“Greeted by 4 geese pecking at our heels but walking our fox-terrier back and forth on a short lead over the next 2 days soon encouraged them to stay away.”
Enchanted by the interior when we entered but we were never comfortable on the sagging furniture. Adequate provision of utensils etc for two people. There are 2 chairs sited by the pond but one has a broken seat. The parking is adequate but difficult to turn in when both cars are there – ours and the occupant of Crow’s Cabin which is just the other side of the barn. The paths are slippery when wet and can be difficult to navigate as they are overlaid with grass and goose poo - we were assiduous in the use of poo-bags for our dog and for which there are bins in the village, but drew the line at the goose poo. The small yard (garden?) for the cottage is difficult to access via the side of the house as the access to the side is uneven, on different levels and has obstacles in the way. It is mainly old cement overlaid with a layer of encroaching grass and two raised flower beds with a mix of a few plants and weeds but several troughs and tanks of stagnant water dotted around the yard give an unpleasant odour on a warm day. Interesting experiment in ‘wilding’ to ‘encourage nature’ and I would encourage all those who espouse re-wilding to visit as it clearly does not work. The green swards shown in the details no longer exist as they have been taken over by brambles, nettles and rank grass except where the geese graze. The paddock behind the property has a path the width of a lawn-mower cut round the perimeter, presumably for walking the dog, but otherwise the paddock is inaccessible and bramble suckers trip the unwary. At least the wilderness had the benefit of almost hiding many of the rusty old vehicles dotted around the place. The overall result of the ‘wilding’ has been to give absolute silence, broken occasionally by the coo-ing of a couple of doves, the tweeting of a few sparrows, the chirping of a lone bluetit and the drone of several light aircraft which fly over. Apart from the geese and a couple of ducks there was no sign of life in the pond – no skaters, maiden-flies or other insects rippled the surface. A lone squirrel was seen on our last morning but this was the only sign of small animals – no rustlings in the undergrowth to disturb the silence, no hoot of an owl hunting at night and no interest in the undergrowth shown by our fox-terrier. Even the weathercock on the roof seemed to have given up as, surrounded by encroaching ivy, it was stuck facing the dying sun in the west. In fact we really liked the property and it is certainly full of character, but there was no comfort and the ‘large windows’ only give views of the overgrown paddock. It could be so much better. There were some issues with the plumbing, for which we left a note. Overall the owners seem to have got complacent and really need to up-date the details and to get to grips with maintenance, both inside and out before someone has an accident. They also need to give much more thought to the planting if they really want to encourage wildlife, rather than using it as an excuse to do nothing.
Thank you for your feedback. Our geese are very friendly and inquisitive
but never aggressive. We are pleased that you were enchanted by the
interior charm and we're sorry that you found some of the furniture a
little soft.
Sincere apologies for the outdoor broken seat, we will replace/repair ASAP
for future guests, thank you for bringing it to our attention. There is
adequate parking for 3-4 vehicles in the car park providing people park
sensibly. Each changeover we sweep paths of any goose poo but
unfortunately we can't monitor there movements throughout the day and do
check path at night when putting geese in the stable.
The back garden is the old holding yard for the cows for the Dairy
(Jackdaws Roost) and over time grass has taken hold in places which we
encourage. The water tanks hold rain water which gets freshened up each
time it rains.
I'm really sorry that your experience of what we try to achieve and have
put in place was a negative experience for you. We can assure there is an
abundance of nature thriving within the property grounds. Past guests have
commented on the sightings of King fishers, dragonflies and moorhens etc.
Owls and bats that live in the big barn opposite the property. Really
sorry that you missed out seeing such a varied selection of wildlife during
your stay. The back paddock is topped once a year sept/October which
houses a huge variety of moths and butterflies and mice for the bird of
prey. The dotting of vintage old cars and farm machinery is to add to the
old time aesthetic of the place.
We can assure you we have not become complacent and it takes a lot of
effort to create a place where it feels left behind by modern times. We
are sorry that you had a negative experience during your stay and we wish
you all the best.
Property Owner
