At this time of year a highlight on the village calendar, and great for cottage guests too, is the Cheddar Festive Night. Now well established and very popular for people from a good distance around, the main village road, up to the lower gorge is shut for the evening. Stalls and events all pop up. Decorations twinkle. IT feels that the Christmas season has well and truly started.

But this is not a usual year. The Festive Night was of course cancelled a long time ago. However the creative people at Cheddar Arts have been promoting an alternative to lift spirits. They call it Cheddar Winter Window Wanderland. Homes around Cheddar, and even some temporarily closed stores in the Lower Gorge, have been busy decorating their windows with tissue paper and silhouettes. And today, Sunday 6th, and for the next 14 evenings between 6pm and 9pm, people can wander the village (map and addresses supplied - over 200 participants) and marvel at the creativity of the many. All COVID safe, in our little groups outdoors.

And today is that start, and we signed up alongside so many others. We're looking forward over the next two weeks to wander around and see what everyone else has done. And here for you is our little offering. Firstly the house and cottage in their usual Christmas lights and then the main house window with our contribution. In our case a vague theme of ecological wonderment with seasonal twists. In the centre the pale blue orb that is our precious planet, with Father Christmas flying over. And, yes, that is a penguin too ... our younger daughter (now 30) has loved penguins since she could talk! We also appreciate the surreal situation, Escher-esque, of animals on the Earth looking at ... the Earth. Hmmm.

And for all of you coping with the trials of this tough year, we wish everyone a safe, peaceful and hopefully nurturing seasonal time, including all cottage guests, past and future.

Huw and Mary

Dateline: 19 March 2020

These are indeed extraordinary times. A global pandemic that is affecting people and countries around the world. Every day seems to see new developments in policy and guidance. We felt it important to update on where we stand at Gorge View Cottage. But to reassure: we are open for business.




Cleaning and hygiene
We are being scrupulous in the cleaning and turnaround of the cottage. We are firstly steam cleaning everywhere, followed by a cleaning of surfaces etc using a sanitising cleaner. And we finally clean door handles, the key and fob, and the TV control with Isopropyl alcohol. The cottage is only cleaned by Huw and/or Mary. We wash hands thoroughly every time before entering the cottage to clean, or carry on cleaning, and after leaving the cottage. We are fastidious about not touching our faces between entering and leaving. When you arrive we will be our usual welcoming and friendly selves but will be avoiding shaking hands or getting too close. And to be clear, neither of us has any symptoms that might suggest we have the virus, and we are certainly being careful ourselves with social distancing.

Shared space?
The cottage itself is wholly detached and independent. There are no shared spaces, it is entirely for you. In this respect we think it is a great place to continue any personal social distancing.

Food and supplies
Of course the cottage has everything you need to self-cater. You might want to bring all you own food and be completely self-contained. In Cheddar, within easy walking distance, there are convenience stores, specialist food stores, a Deli, and a Tesco Local and the main Sainsbury's store. As of today the Sainsbury's was generally well stocked and working normally, although of course they are asking that people limit shopping and don't mass-buy. The pubs are open at the moment, but naturally quiet which helps ensure social distancing if you should choose to go. Likewise the restaurants, but useful most restaurants do takeaway and some deliver. For Pizza, Chinese, Thai, Indian or Fish and Chips there are plenty of options, and all just two or three minutes away.
We also have a brilliant local grocery delivery company we've recommended and used for years: Somerset Local Food Direct. They deliver orders in Cheddar each week on Thursday or Friday - so you can order ahead online (before the Tuesday morning deadline) and have the food delivered to the cottage. They supply fresh vegetables and fruit, meats, dairy, grocery and deli goods, bakery items, ready meals and larder stock. Its pretty extensive and a lot of it is organic. If this is before you arrive we'll handle it and ensure it is stocked in the the cottage and if appropriate in the fridge/freezer, for your arrival. Currently they re finding they're getting a lot of extra traffic but seem to be coping: supplies are fine but manpower to deliver is stretching them and we and others locally are on hand to help.

What to do?
The obvious thing in these times is the walking. There are many lovely walks in and around Cheddar and we have maps and self-guide walking sheets for many of them. You can keep fit, stay socially distanced from anyone you pass, and enjoy this beautiful part of the world. Check out Cheddar Walking website for some ideas - walks ranging from 1/2 mile to 20 miles and everything in-between. Some on the flat, some up the hills. And we have the bikes if you should want to cycle off along the Strawberry Line old railway track and path.
The other options such as Cheddar caves are currently open but we suggest you check this and other visitor attractions online to be sure.

