Broome Park Farm, Farmhouse Bed & Breakfast Accommodation Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire

It has been another beautiful spring day and the cherry blossom tree in front of the house is in full bloom. It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago and the family bought me a hammock. John has hung it today and I even managed 10 minutes uninterrupted relaxation before Richard called me in to answer a phone call! Hopefully I will get plenty of opportunities to use it this summer!

Hopefully as we approach the Spring equinox spring really is here. I have certainly felt like getting out in the garden this week and am making good progress. I have finally planted my strawberry plants into a new bed at the far right hand end of the garden and have 3 blueberry plants to put in along side them once I get some ericaceous compost. I have also planted a jostaberry bush - a cross between a blackcurrant and a gooseberry that I bought at the Neen Savage Harvest Supper. The beds in the foreground are awaiting seed potatoes and beans and squashes will go beyond the raspberry canes. I always think this is the most exciting time for gardening when everything is full of promise - before endless rain dampens everyone’s spirits!

On Saturday the Bell Inn Band did their bit for Comic Relief! We all dressed up in our silliest hats, wigs and red outfits and played on the High Street for 2 hours. Amazingly we managed to raise £300 and enjoyed ourselves at the same time. Many thanks to Ian and Sharon at The Crusty Cob for providing hot drinks at half time! Thanks too, to all those who listened and donated.

Spend a night at our family friendly bed and breakfast on a working farm, then visit the award winning West Midlands Safari Park - all for £100.

1 night bed and breakfast in our spacious family room + 4 tickets to West Midland Safari Park for a family of 4 (2 adults + 2 children under 16) for £100, a saving of £24.

This week John and I visited our local Brewery, Hobsons, as members of the Shropshire Hills Sustainable Business group. Hobsons have excellent green credentials using ground source heat pumps to heat and cool the building, buying raw ingredients locally where possible and recycling the spent grain as animal food. The company is just about to install a wind turbine to generate electricity to power the site.

On top of all this they also produce an excellent range of real ales! John sampled the award winning Mild (Champion Beer of Britain 2007) whilst I enjoyed the latest addition to the range - Twisted Spire - a pale, crisp, low-gravity beer with a light, natural fizz. Owner Nick Davis was an excellent host and gave a fascinating tour of the brewing process as well as an insight into the company’s environmental ethos.