- 2 March 2010, 11:23
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Delighted to share with you all that following our Quality in Tourism inspection last week we have been given a Gold Award, this is following our Breakfast Award in November. We are thrilled, the Inspector's report stated: 'The highlight at Harrop Fold Farm is the excellent welcome and friendly service throughout the stay. The focus is on the guest at all times and Sue is an excellent host.'
Thanks to all the family, as everyone plays their part - as our guests know!
Talking about golden things, David is busy at the Aga making his second batch of marmalade, the smell is intense and the colour is beautiful, and we now have a row of glorious jars waiting to be squirrelled away to feed us throughout the coming year.
Love, Sue x
- 28 January 2010, 11:00
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We were quite delighted to host for the 2nd time, Mel Harris' CrossLab Productions recording a play for BBC Radio 3 on location at Harrop Fold Farm. Everyone was very excited to see and hear the actors around the farm, you might like to hear a 'taster' and see some of the images of their stay here. So to give the full title it is Amazonia by Garry Lyons directed by Melanie Harris for BBC Radio 3 TX Sunday 7 February 2010 at 8pm.
- 26 January 2010, 20:07
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To those of you who have been emailing to check just what is going on here since the blog very sadly came to a standstill. Things are on the up! Unfortunately David became very ill during last year and in October he was admitted to the North West Heart Centre at Wythenshawe Hospital for Aortal Valve Replacement. Things have been really difficult...but a New Year and a new beginning for David and us all. The cardiac team at both Macclesfield and Wythenshawe have been simply unbelievable and already I have husband who is well on the way to a very full recovery (I am promised he will be feeling 10 years younger quite soon!). Thanks to all for your emails, letters and phone calls of support, it has been a wonderful feeling for us all that we have been in so many of your thoughts. xxxx
- 25 July 2009, 16:39
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We were lucky enough to be included in a lovely piece on farm tourism - take a look at http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2009/jul/19/budget-weekends?page=2 Leah was quite delighted since the newspaper article included a super photo of her cooking. It mentioned her brilliant Demo & Dine but what it didn't mention was the Cupcakes Galore days which are enjoyed by so many, I am not sure I can believe that Leah is now drawing up her plans for the Christmas Cupcakes! As I am still delighting in summertime, her mind is whizzing on to Christmas!
Yesterday in the glorious sunshine we had our photos taken for the NWRDA Tourism Awards by Jill Jennings. Jill took the photos last year, one of which, the view from our windows is used in lots of promotional material, including the wonderful Taste of Cheshire Food Trail. Our guests, the Dr and his wife were enticed from the breakfast table to enjoy coffee and cupcakes in the garden to pose for photos with the dogs running madly around, I can't wait to see the finished book. We have just heard the Awards will be held in Blackpool Tower Ballroom, we are all so excited. My grandparents used to take me to the illuminations as a child and I love taking ours for fish and chips usually eaten on the prom! We are awaiting our judge who will visit as a mystery guest...fingers crossed she/he likes the visit here.
Back to the VCC Taste of Cheshire Food Trail, we have copies in all of our rooms and guests are just loving them, we have been following the trails when we have a few spare moments and have found our own hidden gems. I believe that these books will be available to buy from Waterstones at Christmas, guess what we will be giving to our friends...and we can autograph them too!
Off to welcome some new guests, the afternoon tea is ready to serve, so apron on and back to work.
Speak again soon,
Love, Sue x
- 12 July 2009, 16:09
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We have enjoyed a lovely day with all the family, parents and Aunt celebrating Alice's Graduation from the University of Liverpool. Proud (and relieved!) parents we were once again, and since it was only a year since George's Graduation we decided to enjoy the tastes of 60 Hope Street once again. A fabulous restaurant sharing our love of declaring the provenance of their foods. The entire meal was divine with all the different lovely and local flavours. However, the pinnacle had to be the Assiette of Claremont Farm strawberries - tiny scones, jam and cream, sublime strawberry ice cream and strawberry jelly - yummy! So here at Harrop we have been using lots of wonderful Cheshire strawberries, they are such a summer delight.
Here's this summer's treat from Harrop Fold...Take a champagne glass and lay it on its side, slice a strawberry in two and place with the cut side facing out of the glass, take a gelatine leaf and follow the instructions, spoon the gelatine over the strawberry, taking care that the glass remains on the slant. Place in the fridge and around 1 hour later remove the glass and the strawberry will appear to 'float' on the side of the glass...Now for the treat...open a bottle of English sparkling wine - we adore the Camel Valley Brut or for a treat the Camel Valley sparkling rose, and pour and enjoy! Such a decadent addition to afternoon tea!