Stay safe, stay well
We hope this addresses some obvious questions, but if you are booked with us, or are thinking of booking, and have other questions then do please get in touch.

Huw and Mary

Tsk, tsk, another gap in blogging. Note to self ... try and make time

So yes, life has been busy, and the cottage is still getting lots of lovely guests and consistently lovely comments and reviews. And suddenly here we are at Halloween with Christmas on the horizon. Here in Cheddar for the last good few years, the festive season starts early. The first Friday in December has now become the tradition that is Cheddar Festive Night. The best bit of this is that the whole of the lower gorge road (The Cliffs) and the road on down in to the village (Cliff Street) is closed off for the evening.

And then up and down that route lots of people, of course mostly local at that time of year, come to Cheddar to enjoy a host of Christmassy stalls, events and entertainment. Much of it is raising money for good causes and it can vary from commercial craft stalls through to a small charity setting up a mulled wine stall on a table outside a house. So quite "home-made" and parochial in places, but that gives it real charm.

Just wandering the lower gorge without the normal traffic is a treat. Indeed although traffic is not formally banned, the main (upper) gorge road is not a through route and so traffic stops, and that makes for a noter possibility for the fit (although in the dark not so wonderful).

And most all the good shops are open with Xmas offering - lots of tasters, lots of samples. For those getting to the top of the route earlier on, you can get in to Cheddar's main caves for just £5 (all going to charity)

So if you happen to be in the area (or indeed maybe even choosing to stay at the cottage), this Friday 6th December is a good event to aim for.

Maybe it was that prolonged and unseasonal cold spell through April and in to May, but the pent up energy of nature seems to have finally burst forth this year. The Gorge View garden seems bursting with blooms. And the bees are loving it!

At first we were very worried to not see that many bees around and were concerned that the extended cold spell had hit their populations. But, at least here, the bee business has got back to normal albeit belatedly.

So as we wander the garden there are places where the noise of the bees if remarkable. Looking closely at flowering shrubs like the deep purple-blue Ceanothus (I had to ask Mary for the name!) you see it is covered in bees of all sort: honey bees of course, but a range of bumblebees (I love their Latin genus name of 'Bombus' - so appropriate), and solitary bees such as the Red Mason Bee.

Another amazing flower is the Passion Flower (see top photo). Mary planted ours on the front corner of the house years ago and it did nothing. We thought it was dying. But then, a few years back, it finally started to grow. And grow and grow. And now it is ballooning out and overtaking the thrusting Wisteria and the long-established Virgina Creeper. The flowers are extraordinarily complex, delicate and beautiful, and the knot of twisting green stems have amazingly tangly tendrils to help catch on to any support available. The bees love the flowers. Often you find a clustered mix of bees all feeding of one flower (and with no fighting). And whilst the 25 foot high tangle of the plant is covered in buds, at any one time only a few flowers pop out for a short but wondrous few days. After the late hard freeze in April the plant suffered badly, was brown leaved and looked very poorly. But within a month the health is back and the bees are tucking in to the nectar again.

They work so hard those bees - busily working before we are up and still going late in to the evening. Phew. We get so much value from these little workers and so it was a relief to hear that the EU has (after long deliberations and lots of lobbying from the agri-chemical industries) outlawed the use of neonicotinoid pesticides that have a hugely detrimental affect on the pollinator populations. They all still face other huge challenges, but at least one step has been taken to help them. Care for nature aside their contribution (for free) has massive economic value, but of course big business cannot grab that effort for profit.

​Anyway this was not meant to be a rant, more a celebration of the beauty of the blooms in our garden. Enjoy the photos.

Pretty much anyone in the UK, or indeed Europe, has been experiencing some of the most wintery weather we've experienced in many years. To start with, here in Somerset, we were just suffering the cold temperatures, and in particular the biting wind.

And then suddenly Somerset was in first an amber and then a red weather warning area as storm Emma drove moist air up in to the cold air mass over Britain, and the two weather systems colliding whipped up the winds even more.


In fact because of the winds the snow was not "deep and crisp and even", but much more variable. Birch Hill outside the cottage was pretty much clear of snow whilst in the garden and anywhere, the winds eddied around, the snow piled up in deep drifts. All in all we probably got 6 to 8 inches on average. And certainly it all looked lovely.

For possibly a day on the Thursday/Friday we were snowed in as far as vehicles went (no 4-wheel drive available). Birch Hill at the one end has a short steep bit that was too much for normal cars. But there are two flatter routes in that work fine if taken gently. But why drive if you can walk? So we did enjoy walking down to the village a few times with the roads largely to ourselves as most people heeded the advice to not go out if they did not need to.

