New Year, new deals - save £200 on short breaks in Devon!

Happy New Year! We hope all our followers enjoyed the festive season as much as we did. This update is slightly later than planned, thanks to a hectic couple of weeks with lots of bookings coming in for 2015. People are as organised as ever and booking early, so if you're thinking of a Devon holiday this year, please get in touch!
We haven't had any snow yet and although the children are hoping that will change, I'm not! At the moment we're enjoying bright, cold, perfect winter days and the Blackdown Hills are every bit as beautiful as at any other time of year.

Luggs Barn enjoys an idyllic situation: the perfect base from which to explore the West Country

To start the New Year in a purse-friendly fashion, we're offering a huge reduction of £200 on all January and February short breaks (excluding half term) - 3 or 4 nights beginning on Friday or Monday. Price is now just £495 and as Luggs Barn sleeps 8 plus cots, that's just £15-20 per person per night on a 3 or 4 night stay. Take a look at our availability calendar and feel free to call or email to double check your preferred dates.

We've spotted the first of the snowdrops peeping through in a sheltered corner of the drive, and are looking forward to seeing the crocuses and daffodils before long. The mild winter has confused a few plants as usual - the magnolia tree has had tiny buds since mid December! Last week we even spotted swathes of daffodils in full flower by the side of the road during a visit to Yeovil!

This year we're excited to have two expectant ewes, hopefully due to lamb in April. We're also hoping to have a couple of pigs again this Spring - they're great fun to watch and feed, and Luggs sausages are always popular with our guests.

If you fancy a top class country retreat in glorious Devon scenery, look no further than Luggs Barn. There are numerous beautiful walks on the doorstep, as well as the all-important cosy country pubs and some wonderful local food and drink to sample. Call now on 01823 681605 or email luggsbarn@gmail.com to reserve your preferred dates.

This is Sausage - he and his brother Crackling were great characters!
Hopefully a couple of new piglets will arrive in a month or so.

Countdown to Christmas

The Christmas countdown is well under way here at Luggs - the Barn has long been booked for the festive season but we're already taking bookings for 2014.

The weather's been lovely lately, fairly mild most days but sunny and I've been taking advantage of this with lots of long walks with Monty and Ted up to Culmstock Beacon to enjoy the panoramic views.


The mild weather means that our gorgeous Devon countryside still looks very autumnal rather than wintry. The girls are hoping to be snowed in soon, but I'm keeping everything crossed that the snow can wait until the New Year so that all our guests can get here safely! We've traded in our trusty Land Rover for a more economical (and still 4x4) Skoda Octavia estate which we're delighted with, so fingers crossed it lives up to expectations when the weather turns.

It's been lovely to see some of this year's peak season guests taking advantage of our last minute deals and coming back for short breaks this season. We love seeing people return time after time, and enjoy the fact that Luggs provides a haven for so many people as well as ourselves.

I'm proud (and perhaps slightly smug!) to say that I've bought and wrapped all but one present already this year, and have also done my food shopping online for delivery just before Christmas. All the main supermarkets deliver regularly to Luggs Barn; many of our guests love the convenience of arriving to a well-stocked kitchen, especially this time of year. We're looking forward to welcoming the party from Christmas 2011 for their second festive season at Luggs Barn - they booked on Boxing Day last year, saying 'It just wasn't the same this year - can we come back next Christmas?!'

We're hoping to get up into the attic this week to find all the decorations, and will enjoy making Luggs Barn and our own farmhouse look even more beautiful for the festive season. We'll be collecting holly and ivy from the surrounding woods and are looking forward to choosing some gorgeous trees from our friends at Dunkeswell - we go every year and it's always a very special occasion. I like to wait until the week before to put all the decorations up, so that they still look their best for Christmas - and so that we're not all sick of them before twelfth night! Needless to say, chocolate advent calendars and a great deal of seasonal craft projects are ensuring that our kitchen looks appropriately festive already!

If you're thinking of planning a visit to Luggs Barn in 2014, now's the time to ensure your preferred dates don't get snapped up by someone else! Call now on 01823 681605 or email luggsbarn@gmail.com.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our guests past, current and future. We look forward to welcoming as many of you as possible during 2014 and beyond.

Summertime...

The last few weeks have seen  wonderful sunshine, prompting frequent barbecues and beach trips by our guests in Luggs Barn!

Farmers always watch the weather especially closely, and over the weekend everyone we know has been silaging - despite the odd shower, most of our friends are now happy to say their grass is now cut and stored. Their timing was perfect, as we're back to wind and rain today!

