At last……… In mid-January 2014 our new barn was finished and we had the very satisfying task of filling our completed "rooms" with golden barley straw and welcoming our two special herds!!

The barn is definitely 5 star, fully catered; all meals are provided by us!! Six sport horse yearlings in one large dormitory, Dusty and Dippy, three and four year old sport horses in their twin bedroom – Polly our grumpy and very independent broodmare in her own special single!!

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When the going gets tough, the tough go brambling. Life's busy and hectic for us all. Most of us whizz around trying to 'fit everything in'. Well last weekend in the glorious Cheshire sunshine, a couple of hours were spent 'brambling'. Armed with plastic tubs, two dogs, two children and one very patient Grandad we foraged and brambled – a highly recommended stress buster.

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Think the weather's turned from Winter to Summer and we've missed Spring, but with "Spring like thoughts in the air…" as one may say… so arrived Dougal. Or Glencarrig Dolphin to use his correct title. Dougal, our newest recruit, is a very handsome 14hh steel grey Connemara colt. Not only are we busy with holiday cottages, renovations and cows, we also have a secret obsession with horses!

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It's been a while since pen was put to paper, but a very exciting development in the farming department has taken place! On yet another cold winter's day in mid-February, a trip was made to our neighbouring farmer Mr Keith Siddorn and a small selection of cows and calves was chosen. Not ordinary commercial 'dolly mix' sucklers, but pedigree traditional Herefords.

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On a cold mid-week day in early December we were visited at Brassey's cottage by Jean from Visit England. We only had a few days' notice but were putting up our cottage Christmas decorations and so it made sense to have our Visit England inspection on the same day. What we weren't expecting was the very rigorous viewing that followed!

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It's cold and wet outside, but lovely and warm inside. All our four cottages have real fires – a real treat on wintery days. But what could be nice and healthier to warm you up at the start of the day than a nice steaming bowl of Cheshire porridge?

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Adjacent to Bank Farmhouse is a small but perfect, listed threshing barn. Not only has it been re-built from scratch on the inside, utilising a wooden weight-bearing super sheep's wool insulated structure, but from the outside the old timber frame and hopelessly energy inefficient brick infill panels could remain, leaving the barn with immense integrity to its original unrestored form.

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Here at Carden we've been busy! At last Bank Farmhouse is finished, restored and ready to let. A C17th Cheshire Farmhouse with C19th façade in the hamlet of Carden, Bank Farmhouse was restored using our own high standards where traditional build, modern energy efficiency and environmental conscience meet.

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