by Watermill Cottages | Feb 6, 2013 | Uncategorised
Snowdrops, aconites, primroses are out everywhere in the Gara valley. Violets are peeping out of Rose Cottage’s lawn and tiny cyclamen too, crocuses and hellebores in Quack’s garden, and the daffodils by the stream are just about to open. Camelias next…
Wild heliotrope is everywhere and in the wetlands and along the leat the tell-tale smell of wild garlic rises from the first leaves. Wild garlic pesto here we come!
When I looked at the weekend, the orchard pond was bubbling with frogspawn and in the kithen garden the rhubarb is already showing short pink stems.
With so much sap rising, Jade and Ollie rushed to prune the apple trees!
We’re expecting lambs to be born here in four to six weeks’ time – they’ll be pretty ones, Jacobs crossed with Lleyn so hopefully polka dot lambs!
Powdery Duck, an experienced Muscovy Duck mum, is already on a nest so we hope to have a few ducklings at Easter, and Mallard PuddleDuck, our adopted stray has a handsome drake in tow. He’s even flying in for breakfast.
Specs, our dear old dark green Muscovy drake is still going strong but we kept a white drake that we bred last year, just in case…
At feeding time, the ducks are regularly joined by a chaffinch pair, robins, and a squirrel.
The days lengthen – still light at 5:30! It is springy!
Come and enjoy the early mild spring in coastal south Devon – email christine@watermillcottages.co.uk for availability or call on 01803 770219. we look forward to welcoming you…
by Watermill Cottages | Jan 14, 2013 | Uncategorised
Well, it rained. And it rained. And then it rained some more. And on December 22 2012, The South Hams was so wet that there was nowhere for the water to go but up and over. Everywhere was affected by the flooding and high ground water. And the Gara was too, rising over the bridge and on both sides of it. We’ve never known it this high.
It was a tough day for everyone however the silver lining came in the late afternoon, watching a male otter on the lawn at Watermill Cottages – he was eating a fish that he’d caught in the turbulence you can see behind – and I filmed him.
We’d had otter sightings all year and this confirmed that the family of otters living on the Gara Valley and Slapton Ley are very comfy around Watermill Cottages. This one knew we were all there and kept watching us. Clearly the exceptional weather and river conditions mean that the otter had to eat what it could find when it found it.
It is rare to see otters in the daytime.
You’ll see in the film clip that the river is high, brown and fast – today, January 14 2013 – it doesn’t even reach the top of my wellies, and is clear, shallow and gentle again.
by Watermill Cottages | Nov 24, 2012 | Uncategorised
The Seahorse, Mitch Tonks’ restaurant in Dartmouth has been voted the best place to eat out in the UK by readers of The Observer.
The editors of The Good Food Guide 2013 named it the best seafood restuarant.
There are frequent special offers check the website for up-to-date info.
As at 24 November 2012 the offer is:
‘Each day from Wednesday to Sunday lunch we also offer a fantastic value 2 course lunch menu, a starter, main course and choice of side dish. Also available Wednesday to Friday before 7pm. This menu changes daily depending on the catch… ‘
http://www.seahorserestaurant.co.uk/about/
Watermill Cottages is just seven miles from Dartmouth, treat yourself whilst you’re here!
by Watermill Cottages | Nov 21, 2012 | Uncategorised
The turbine is here!
And work began at the beginning of November to build the sluice gate at the end of the leat.
Not long now before Watermill Cottages will be generating and using its own electricity.
We have a special turbine tariff for Barleycorn and Mill Cottages in December and January for anyone interested in coming to watch!
John is writing a blog so for latest news and photos see
http://watermillcottages.wordpress.com/
by Watermill Cottages | Nov 21, 2012 | Uncategorised
Two baby otters were spotted on Friday November 9, 2012 during the daytime by workmen on their lunch break.
They ran off the lawn, played on the lane, then ducked into the courtyard and the flowerbeds before disappearing down a well-used otter slide from the lawn back into the stream!
Are these the babies of the adult pair seen canoodling in the stream at midnight under a clear sky in September?
It looks like we have an otter family at Watermill Cottages which is wonderful!
For the record, baby otters are called pups, or kits or cubs.
by Watermill Cottages | Oct 8, 2012 | Uncategorised
Well, our guests in Crownwheel Cottage in early September could hardly believe their luck.
They were woken about miudnight by strange whistling sounds coming from the river which runs below the double bedroom window.
They peeped out of the curtains, keeping the room dark, and there below them was a pair of otters playing in the stream. The night was clear and the moon bright so their view was good. It looked like a mature pair, male and female.