We spent a wonderful evening in our friends' garden on Saturday watching the huge machines at work. Another late night for the children, but a memorable sight for us all.

The wisteria on Luggs farmhouse is at its peak at the moment, taking over from the bluebells for scent and spectacle. Thanks to Bill's expert pruning, it's flourishing and on dry days, we can fling all the windows open and enjoy the scent all through the house.

A few vegetables are beginning to grow and hopefully the more seasonal weather now will push everything on a bit. Just in case, we're nurturing tiny butternut squash seedlings in our glass roofed entrance - Bill is still dreaming of a hardwood greenhouse but it may have to stay on the wish list for now!

We were also thrilled to receive a gift of a beautiful sketch of Luggs farmhouse by a very talented guest recently. Watch this space, as hopefully it will soon be framed for future guests to appreciate. The same party also bought a stunning seaside painting by Trudy Crook as a souvenir of their holiday here, so we're eagerly awaiting its replacement as the artwork in Luggs Barn is enjoyed by all our guests.

Amazing Spring deals from Luggs Barn...and another tale of a bad dog!

We've enjoyed wonderful weather for the past few weeks here in the Blackdown Hills AONB. Our Bank Holiday weekend guests had several barbecues and couldn't believe their luck!

Fancy waking up to this view? Take advantage of our great Spring discounts and get some friends or family together for a week of relaxation! The huge garden and balcony are perfect for soaking up these views with a glass of wine...

We're extending our previous offer to a fantastic £300 off 7 night breaks in May or June, subject to availability. Currently available start dates are: 10 May, 17 May, 7 June, 21 June and 28 June. Usual price is £1050 for 7 nights in May and £1350 for the same in June. With this offer, for just £750 up to 8 adults (plus cots) can enjoy a 7 night stay in stylish and spacious self catering accommodation. That's a saving of up to £600!


Our surroundings are looking beautiful this time of year - the wisteria isn't quite out yet, but the primroses carpeting the orchard are glorious, and the bluebell woodland is coming up to its best. The magnolia tree next to the farmhouse is also beautiful (see below). At the time of writing we also have ewes and their lambs in the  field in front of Luggs Barn; is there anything like waking up to the sound of birdsong and newborn lambs?

The 15thC farmhouse is Luggs Barn's only neighbour. With a network of scenic footpaths on the doorstep, this is the perfect base for exploring the Blackdown Hills AONB or the numerous attractions within reach for day trips. 

Spring sunshine, glorious scenery, numerous local attractions and beaches only 40 minutes away! Often May and June enjoy the best weather of the year. Why not take your break away from the madding crowds? Luggs Barn is perfect for young/extended families, ramblers, photographers or just groups of friends of all ages.


Please call 01823 681605 or email luggsbarn@gmail.com now for more information or to reserve your chosen dates.

In other news, Monty Dog is yet again in deep disgrace. My poor cousin got the shock of her life at 3am on Sunday morning as he had come up to her room (he never goes upstairs...) and had a Bad Accident by her bed! She trod in it before realising bless her - needless to say the cleanup (with her child sleeping peacefully in the same room) was both hilarious and horrific! We were mortified.

Anyway, Monty was going to send a voucher for a pedicure to her by way of apology, but has plumped for a destressing massage instead from the Clarins spa in John Lewis, Southampton. I got chatting to a lovely lady who's arranged the voucher for me and is also hoping to come and stay at Luggs Barn some day! So the dog may just about survive that little misdemeanour...

On a brighter note, we had a beautiful Jacob ewe and one of her lambs in the Barn's garden this morning! They'd somehow hopped over the fence and were chatting to Lily and Lucy who are holidaying in there to keep the grass down. The mother's other lamb was in a panic on the other side, but all are restored to their rightful places now. We're all enjoying seeing the front field full of lambs this week, but it was a real treat to have some temporarily in the garden!

We opened the redundant gate at the back of the photo and this beautiful ewe and her lamb are back with the third member of the family now! Think they must have jumped over the fence so we'll be keeping an eye out for future visits...

 

Online Booking has begun!

In the absence of our poorly Web Man, to whom we wish a speedy recovery and return from hospital, I've been trying to make it easier for guests to book with us. I'm planning to introduce online booking across our own website and all directories we advertise with when I can, but in the meantime I've made a start with the Holiday Lettings site. Guests can now book online via our listing on their site:

http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rentals/honiton/271054

We'll keep you all posted when the tweaks to this website are made, but in the meantime please keep an eye on this blog and our Facebook page for up to date news.