And now on Saturday it is all thawing quite fast. The worst is over and life around us is returning to normal.

The snow itself has been rather wonderful as it drapes across the gorge slopes and the trees and the cottages. The nastier thing has been the easterly winds, and whilst the cottage has been solid throughout, and snug with underfloor heating and the log stove if wanted, our house has had two tiles ripped off and we're getting them fixed ASAP (but not for a few days  - so no rain, please). That is the first time in 15 years here that we have experienced any storm damage and it says a lot about the strength of the gusts. Not that we are complaining. Despite the dire predictions we have not suffered in any serious way and we know further afield many have.

Must stop now and finish the snowman!

We are delighted to announce that the cottage is now fully enabled for electric vehicles. We have just today had a new electric charging point fitted that can deliver 32A AC charging on a Type 2 connector. Most electric vehicles (EVs), and indeed newer "plug-in hybrid" vehicles, can use a Type 2 connector. The 32A charge rate will mean most EVs can charge from empty to full in 3-4 hours. Of course in practise most vehicle journeys are around 20-40 mile in range and so would only use around 12% to 25% of a battery's capacity, and a top-up charge would take less than an hour.
Our system is smarter still and will use the power coming from the solar panels on the cottage roof whenever they are exporting power. This means charging will be partly or wholly locally solar powered. The panels are not enough even on the sunniest of days to support the full fast 32A charging, but as our electricity supply has been 100% Green tariff since that was available years ago, a recharge will always be 100% from renewable energy. And if you do not want your car in a hurry then it can charge slowly and purely from the solar power available on the roof.
We will be offering EV charging for free to cottage guests and that means local travel will be completely free and green. All very exciting especially as the uptake of EVs and plug-in hybrids is accelerating, and now we hear news that the UK Government will ban sales of pure internal combustion (petrol/diesel) cars from 2040, and manufacturers like Volvo, and now BMW, are working to move their entire offering to electric, or electric assist, in a much shorter time span.

If you're expecting some reference to fossil-fuel-burning soot-belching locomotives, or 4-6-2 wheel configurations, or heritage railway lines, the sorry but this article is not for you. That's not to say I am not an enthusiast for this old and wonderful way of travel despite its less than great eco credentials.

No. This article is about the rise of steam cleaning. For the cottage we have always used eco products, including EM (effective microorganism) cleaners. But of course better still is to use no products at all. And that is possible using steam cleaning. A pretty old technology brought up to date, and for some years now it is something we use on every turn-around of the cottage. It not only sanitises using the heat of the steam, but also loosens dirt for easy mopping up with a micro-fibre cloth.

Whilst no chemicals are involved, it does of course use energy to heat, and then keep hot, the pressurised water container. Given that we clean during the day when no other power is being used in the cottage, the steam cleaner is pretty much fully powered by our solar panels if sunny. If not sunny then the PV contributes and our green import electricity does the rest. And we're not talking much electricity anyway for a hour or so's use.
 
We use our Karcher Steam Cleaner (pictured) to clean the oak floors, the bathroom (floor, wall tiles, grout, glass and ceramics), and the kitchen area including if needed the oven. We still use eco-products on kitchen and other surfaces, and the toilet, but steam is king otherwise. We also see that this has over the years helped enormously with maintaining the condition of the wood floors and tiles - for example almost no little black mould forming on grout and sealant in the bathroom.

So we're converts and are very happy to strongly recommend this way of eco-cleaning.

Toot, toot.

It has been a while in coming but we were excited to have our first electric vehicle (EV) at the cottage this week. Our guests had checked ahead to ensure there is a charging option, and whilst we don't (yet - but see further on) have a proper fast charging point, we do have an outside power point on the cottage. It is right beside the car parking area and so it means a 13am (3kW) charge can take place which is more than enough to "refill" a empty EV overnight (6 or so hours).

This also meant we had to decide on policy for the cost of that, and we have decided that, in the same spirit as our 10% discount to encourage car-free travel, we will provide the EV charging for free as part of the rental. Refilling a small EV should only cost around £3 a day if completely empty and charged to full. And for this particular EV that gives around 75 to 100 miles range, plenty enough to explore the area, completely emissions-free. We feel that seems reasonable. 
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Of course if the charging is done during the day then solar power on the cottage roof will be used, reducing cost. And as far as the green credentials go, as the cottage uses an entirely "green" electricity supplier (Ecotricity) all the electricity pumped in to the car will have come from renewable energy sources (hydro, wind, solar PV ...).