Too early in the day for a glass of fizz, and Northern Harvest's jamming strawberries are almost ready to jar, so off I must dash.
Catch up soon,
Love, Sue x
- 15 June 2009, 11:50
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Sunday morning began with full breakfasts to the weekend's guests when Leah ran over to say that our expectant mother, who escaped market by seeking out our neighbour's bull, had begun calving. Breakfasts over as quick as was polite and David and Edward led the young girl inside. Not without drama and the strength of our lovely neighbours Rachael and Adrian and some more sheer brute force, Berty Bull was born. Mother and son are just fine - a prouder mother it would be hard to find and the sweetest most beautiful young calf one could imagine is now lying by her side. Photos taken and emailed to George and Alice who were not here to witness this event and then on to turning out the pigs. They now have a huge pen where they are having running races and exhausting themselves! Everything is lovely down on the farm!
We enjoyed a bbq on the terrace last night and sat out watching the swallows settle for the evening before the bats began their display. Whether they are looking for partners we are not sure, but they carried out daredevil antics last night, diving and swooping around each other you could actually hear their wings touch. The evening was so warm you could have sat out all night. Good job we didn't since it rained during the night! However, that saved watering the flowers this morning.
Today's main task is to replenish the jam and cake stocks, which are pretty low. Think today Leah is experimenting with the Cheshire Soul Cake recipe and trying it in a cupcake...so off to the aga to stir the rhubarb!
Catch up shortly,
Love, Sue x
- 6 June 2009, 14:50
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Way hey! Delighted to share with the world...Harrop Fold Farm is the Cheshire Bed & Breakfast of the Year 2009. Visit Chester and Cheshire organised the most wonderful Awards evening at the Chester Racecourse, everything was perfect...except the rain! However, the lovely Lucy could not arrange that one! To be truthful, other than needing a brolly to arrive with, it did not affect the evening at all. It is such a fantastic evening, meeting up with chums involved with tourism from all over Cheshire, and of course, celebrating with our family and friends. When our citation was read, “This B&B really has the ‘wow’ factor in terms for location, setting, service and guest offering..." we whooped with joy! We will work so jolly hard to retain and even try to exceed the quality offered to our guests.
We were delighted to see our friends collect awards too...Caroline and her family from Walk Mill collected the Taste of Cheshire Award, and we are delighted for them. We travel to Chester to buy their flour, since quality is of so much importance to us, so it is wonderful for us to be offering an award winning Cheshire grown and milled flour...no wonder Leah's cupcakes are so perfect! Our neighbours Ivor and Lynne collected the Self-catering Experience Award, which is fantastic for Rainow since we won it last year with Mellow Brook Cottage. I am wondering if such a tiny village has ever had so many awards?!
So thank you to Visit Chester and Cheshire and all the fantastic team there. Without you guys, your endless support and your fantastic marketing strategies we would not be here...We love you allX
Dashing now to bake a cake, the Stevenson family are in need of tea and cake to share with this afternoon's guests!
Catch up next week,
Love from a very happy Sue and all the family xx
- 5 June 2009, 13:37
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Delighted with our latest news - Harrop Fold Farm has won the Barclays Bank Family Business of the Year award, the family enjoyed the most amazing day in London, visiting the bank's HQ and we met Levi Roots - of Reggae Reggae Sauce fame on the 30th floor. The weather was incredible and the views of London sublime. Following on from this we continued our culinary trail of London - well, visiting London three times this year is a real treat for us and we are enjoying choosing carefully where we eat! This time we chose Scotts and savoured our oysters before devouring our fish & chips, all washed down with some tasty sauvignon blanc...but then reality dawned and we were home in under 2 hours on the much improved Virgin rail service.
Busy, busy here with guests and I have just finished making a pan of Cheshire Asparagus soup for dinner, this always feels very extravagant. However, our friends at Northern Harvest grade their asparagus so we can order it to enjoy steamed with butter or of soup quality and it is simply divine!
Time to dash to make a bed and vac a room.
Catch up soon & fingers tightly crossed for tonights Visit Chester & Cheshire Tourism Awards. Harrop Fold Farm has been shortlisted for 2 - Bed & Breakfast of the Year and Taste of Cheshire - let's cross our toes as well.