Here's a snowy photo taken yesterday for a bit of seasonal cheer! After a wonderful week's sledging, the (disgruntled) girls have been deposited at school via Land Rover and I'm back at the desk. Bookings are rolling in for Spring and Summer - even Christmas! - it won't be long before I'm posting photos of primroses and bluebells again, but in the meantime keep warm and check back here regularly for more Luggs news.

Don't tell the fox...

...but we've booked to collect 10 ex-battery hens in a few weeks' time! Very pleased to have arranged it, the last lot were ex-battery and were very happy and great layers once they settled in.

Here's a picture of our last intake when they first arrived - all we need to do now is try to create a more fox-proof environment. The geese proved useless as a deterrent, despite their great ferocity to toddlers and dogs, so fingers crossed our new arrivals last longer than a year...

Hopefully it won't be long before we're well supplied with eggs for our regular customers at Hemyock Preschool and Primary School! Luckily the ducks are still laying well so none of our regulars have had to resort to Waitrose just yet!

Garden update

A few photos of progress in the garden so far! Roses and irises are coming out, and the lilac and wisteria have been glorious for the past couple of weeks. All the beds around Luggs Barn, and the one in front of the main house, have been planted up and already we can see a huge difference as the plants begin to flourish. 

The moment the plants arrived! Big - and expensive - day for us, but well worth it!

Child labour in the kitchen garden!

Main house viewed from courtyard. New planting on the left and just behind the front wall.

The main veg bed after 3 weeks of sunshine!

Spot the ducks...and we're so thrilled to see the pink roses again

Blackdown Hills pork roast and Countryfile fame

Early February has seen a few changes outdoors! Firstly, our much loved pigs (Sausage and Crackling) have now gone. Despite more guilt than any of us anticipated, tonight the first of our very own home reared pork roasts beat even our high expectations. The builders repairing the drive were concreting until after 8pm, so were particularly appreciative of such a superb dinner. Homemade apple sauce and stuffing made perfect accompaniments and the crackling - dare we admit it - lived up to its namesake!

Sausage and Crackling were lovely happy pigs and great characters, we all enjoyed rearing them. They spent their last days enjoying the winter sunshine, knee deep in top quality mud and happily munching extra rations including the odd doughnut! We've got a week or two to wait for the bacon and hams, but if tonight's roast is anything to go by, the sausages and other cuts will be superb. Our Spring guests can look forward to a pack of our own sausages when they arrive and we'll be interested to hear your feedback. We have a selection of Luggs lamb and pork in the new freezer (bought recently to accommodate the pigs!) and guests are welcome to buy their favourite cuts direct. Don't forget that in conjunction with our friends at Kittow Cattle, we can also arrange for boxes of top quality beef and/or pork to be waiting for you on arrival, or sent direct to anywhere in the UK, arriving fresh and ready to freeze.

As soon as the pigs vacated the vegetable garden, the diggers got to work and within a couple of days have transformed the area with gravel paths, neat beds and space for Bill's dream greenhouse. He's doodling ever more optimistic designs, but for now is just looking forward to growing veg to keep both the farmhouse and Luggs Barn supplied over the summer months.

Elsewhere in the garden, the ducks are laying well now so the cakes are even better than usual! We lost one good laying hen in mysterious circumstances - she just disappeared one day but there's no sign of any struggle so we're not sure what happened. We were all a bit sad that a young and very pretty hen was chosen over a much older one that's stopped laying, but presumably she made a tastier dinner. The other hens are laying well and enjoying pecking all the newly turned earth. Diggers and dumper trucks are frequently seen swerving wildly to avoid a troupe of hungry hens! The geese are thriving at about 9 months old - they still follow the little white hen around and squeeze themselves into the hen house with her every night.

Snowdrops are coming out all over the garden and the weather's been more seasonal, with several frosty days and plenty of walkers passing through enjoying the scenery. There are even a few brave primroses in sheltered corners, giving us hope that spring's on its way.

Sunday's Countryfile on BBC1 was enjoyed by us all as it featured many of our friends here in the Blackdown Hills. We're lucky to have numerous producers of fine food in the area and the programme showcased several of these, as well as the ancient art of hedgelaying and the many wildlife habitats this AONB supports.

More photos will follow next time - now that the hard landscaping's within a day or so of being finished, we're looking forward to the planting stage so that all of the grounds are at their best. Check back next month when hopefully spring will have sprung!