Harptree Court Country House Blog

Spring is in the air - along with snow and hail

2012-02-17T09:21:00.000-08:00

I thought that January was so warm that all our spring bulbs were going to appear together and all be over before their proper time. However the icy blast delivered in late January and early February has corrected that. The large and spreading patches of crocus are all coming out now and look spectacular in the sunshine.

The treehouse is proving to be the romantic spot for proposals. It has just notched up another one last weekend. Congratulations!

Still a month to go before the Yurt goes back up. I have just been checking the base and preparing myself - why do I expect it to be raining just as I need to put the canvas back on?

First six months of the treehouse

2012-01-10T09:10:00.000-08:00

Well, the first half year of operation has passed with our guests being wowed by the treehouse and the Yurt. The Yurt has long been put away for the winter but we were still having guests in November. We added a hot water bottle and then an electric blanket to ensure everyone stayed snug and warm. The only problem during the year was with squirrels! One day whilst we were away they ate our rubber gas connectors emptying the spare gas cylinders so the gas ran out. We had the gas back on within 12 hours but it was a worry. The gas pipes now have armour plating so unless the squirrels use weapons we should be alright. I cannot quite believe how booked up we are getting for 2012 now - the first half of the year is almost full in the treehouse.

The papers

2011-07-22T08:18:00.000-07:00

We seem to have attracted quite a bit of attention in the papers over the last month or so. Starting with The Guardian Then the yurt was in The Telegraph.

Then the treehouse was in the cool camping guide one Saturday in the Times, but to see that you have to be a Times subscriber I believe.

We have also had major articles about the treehouse in the Western Daily Press and the Bristol Evening Post. Not to mention a radio slot on BBC Somerset.
Just recently the treehouse experience has had a proper review in The Guardian

All the comment seems to be positive, with the exception of a chess player who noticed that the photographer had set the pieces incorrectly on the board!

All this has had an impact so book early!

Linda's luscious lemon cake

2011-06-17T05:56:00.000-07:00

Everybody has been asking for the 'secret' recipe to Linda's lovely lemon cake that she gives to our guests on arrival. She even puts one in the Treehouse and Yurt for guests to enjoy during their stay. Yum Yum. So here we go:

Into a bowl put 6oz sieved self raising flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 6oz caster sugar flavoured with vanilla, 4oz butter, 4 tbsp milk, 2 large free- range eggs (there is nothing nicer).

Whisk for 2 mins, tip into a lined 8" baking tin and cook for 40 mins on 180oC in a fan oven.

Take out of the oven, allow to cool in the tin and when just warm tip over the juice of 2 lemons mixed with 3oz of vanilla flavoured caster sugar.

Enjoy!

If anyone has any other cake recipes they think we should try, post it under this !

Harptree Court wins an Award

2011-06-03T13:29:00.000-07:00

Linda and Charles are very excited to have won the Bed and Breakfast/Guest Accommodation of the Year Award at The Bristol Tourism and Hospitality Awards last night. Just as well that there were no acceptance speeches though - our list of people to thank might have gone on for hours.

Tree House and Yurt now complete

2011-06-01T23:43:00.000-07:00

After a mammoth effort from Simon & all at Bower House Construction and a lot of help from friends and family, we now have an amazing Tree House and a stunning Yurt. Thank you everyone.

Racing to the finish

2011-05-06T13:06:00.000-07:00

It has been about 3 weeks since my last post, not so much because there is so little progress but because there has been so much!
Once the base was completed the sides went on.

The roof was put on

The cladding went on the outside and the roof was tiled.

To match the exterior work the plumbing first fix is in, the electrical work nears completion and today the insulation was blown into the cavities in the walls, floors and the roof!

Decking is now complete

2011-04-14T02:30:00.000-07:00

The stairs now have treads so that it is somewhat easier to get up

The decking outside the treehouse is completed and you can see the base of the structure itself

the view of the walkway from the treehouse platform.

In a weeks time we hope to have the sides of the treehouse up and in position.

The Treehouse floor goes in

2011-04-14T01:48:00.000-07:00

Seeing the oversize timbers go in just makes everyone who sees it go Wow!
The platform seemed to start slowly, but this accelerated and once the sections of the floor arrived they went down almost straight away.

The walkway is made so that it can move with the oak tree. The ballistrade supports are delightfully wiggly

The way in goes up these stairs and over a platform in the oak tree

The base of the treehouse itself is now in position

Yo ho and up she rises

2011-03-15T13:29:00.000-07:00

Now the treehouse base is talking shape, One day nothing is visible and then suddenly we have the basic supporting structure in place.

Standing underneath the legs you beginn to understand the scale of what we are doing!

Meanwhile the yurt bases have also sprung up, waiting for the doors and windows now.

The treehouse walkway underway

2011-02-11T03:34:00.000-08:00

The first bit of the treehouse walkway is being put in place with the specially designed anchors minimising the impact on the oak tree. The way up to the treehouse will start with steps up to a platform in this mature oak tree. The platform support structure is now being added. As you can see one piece has been carefully shaped around one of the branches.

The snowdrops are coming!

2011-01-23T07:21:00.000-08:00

The first snowdrops are appearing now to be rapidly followed by crocus and the daffodils. Another cold winter should mean that the bulbs appear in their proper order again. Spring is a geat time to visit us at Harptree as the quarter mile drive looks at its best from now to the spring.

Marmalade War

2011-01-17T22:53:00.000-08:00

The box of Seville oranges arrived last week and have spent a few days in the fridge while I gird myself up for marmalade making. We split the box with a friend, who has been making marmalade for many years and start slicing.

Linda, who is an excellent cook but who has no patience soon abandons the kitchen to me, I fill the house with the sweet sticky smell of marmalade as I struggle with 8 double batches using Gary Rhodes' recipe (about 20kg in all)

After a day and a half I end up with what I hope is a years supply of homemade marmalade. We do try to serve only homemade preserves at breakfast.!

I notice that this year the colour is lighter than last, a real golden glowing orange; I worry slightly and pop round to Diana's to see how she is doing.
Her marmalade is exactly the same colour so I haven't done anything wrong and better still she is only half way through her oranges so this year I'm claiming victory in the undeclared marmalade war.

Treehouse starts at last!

2011-01-10T13:52:00.000-08:00

Whoppee! After about a year of delays I can hardly believe that work is actually beginning on the treehouse.

Step 1 is to remove some sycamore trees and laurel to make room for the structure whilst retaining everything else so that the treehouse floats amongst the trees. We used Adam Clark for all the high tree work.

Before

After

Thre isn't much more to see yet but over the next 3-4 weeks we should get up to Platform height, I can't wait....