Love, Sue xx
By Sue Stevenson
Tagged: visit, chester, and, cheshire, asparagus, barclays, bank, levi, roots, reggae, reggae, sauce
- 21 May 2009, 11:54
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An early breakfast this morning for a guest travelling a very long way away set me forward in the day's activities! Lovely to wake to that beautiful chattering sound above the bedroom window, the swallows I think have hatched since occasionally I see a broken egg shell being pushed out of the nest and landing on our bedroom window sill. Their displays over the farmyard this morning are easily seen as I am sitting at the kitchen table, since the weather is once again so damp they are diving low over the courtyard catching the flies.
However, the welcome is not damp on arriving here, in fact it is quite positively spring like with yesterday's guests seeing Leah's beautiful, now legendary cupcakes with little pink piglets on top! If you haven't been tempted to join her Cupcakes Galore day - take a quick peek at Leah's website - www.leahspantry.co.uk and I think you may be then!
The Bluebells have finally blossomed in the woods, and yesterday our guests walked down to Bollington to explore the Bollington Festival, they arrived back at Harrop Fold so excited to tell us all about the beauty of the woods. Their photographs certainly showed the intensity of the beautiful colours. I love seeing these flowers as they always remind me of when the children were small and we used to sit on the seat by the stream looking for the fairies, the boys could be a little unkind to the girls who always, without fail, saw the fairies dancing through the Bluebells!
Last week Northern Harvest brought us the first Cheshire Asparagus - is that a sign of warmer weather? So delicious it was that we bought two grades, one for soup which was divine and another for steaming. Northern Harvest deliver here on a Thursday and so it was Cheshire Asparagus for supper again last night! Perhaps you might like to try some and cook it just as we love it.
Take a bunch of Cheshire Asparagus, steam until it is to your liking. In the water below, poach an egg and in a frying pan toast some breadcrumbs with fresh chopped herbs from your garden. (Here we have parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme growing in the kitchen garden along with some oregano, we chop whichever we fancy).
When it is cooked lay the asparagus on the plate with the poached egg to the side and sprinkle with herb breadcrumbs...um...yummy! This is surely a different take on the poached egg and soldiers!
Last week saw the launch of Taste Cheshire - the Cheshire Foodtrail - another wonderful idea from Visit Chester and Cheshire. What a great evening everyone enjoyed at Spitting Feathers in Chester - who could fail to enjoy an evening in a brewery?! lovely beers and Cheshire Cider along with delicious titbits of cheese and very tasty canapes. The food trail suggests a trail of delicious places all over Cheshire and yes, Harrop Fold is featured in one of the trails. The gorgeous books are available here at the farm and I know the guests who have been here this week have all taken one and visited more than one of the suggested places.
Looking forward to our next evening out with our lovely, lovely friends from Visit Chester and Cheshire which will be the Annual Cheshire Tourism Awards to be held at Chester Racecourse two weeks tonight. Once again Harrop Fold Farm has been shortlisted in a couple of categories: Bed & Breakfast of the Year (which we won in 2006) and A Taste of Cheshire. Our judging felt as though it went well, the judges were so interesting and they put us at ease, so it is down to their decisions...fingers crossed though! We do try so hard to go the extra mile for our guests, but that is so easy due to the welcome encouragement we receive from them.
Time to put the next lot of breakfasts on...I think this morning I will tempted to join in. Who can resist Harrop Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, Cheshire Tomatoes and Mushrooms and some of Jeremy's handmade Blackpudding? Certainly not me this morning! Finished off with some homemade Lemon Curd and Cheshire Rhubarb and Ginger Jam. Yum yum! Oh no! I do have to try to squeeze into my evening dress soon though!
Catch up again shortly,
Love,
Sue xx
- 11 May 2009, 13:57
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Exciting stuff....
As you may have noticed we have had our website revamped so that we can keep everyone up to date on what Harrop Fold Farm has coming up over the following months.
If this is your first visit to our website, hi and welcome, we hope you enjoy your visit!
The site has been built by ADOmedia Ltd in Macclesfield, and haven't they done a good job! Following on from the great work they did for Leah with her pantry's website we were not going to look anywhere else!
We will be adding new information, news articles and pictures frequently so make sure you check back!
Speak again soon,
Sue x
By ADOmedia
Tagged: harrop, fold, farm, news, website, ADOmedia, information, new, pictures, news, Macclesfield, webdesign, company, local, business
