Dear Trimstone Manor Friend
I hope that you had a Happy Easter! We have had our busiest for many years – the weather helping and all excuses for staying at ‘home’ rather than travelling overseas and with it being so hot, why would you need to face all that hassle anyway! We have loved having some old faces with us as well as many new and who all seemed to enjoy their stay so that’s great! We hosted a lovely Family group too with a special dinner for a Golden Wedding celebration and that all seemed to go down well. A few photographs are attached this time – enjoy the beautiful cherry blossom and the picture of Helen (and Monty!) is taken in Chapel Wood – the oldest RSPB sanctuary and at historic Spreacombe, which has an ancient hill fort, a beautiful spring with healing qualities and the ruins of a thirteenth century chapel there. We often take the dogs there, where they are welcome on a lead and it is only two miles from us and it only takes an hour there and back to do the ‘circuit’ and be home again – or longer if we must stop to simply observe and relax in these delightful surroundings – blessed with a beautiful natural bluebell show this year too. Of course the dogs love it too so last time I went on my own it only took me half-an-hour to be pulled around! It is free to visit too.
We did what must be our most cream teas on Easter Sunday too – most visitors were escaping from the manic conditions at Woolacombe, Saunton, Croyde or Ilfracombe and coming to our little haven of peace and tranquillity, with free parking and relaxing surroundings. It really is lovely outside in the garden with one of our famous cream teas.
However, we mustn’t rest on our laurels as the weather and conditions can make this a lovely time for a short break. Whit week is already filling-up so don’t delay your plans if you are thinking of a break then. Come and check-out our garden too as Gary is working wonders to enhance and improve what we have here.
A typical day
Well, what does a typical day look like? How about busy Easter Saturday? The credit card machine stops responding (fortunately easily fixed but not immediately)… a horse rider appears and says that a sheep is stuck in thick mud and might not last long…. And then we find the new pool boiler has stopped functioning so the Pool temperature had dropped to a chilly 21 degrees…. And guests need to be welcomed and checked-out at the same time, of course!
Well, the Fire Brigade did a sterling job on the ewe which was none-the-worse for her experience and the neighbouring farmer will do something about the gaps in the fence (not our mud either but these things happen!). The boiler? We had an air lock in the fuel line so that needed bleeding but it was soon up and running again with a little work till the oil started to leak through a faulty washer and well, all the departing guests sorry to be leaving as it really is so beautiful here at the moment (and Albert and his ladies all parading around delighting everyone of course too, though their calls making one-or-two jump out of their skins when they are not expecting it… he is not bird-brained either as he has worked-out that he Courtyard is an ideal place to call too as it amplifies his sound… hmmm).
The Blackcaps have arrived, chiff-chaffs and as I mentioned before, the swallows. There have been the most Orange-tip butterflies I have seen for many years so far, which is great and which bodes well for a resurgence of lepidoptera this year after the hot summer last. Well I should say the most males – the males exhibit different flight behaviour to the females and I am pretty sure I read somewhere they appear before the females too… they are usually the first species to hatch as not overwintering as an adult. I’ve seen my first St Mark’s Fly too – a portent of hazy summer days as they drift around dangling their long underneath themselves.
Whatever you enjoy, from the varied bird song to the garden which is so delightful and relaxing or simply our convenience to so many beautiful places, you’ll be welcome so do call. The beautiful azaleas are just about to burst forth into bloom as well so the prettiest time of the year with the clematis just behind (or in front if it is against a sunny wall or fence).
New staff
Welcome to Rachel and Sara joining our permanent team! They are both very experienced in the trade and we really look forward to working with them to improve what we do and build the business some more too. There are also Joan and Amanda who help oversee the general management of what is happening as well as many other activities on my behalf and the overall Business and our sister business of Philip J Milton & Company Plc so you are likely to meet them when you call too – or certainly on the telephone.
The fastest wifi in the west?
We have the fastest holiday accommodation wifi in the whole North Devon and Exmoor area! At considerable cost we were persuaded to upgrade to go fully fibre-optic and this will bring more trade and better business effectiveness, staff efficiency and responsiveness. No, this is not ‘just’ a wired connection to the nearest roadside box but a super, unique fibre optic link direct to the local Exchange with the latest Ubiquity ‘Enterprise Grade’ equipment.
The Hotel and cottages had slower speeds than two-thirds of the Country but now faster speeds than 99% of the UK! We have always believed in free wifi for guests – whether residents or the cream tea or coffee visitor. In fact it makes me angry when we travel to find complicated access processes or extra fees.
People on holiday need reliable and speedy internet. When I am on holiday, I need to work and many others do too. For entertainment – or for their children, it is important and so there are no access restrictions on broadband width for guests either as they will experience everywhere else!
This is not only for tourists but we expect more business guests visiting North Devon. The wifi and mobile signals nearby are pretty poor and not reliable so the frustration some must face when they do their work is something they will not experience here. We are also open for conference facilities too so imagine what streaming presentations is like – no interruptions or slow speeds – plus a reliable presentation and all of your delegates having great, free wifi.
The facility will encourage more guests (even out of season so those escaping for work projects can enjoy the surroundings too) but more morning coffees and afternoon teas as these guests will also be able to have direct access – and all free.
So come and stay a night and see what super-dooper wifi speed is about. Average Broadband download speeds as of May 2018 in the UK were 46.2mbps and upload speeds of 6.2mbps. Trimstone’s speed is 300Mbps download and 30mbps upload. Our internet means you can download an Ultra HD film (70gb) in 31 minutes compared to 3.24 hours on the average speed.
My very best wishes
