Spring is here

Ben Dillistone

2 years ago

Winter 2022/23 was short but cold with night time temperatures of minus 5c. Our underfloor heating and wood burners kept us toasty warm and the Garden Terrace Room means we continue to enjoy the outside from a comfortable sofa and the dining table. With the arrival of our final batch of upholstery fabric and feather cushions Andrea has had the sewing machine out again and all the sofas and armchairs have new squashy seat cushions. The citrus trees, a lime, lemon and a mandarin clearly love their winter home and are already covered in the most heavenly scented blossom.

The Reception area sofa has also had a makeover with new covers on the chairs and sofa…so many places to spend time with a book or chatting to friends.

We welcomed two groups of guests for Mountain Biking Retreats over the past month…both were blessed with some fabulous Spring sunshine and warm temperatures. Lunch outside in February or March is certainly a real treat for our UK visitors. Both the hardtail and eBikes were put through their paces and received rave reviews.

February in Bocairent is Moors & Christians festival time…and what a spectacle it is. We´ve been to other local Moors & Christians parades but the narrow medieval streets of the village here in Bocairent made us all feel part of the festivities rather than just a spectator. The music, the colours, the diversity of participants from the very young to those in their later years, the incredible costumes and make-up…this is a not to be missed event. Why not join us on the first weekend in February 2024 for our Moors & Christians Retreat and experience it for yourself.

Continuing our ´Grow your Own´ theme…the chickens have arrived. Ten girls and a cockerel to keep some discipline in the flock….we have named him Bluey but the girls are completely identical so giving them names is rather a challenge. No eggs yet, as they are still a little young, but they have settled in well and we look forward to the joy of collecting a basket of fresh eggs every morning. Our flock have a smart henhouse imported from Italy and a dome run built with the ingenious ‘Build with Hubs´ system. Once we have a fence up they will be allowed to roam in a very large area of the forest…a bit like chicken utopia. The dome not only looks fantastic but was really easy to put together. You can create all sorts of structures with the geo dome hub system from a greenhouse to a sun room. There are some great pictures on their Instagram account buildwithhubs.