the canvas back on?

First six months of the treehouse

Well, the first half year of operation has passed with our guests being wowed by the treehouse and the Yurt. The Yurt has long been put away for the winter but we were still having guests in November. We added a hot water bottle and then an electric blanket to ensure everyone stayed snug and warm. The only problem during the year was with squirrels! One day whilst we were away they ate our rubber gas connectors emptying the spare gas cylinders so the gas ran out. We had the gas back on within 12 hours but it was a worry. The gas pipes now have armour plating so unless the squirrels use weapons we should be alright. I cannot quite believe how booked up we are getting for 2012 now - the first half of the year is almost full in the treehouse.