In my previous life I was a General Manager for one of the UK's largest pub chain in central London and that was all I knew. Working in pubs can be great socially and you do become skilled in so many different aspects of running a business. I loved talking to all my guests, making sure my team gave the best experience too but it absolutely does take over your life! Working every weekend, late nights and no structure meant I didn't have any time or energy for hobbies or my friends and family.
Dan and I had started talking about moving out of London (he was absolutely desperate to get to the countryside!) but I was worried about what I would do. Then Covid hit and suddenly I had all this free time and energy. Now I absolutely would not want to go through Covid again but in some ways it forced me to discover my interests and hobbies and see a life past pubs. I started learning to grown vegetables, Dan taught me some basic DIY and my cooking improved dramatically. I also got fitter and healthier.
Once the restrictions started to lift, we started looking for properties in earnest but so was everyone else. We must have looked at over 30 properties over a year and were really starting to get frustrated when Grove Farm came up on Rightmove. I remember walking round trying not to get too excited as I couldn't figure out what Dan was thinking and thought for sure he wouldn't like it. Thankfully he did and 5 months later, in November 2021 we moved in!
Our target has always been for Dan to design and build three 2-bedroom cabins, which then I would run as the farms main income in the long run. Our planning application for these was submitted in April 2022 and it took till March 2023 for the application to be approved and all the conditions signed off. We couldn't just sit around waiting all this time so that is when we decided to set up the Bell Tents, which opened July 2022 and we are now heading into our third season with the tents. The groundwork for the Cabins were completed last year but the rain this winter has halted any further progress. Everything is crossed for a good, dry spring and summer this year so Dan can crack on with the building.
Along the way we have also developed a productive vegetable garden, introduced 4 chickens to the farm and Dan has spent many hour refurbishing old machinery, which he says are essential for the farm! We've spent many hours walking Ruby the dog so can recommend many routes and I have found a love for Wild Swimming, which led to our swimming weekends with Kate from Black Mountains Swims. I'll be writing another post all about these so you'll have to come back for more details (or head here).
We are really excited for the 2024 season to begin and we get to show off our beautiful corner of the country! We hope you'll join us for a weekend (or longer) to switch off, relax in your hammock or go off on an adventure in the mountains.
Emily and Dan x
Commenti