We had had traces of otters – there were fish remains on the lawn in spring – and we’re delighted that they are so close. Who knows, maybe they’ll breed in the valley? Some years ago it was not unusual to see otters and their babies on the lawn outside Crownwheel Cottage, and there have been sightings in the past two years on the main lawn and in Quack Cottage’s garden.
When Nick from the Slapton Ley Field Centre was here the following Monday for the weekly Gara Brook water test he was thrilled to hear the news.
We’re just longing for the chance to take a photo!
by Watermill Cottages | Jul 24, 2012 | Uncategorised
Taking place alongside the River Dart, on the Quay in Dartmouth, this
fantastic Street Party sees South Devon Crab on the menu, as well as music and
entertainment for all.
Meet Festival advocate Mitch Tonks as well as renowned Chef Nathan Outlaw,
who will both be there on the day and will be pitching their crab dressing
skills against each other. Have a go at Crab Cracking yourselves as well.
Tickets include a 2 course meal of fully dressed crab with salad and dessert
as well as music and other entertainment.
The Street Party will run from 12pm to 4pm. Adults – £17. Children – £8.
Click to see photos and for more information
by Watermill Cottages | Jul 24, 2012 | creative writing retreat, digital detox, specialist holidays, Watermill Cottages
Are you going to have the chance of a real break this summer?
I did, when, last week, my son Josh and I headed for the Gara valley in Devon for four days at Watermill Cottages, owned by my dear friend Christine and her partner, John.
Descending for six full minutes from the village of Slapton, through a high-hedged one-car-wide lane, towards Higher North Mill, reminded us of going down a rabbit hole. To discover a real Wonderland in which to play on our arrival was sublime.
Then I had a big shock… no wifi in our cottage, no TV and the nearest mobile signal was a 20 minute steep glute-loving climb up to what Christine calls ‘Texting Corner’. “Go on, Mum! I dare you!” Josh challenged me. “See if you can go a week without logging on.”
I knew Christine and John had working wifi next door but I resisted temptation and indeed took a week off.
Within just 24 hours I had a thumping headache, which, I am pretty sure, was due to the toxins leaving my body, but then I entered a state of such mindfulness and bliss that I never wanted to leave.
Poetry swirled round my head. Endlessly, lines from WH Davies, Wordsworth, Edward Thomas and my new love Anthony Anaxagorou, replaced the inane chatter, and slowly I was reminded of what really mattered to me in life – words, rhyme, metaphor, meaning, nature and laughter.
Just four days down the rabbit hole and suddenly I saw everything clearly again. And I wrote and wrote and wrote.
They say TV is ‘chewing gum for the mind’. Now I know it’s true. Take away technology and magically, out of the tangle of wires I found myself again. And it was good.
“Oh, no. Back to reality tomorrow,” I said to John on our last night, as we sat by his woodburning stove, singing along to him on guitar and Josh on double bass.
“Maybe this is reality,” said John.
Valley of the Senses
Once upon a childhood dream
I searched for fairies by a stream
and hunkered low by waterfalls,
listened for the swallow’s call,
dressed in week-old mucky clothes,
felt wet grass on sandalled toes,
sucked honey from the nettle flower,
inhaled the mist that filled the air.
And stopped.
And so today I push my tired hair behind deafened ears,
brace my blinded eyes
and remind myself to breathe,
in and out through my heart,
to ignore the constant chatter of my
tinnitus and monkey mind.
And unwind.
Christine writes: If you’d like to find what Jo found here, join me on a creative writing weekend on 3-5 November 2017, Writers at The Watermill
by Watermill Cottages | May 25, 2012 | Uncategorised
Enhance your holiday at Watermill Cottages with a gourmet treat during June, when many great places to eat throughout the county are offering special deals, events or discounts. It’s Devon Restaurant Month and an opportunity to try out some new places
Have a look at the website, then pick a place to eat and read all about it. Some even have vouchers to download.
Let the feasting begin!
http://www.devonrestaurantmonth.co.uk/index.php
by Watermill Cottages | Nov 1, 2011 | Uncategorised
November 1st, bright sunshine, blue skies and 16C and there we were down on Blackpool Sands with lots more happy dog-owners to celebrate the first day of winter beach bliss for dogs and humans alike.
We love this beach and its Venus Beach Cafe, which is open every day except Christmas Day when we take mince pies and flasks of mulled wine anyway! Parking is free out of season.
To comply with the Blue Flag regulations, dogs are only allowed on the beach from the beginning to November to the end of March – it makes winter worth waiting for!
http://www.lovingthebeach.co.uk/
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