SITE DETAILS

Sit and admire the views
Sit and admire the views

 A unique site, just five minutes walk from the village centre but a haven of quietness.  The garden has two terraces, faces South and slopes down to the River Swale.   Two acres of wildlife gardens with ponds, mini forest, river, shrubs, grass, birds, pond life, butterflies, mammals, terraces and stunning views.  

The first terrace is level with the cottages and has sheltered seats overlooking the ponds with the river in the background.  Lots of places where you can just escape from the world, sit and think your own thoughts. 

 


The Ponds in Springtime
The Ponds in Springtime

There is stone seating by each pond so you can sit near to the water and watch the activity.  There are lots of newts scuttling about and loads of dragonfly larvae.  In June you can see the larvae as they come out of the water onto the iris leaves. You may even see one hatch out into a beautiful dragonfly which then swoop about during their short life.  Frogs are very active in March with a great to do, croaking loudly and doing what frogs do.  Lots of frog spawn then fill the ponds, emerge as tadpoles and then survive if they can.  They make a tasty meal for newts and larvae..

 



My morning visitor
My morning visitor

The site is full of wildlife, many unseen but others are not so shy.  Pheasant are very abundant and enjoy digging holes in the garden, a few surviving rabbits bob about and occasionally a deer.  Birds are in abundance.  One visitor recorded 30 different species during his week long visit.  Each cottage has a book to help bird recognition.  As the site is so quiet bird song is easily heard. Hours can be spent enjoying 'time out'

Should you feel energetic there is a basket ball hoop and a portable full sized badminton net.  The river is deep enough for  swimming and shallow enough for paddling.

 


Our river bank
Our river bank

One of the favourite places is down by the river.  There are stone steps down to the water edge where there is stone seating.  The depth of the river varies enormously.  During a flood the water can rise twelve feet, hiding all the seats and steps.  During a dry period you can paddle across to the other side. There is no access to the public so all is quiet.  There are lots of ducks paddling around, trout hiding away and many small fish darting about.  Much time is spent by ourselves maintaining the riverside as the river dumps lots of sandy soil. It is a great place to work particularly on a sunny day. During really hot weather there is always a cool breeze.

 


 

 In addition to the shared garden each cottage have their own private south facing patio with seats. Accessible from the lounge they are popular for coffee drinking, reading, soaking up the sun and snoozing.