- 13 June 2010, 21:06
- Permalink
Yes, you've guessed, Harrop Fold Farm is once again Cheshire's Bed & Breakfast of the Year. Another fantastic night in the company of all four offspring and Dad, we were thrilled and delighted (actually more thrilled and delighted than you can imagine!) to be called up to receive our Award. VCC really know how to host a party and we all had a simply wonderful night. The rain held off and we were able to enjoy a tipple overlooking the Racecourse in Chester before tasting our delicious dinner of the very best produce Cheshire has to offer.
Busy weekend on the farm, the chickens have hatched...the dogs have been tempted, but we have now put the proud mother with her chicks in a pen for their safety! Our weekend guests have enjoyed feeding them and listendng to them cheep-chirping. The pigs are growing daily and are so friendly, biggest son is home for his birthday weekend and we have been entertained by him 'dancing' with the pigs...well not really but they do look like they are dancing - maybe it is the excitement of feeding time, but it is fun to watch.
And talking of big son, today we have been baking a Cupcake Tower for his birthday tea, lucky guests arrived at the all important candle blowing time and enjoyed sharing the cakes too! Usually we greet our guests with tea and cake but today's very wet arrivals on a motorbiking tour were treated to cakes and a very deep hot bath in the new tub. I think it was the first time I have drawn a bath for our guests but poor lady was dripping. Roll on Summer and abit more sunshine.
Away now to stew some rhubarb for breakfast, we took the opportunity of a walk up to Arthur's yesterday evening to pick some lovely looking rhubarb, we are making a delicious breakfast treat with our homemade yogurt and Arthur's rhubarb, it is simply yummy. Whilst we were up there we called into The Highwayman for a quick beer. It is amazing how green everywhere now looks after this warmer weather and of course, the rain last week. The grass is growing quickly now and David is going off to market tomorrow hopefully to buy some more cows to eat the meadow down.
Speak again soon,
Love from a very happy Sue x
- 19 May 2010, 13:59
- Permalink
Harrop Fold Farm will feature as one of three B and B's on the Channel 4 program Three In A bed. The program airs this evening at 8.00pm on Channel 4. So if you are in turn on the TV! To say we are nervous is an understatement!
I think maybe watching this in the company of our lovely friends from Visit Chester and Cheshire, Adomedia and others too numerous to mention who have supported us over the years... along with a barrel of The Vale's White Nancy ale will make for a very entertaining evening!
By ADOmedia
Tagged: ADOmedia, Lamb, three, in, a, bed, suppliers, ale, bollington, brewery, the, vale, in, visit, chester, and, cheshire, TV, program, channel, 4, harrop, fold, farm
- 24 April 2010, 15:30
- Permalink
It is official that Harrop Fold Farm is now one of 30 of the Coolest B&B's in Britain - courtesy of the The Times - Saturday 27th March. We are delighted of course! We will continue to work very hard to ensure that our 'Cool' b&b offers the warmest of welcomes to our guests.
It is also official that Harrop Fold Farm has been shortlisted in 3 of the Visit Chester and Cheshire Tourism Award Categories: B&B of the Year, Self-catering of the Year and Taste of Cheshire. We have to cross our fingers, toes, arms and legs and wait until the Tourism Awards Celebration on Friday 11th June for their announcement. This is always a fantastic night where, together with the great staff of VCC and loads of our colleagues we let our hair down and party in the beautiful surroundings of Chester Racecourse. So here's hoping...
It is definitely official that our flighty returning guests have returned...yes, the Housemartins are back! I have just been upstairs in my bedroom and saw them swooping to their old nests checking them out. I know one housemartin does not make a summer but after the dreadful winter we have endured I am delighted to welcome these guys back again.
Also today I have bought my first Yorkshire strawberries and how sweet they taste...bring on Summer, and the lovely English fruits. So I am now going to decorate today's Victoria spongecake with some whipped Yorkshire cream and these fragrant strawberries, lucky folk who taste this!
Catch up soon,
Love, Sue xx
- 7 April 2010, 11:17
- Permalink
We are proud to discover that Harrop Fold Farm has been featured in the latest edition of Alastiar Sawday's Special Place To Stay - Sawday's guide to British Bed & Breakfast!
The guide, full of great and interesting B+B's and hotels from around the UK has listed us in their Cheshire section.
To purchase this great read please follow the link below:
Harrop Fold Farm appears in the Sawday's guide and website. Read what Alastair Sawday writes about Harrop Fold Farm here »
"The inimitable Alastair Sawday, one of our favourite travel book publishers" The Times
By ADOmedia
Tagged: sawdays, harrop, fold, farm, cheshire, food, trail, britain, buy, the, guide
- 2 March 2010, 11:23
- Permalink
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
- Permalink
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
- Permalink
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
- Permalink
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
- Permalink
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
- Permalink
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