​We ourselves would love to get an EV. We have a Prius hybrid that is now 13 years old and with almost 200,000 miles on the clock. Still going and in good condition and the great mpg is holding up - the all-important battery seems fine. Mary has her tiny IQ too which does as good mpg as the Prius.

Whether or not we ever get an EV we have resolved this year to install a proper fast charge point on the cottage for our cottage guests, and that will mean a full recharge in a few hours. There is no doubt that EVs seem to have come of age, and yet as the technology is improving fast it makes it difficult to know when to jump and maybe buy. And of course there is the whole issue of embodied energy costs by just getting a new (or newer car). We typically have owned cars until they literally cannot be repaired for anything like a sensible cost. End of life. Yet it does seem that EVs have become practical and not just exotic: the charging network is good and growing, petrol is going up in cost (irrespective of the climate change argument, this is inevitably over time as sources run out and get harder to find). EV range has grown to the point of safe practicality for many people's usage. And running costs are ridiculously low: fuel, servicing (with no complicated engine) and tax. So getting an EV now starts to make sense but one question has to be will it be good for the next 10-12 years? The Prius Hybrid has proved spectacularly good and yet hybrid drive was a new, exotic and uncertain technology in its time. So I am hopeful.

We must give honourable mention our longest serving vehicle, our VW camper van, bought in Holland second-hand over 30 years ago. Still going strong, but needing some degree of TLC every year even though we only use it modestly. It seems it is now becoming a classic vehicle, our daughters have grown up knowing it, are now borrowing it themselves! It really seems part of the family. So that's one vehicle that is not going to be sold (unless maybe EV campers become available).

So anyone following the cottage blog will have noticed a slight pause. We generally hope to maintain roughly monthly updates but late 2016 was always going to be a bit hectic with the main house having a fair bit of work done on the kitchen. And then in September a guest mentioned there was a small drip from the ceiling in the cottage living room. It seems the wet-room design of the shower room was not working. Luckily our builder was around immediately and we patched things up.

​Clearly a much fuller investigation was needed but we had pretty much nose-to-tail bookings through until late October when we were able to block out some weeks for whatever work was needed. We really didn't want to cancel anyone - that's the worst nightmare for us. In a further brief 2-day gap our builder did a more substantial patching job and with fingers crossed we got through to the following five weeks to the break.

​Then our lovely shower room floor had to be broken up, and we found that what must have been a tiny seeping leak for years, had slowly soften and swelled the board supporting the tiling, and as that happened more subtle cracks formed, ending up with the drain beginning to give a little and then the whole thing spiraled downwards fast. But at least we now knew about it and were able to fix it - this time choosing to move away from a wet-room approach and installing a more conventional low-profile shower tray, and therefore a shower curtain with quality stainless steel fittings.
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The new setup was tested by the next guests, a lovely couple from Australia, and with their feedback we made a few tweaks to the shower curtain, and that has now been properly adapted by a local seamstress. Now all is good and Gorge View Cottage is back to perfect operation. 
If you are reading this then just mabe you'll get a chance to try it this coming year.

I don't often mention guests specifically in this blog but I am making an exception. This last week our guests were Lucille (Lucy) Campeanu and her partner Gino from Australia. They were here for 9 days and managed to pack in a lot in that time including two separate circuits of the Gorge Walk, visits to Wells, Glastonbury and Bath Spa where they literally enjoyed the spa - the new-ish Thermae Bath Spa facility which includes a rooftop pool where you can gaze at Bath Abbey nearby.

They also made it to Stonehenge and took part in one of the special groups allowed in to the stones themselves (normally off-limits) for sunrise. Pretty special but made the more-so by them being in the area when a magical crop circle appeared overnight. A huge 7-pointed star: you can see the images here.

Anyway they also managed some quiet time back at the cottage and because Lucy is amongst other things a creative coach and artist she had chosen to document their travels in England and afterwards in France with an "art journal", images of which she has been posting and "vlogging" on her Facebook page as she goes along. We were particularly taken by the two paintings she did in her journal of the cottage and the patio view to the garden. They are below and you can get a lot more of this by checking out Lucy's FB page here:

                                                           www.facebook.com/artshedangel 

​Another lovely idea of lucy's was bringing with her some painted "Peace Rocks", and then leaving them in various places along their travels. Each has simple instructions on the back encouraging the finders to adopt the rocks for the next part of their own travels and then to leave the rock in turn for others to find - but not before photographing them in their new location and posting this up on Lucy's FB page for her to track their slow migration.

So a different take on how to capture your journey. And do keep you eyes open for a Peace Rock as you travel around.