- 13 June 2010, 21:06
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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
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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
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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
- 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
- 10 April 2009, 12:00
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What a lovely treat we had this morning, when popping out of the backdoor to feed Mr Peacock I heard a familiar chirping overhead and yes, our favourite visitors are back. This morning the first of the swallows have taken up residence in their old nest above our bedroom window. I just love waking to their jolly chirping noises, I never tire of the sound and it does make me think of warmer, (hopefully) sunnier weather ahead.
The other treat we have had this weekend is taking delivery of the first of our Cheshire rhubarb, so on the aga this morning is our 2009 Cheshire Rhubarb and Ginger jam, yummy! Last night I was busy making Lemon Curd with Westry Roberts wonderful farm churned butter and the deliciously romantic Amalfi lemons, all combined with our bright yellow yolked eggs. So this morning the Stevenson children have all been eating lots and lots of hot toast and lemon curd, must lock it away or it will not last our guests!
Busy weekend here, but Leah and I are hoping to be able to go to visit the Chester Food and Drink Festival - cupcakes allowing! Dear Alice and Edward have swotting to do for their finals and GCSE's so I will have to make loads of tasty treats to sustain them.
Before closing, must mention another lovely article with a beautiful photo of Leah, looking very rural with the hens. The May edition of Country Homes and Interiors has run a feature on Harrop Fold and the cookery courses enjoyed here, we do have a few copies around the farm!
Jam is smelling divine, so must go and jar it.
Wishing you all a very happy Easter weekend, and hope to see you soon.
Love, Sue x
By ADOmedia
Tagged: Easter, Leah, Country, Homes, and, Interiors, Cookery, Courses, jam, Mr, Peacock, Geoffery, Amalfi, Lemons, lemon, curd, guests, swallows, swallow, sunnier, weather, treat
- 15 January 2008, 15:00
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Happy New Year to all and hoping you had the Merriest of Christmases. We had a lovely Christmas, for the first time ever, shared with bed & breakfast guests who were visiting the area from Europe. Never before have we enjoyed breakfast with our guests in our dressing gowns…but…it was Christmas morning and jolly relaxed and enjoyable it was too – maybe the Champagne helped! We closed for New Year and had a family break in colder climes. Mulled wine and snow was enjoyed by all.
Now, back home relaxed and ready to welcome our 2008 guests.
A little sadness just before Christmas when John, the cat, unexpectedly died. He had a great life and will be very sadly missed. Lottie did pine, looking everywhere for her pal. However, the children surprised me for Christmas, I was made to sit down and was blindfolded before this little fluffy ball was placed in my hand – on close inspection it was the most adorable tabby kitten and following our theme of King’s names, this tiny ball of trouble now answers to the big name of Arthur. Lottie once again has a chum, we think really she now imagines herself as Mum, but frequently forgets and is found rolling round the floor with the kitten attached to her long floppy ears!
Rain, rain, rain seems to be the weather for the present, we brought the cows in today for the first time this winter, really because the land is so wet and to rest the fields. For the cows it was just another adventure as they ran around the farmhouse with their tails in the air! The ponies were looking a little jealous at the attention lavished on the cows and began to charge around their field but it is amazing how a few carrots calm our boys – well the four-legged lot! The two-legged lot require much more food preparation, speaking of which, must go and put the pastry round a steak and kidney pie, our footballing school boy will be home very soon, and no doubt starving – as usual!
Speak again soon.
By ADOmedia
Tagged: Arthur, Alice, Leah, lottie, cat, john, rain, happy, new, year, cows, steak, and, ale, pie, ponies, footballing, football
