Little white lawnmowers

We've been struggling to keep the grass down in our meadows - with only 20 alpacas and about the same number of Jacob sheep, we find the end fields get overgrown and the bracken starts to encroach. I approached an organisation called Pont who advising on grassland management http://www.pontcymru.org/en - they put me in touch with someone who needed grazing for his Welsh Mountain ponies and we now have these 3 lovely white ponies munching away.

The big news for us this month is the launch of our new Hidden Valley Yurts website - it was hard to let go of the old, home made one - but we knew it was time it was updated and the lovely Elizabeth Walsh, webdesigner has done us proud. She really did go not just the extra mile, but a half marathon, and we couldn't recommend her highly enough. We hope you like the result - feedback is very welcome. http://www.hiddenvalleyyurts.co.uk/
The next yurt shipment (No 11) has been ordered and we are still getting a steady level of bookings for our Setting up a Yurt campsite courses - we've set the dates for next year's group courses http://www.mongolianyurts.co.uk/Courses.html.

Sad News

A very sad month for our family – my lovely Dad died very unexpectedly just 10 days after his 78th birthday (see October post). Shocking for us but exactly the way he would have wanted to go. No chance of forgetting him though – over the past 9 years he has added several lasting reminders on the farm – the pizza oven, sleeper steps, helping to put up the cricket pavilion He joined in enthusiastically with every party we held here - and there were many . I hope you don’t mind if I use this month simply as a tribute to him.

October 2011 - Party time again

We were blessed with insanely hot weather for our end of season party on the 1st October which was also my Dad's 78th birthday - here he is jiving with my cousin Andrea. It was truly magical at the campsite – this year we changed the format and started after lunch – a perfect opportunity to enjoy the campsite as if we were guests – it’s easy to forget when we are rushing around on changeover days that the field is such a special place – the sound of the stream, the peace, the space (even with around 100 guests!), the fun of making our own pizzas – a huge thank you to the lovely Ron Gough who wielded the pizza peel like a true Italian. Prolapse (the local band) were outstanding and after a night in the yurts we all enjoyed bacon and egg sarnies in between the clear up. Truly a party that will bring a smile to our faces for a long time.

At Last - an entry

The lack of any blog entries for the whole of the season says it all! What a manic season. Even having added the additional yurt our 2011 occupancy increased to 85%. Next year we are going to treat ourselves to a weekend off in mid June so we can have a summer party. Despite the media moaning about an awful summer we managed to buck the trend and stayed dry as a bone all summer - a bit colder than we would have liked but that's a minor complaint. Here are the first guests of the season enjoying the swing - Tilly was ecstatic to see guests again after a long and lonely winter.

We were picked for the Times Top 15 Glamping sites and were featured in Cool Campings new Glamping book. Our courses on setting up a yurt campsite were so oversubscribed we added in two extra courses (totalling 5 group courses and numerous individual day courses) – it’s been really exciting and inspiring seeing some of the new campsites opening. East Throne Yurts in Bude, Green Circle Hideaways in Kent, Meadow Rue in Pembrokshire, Willow Island Yurt in Barford, Old Chapel Farm in Powys and Ivy Grange Yurts in Suffolk have all joined The Authentic Mongolian Yurt family – we hope their guests are as lovely as ours.

We ended the season with an entry into the Monmouth Raft Race; what a fantastic day we had, stunning weather and lovely guests turning out to cheer us on - despite rude comments from certain raft members (no names, Neil and Peter) about lack of effort from the front left, we managed to finish the 6 mile course in fine style – slow but elegant as befitted our ‘Dressed to Spill’ status. The only tragedy was Noahs Ark beating us in the best dressed raft race - we were robbed!

Look Behind You

I had a bit of adrenalin fuelled start to the month when I went to help Mike and Ron who were felling a rotten cherry tree. Located in a tricky copse, the tree caught on the branch of an adjoining tree and Ron and I were just seconds off putting a chain around the base when the branch gave way, allowing the cherry tree to crash to the ground – I didn’t know I could move so fast!

February generally has a bad press but it’s one of my favourite months – even when it’s dank and muggy there is a promise in the air of spring to come – outside my office window huge bumble bees are feeding hungrily on the sweet scented winter flowering honeysuckle; the snowdrops have finally appeared and already the daffs are poking their heads up.

We are frantically trying to fit in all the unfinished winter jobs – with Yurt sales triple last year there was no quiet period and suddenly we are just 5 short weeks away from opening. Despite lagging all the pipes and draining the whole system, the extreme cold did its worst and are having to re-plumb the shower block again!!! Next year we are going to remove both the shower fittings so that should guarantee a mild winter.

Most of the first shipment of yurts have gone to their new homes and the second one arrived on the 25th so the stores are bursting at the seams – all sizes and all colours now in stock.

A new venture for me - as booking agent for Allt Yurts in Carmarthen - just one yurt for now on a beautiful farm 6 miles from Carmarthen town and just 4 miles from the stunning seaside town of Llansteffen - if we haven't got a date to suit you or you fancy a holiday near the sea, do get in touch.

Too busy to have the January Blues

So much for this being our quiet time of year! Just ordered our third shipment – the first one arrived last week – the yurt barn is full to bursting but they are all sold so will shortly be going to their new owners . The next shipment is on its way so we will have all sizes in stock again very soon.

On which subject we wish the very best of luck to Westwood Yurts in Gateshead, Anglesey Yurts and Tipis in North Wales, Allt Yurts in Carmarthenshire, Seren Retreat in the Gower, Wales, Deer Park Yurts in West Sussex, – goodness, typing this list makes me realise how many we’ve sold – good job too because bookings for holidays are almost double this time last year – we are over 30% full already. Information on these will be added to our links page very soon.

Our son Harry has added a calendar to the website - the prices show if you hover over the date – every yurt campsite needs a computer literate teenager – thanks Harry. http://www.hiddenvalleyyurts.co.uk/Availability.html

I don’t really understand Twitter – showing my age maybe – but I’ve been persuaded to open a Hidden Valley Yurts twitter account so if you want to be the first to hear about any cancellations or late deals click here to follow us.

The baby alpacas are growing up - halter training completed for Carris and Kim - they are a very sweet natured pair

Llanishen goes Alpine

Feel I must end the year with a huge thank you to all the guests who made this year such a busy one - it may sound a bit cheesy but it really is a great privilege to have a job where you are constantly the object of envy because you get to live here all the time (mind, no-one envies us the compost loo emptying!).

At this time of year the main focus is the animals – the cold doesn’t really bother them but the snow means the alpacas can’t reach the grass (the sheep are far more sensible and scrape away with their hooves) – the biggest problem though is water – even our fast flowing brook has started to freeze over - I feel like I’ve been carrying buckets of hot water around for weeks (well I suppose I have come to think of it).

Work hard, play hard is the theme in this village though – it’s been wall to wall parties since the village Christmas dinner – mind, I do sometimes long to go to a party without walking boots and a torch as my accessories.