Happy New Year
Dear Trimstone Manor Friend
Happy New Year! Let us hope that we can all enjoy a more settled time now and an opportunity too to enjoy some R&R in some of our favourite holiday destinations – including Trimstone of course!
First though, I am sorry to say that we have some bad news. Just after we announced about the Peafowl last time, the Mother and three of her offspring succumbed to the fox one early morning. It was not long after they had taken to roosting in the trees and we assume they descended too early and a fox was waiting. We are so angry – we know it is nature but she was such a good mother and we had looked-after them all for so long and so well. I am sorry to say that I have no love for the fox whatsoever. They may be clever animals of course but they do not even suppress numbers of vermin like rats which is meant to be a justification for their ‘existence’. Anyway, I shall move-on.
PANTOMIME
And for those of you who think sometimes that our politics and the effects on markets are all rather a drama, it is that time of the year again when Croyde Players present their pantomime. If you would like some light relief from whether Big Ben should bong or not, come for some light entertainment and you may just recognise some of the cast…! Tickets are selling like hot cakes and this year’s ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ is bound to go down well! If you have trouble buying tickets, drop me a message! Great entertainment for all ages and cheap too – all proceeds to charity as well. Refreshments, bar, free evening parking… what more can you want! Do come and support the cast which has put-in colossal work as usual. (Tickets also available from Copy Catz in Braunton).
BOOKINGS
We are seeing a rise in the numbers of bookings for the summer though some are suggesting some hesitancy perhaps. The May 9th Bank Holiday is likely to be a very busy celebration so if you are going away, don’t delay your enquiries! We suspect that after all this rain that he summer is going to be hot and dry again (well we can say that can’t we!).
REFURBISHMENT
As usual this time of the year, we have been doing plenty of refurbishment. Much this time has been ‘boring things’ like leaking roofs which you find are much worse underneath than you realised they might be and five figure sums are soon expended on the repairs. However, one such work has also given us an opportunity of increasing the light into the Swimming Pool area so that will be good – it is very popular in season!
THE FASTEST WIFI IN THE WEST?
We have the fastest holiday accommodation wifi in the North Devon and Exmoor area! At considerable cost we upgraded to go fully fibre-optic for 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 Ubiquity ‘Enterprise Grade’ equipment.
The Hotel and cottages had slower speeds than two-thirds of the Country but now faster speeds than 99%! 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 away, 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 are seeing more business guests too. The wifi and mobile signals nearby are pretty poor and not reliable so the frustration some face when they do their work won’t be experienced here. We are also open for conference facilities too so imagine streaming presentations – no interruptions or slow speeds – plus reliability and all of your delegates having great, free wifi. The facility is encouraging more guests (even out of season for those escaping for work projects to enjoy the surroundings too) but more morning coffees and afternoon teas as these guests have direct free access too.
So come and stay a night and see. Average Broadband download speeds in the UK are 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.
