Stone House Times - Blog # 1

Well here it is folks - our very first venture into the world of "blogging". This is the first of a series of blogs to give you an insight behind the scenes of running a busy country house hotel high in the Yorkshire Dales! I hope you will find them interesting, informative, revealing & amusing!! Over the next weeks and months I will try to persuade various members of the team to share their thoughts, ideas & maybe a few recipes. I will be glad to receive any comments or ideas that you may have to improve the service that we offer at the hotel, what you would like to see intoduced to enhance your stay etc........

The first thing I want to mention is a great British favourite - the weather. Now I just want to clarify the current situation for all of you who turn on the evening news and hear that Yorkshire is now under water!! Well, there are many parts of the county that are badly affected by the flooding but I am relieved to say that the Yorkshire Dales have escaped relatively unscathed by the recent deluges of rain. It has been very unsettled and showery - but everywhere looks so fresh and green and the waterfalls are spectacular! So if you are thinking of heading out to the dales - then pack your rain-gear, suncream for when the sun does arrive and a sense of humour - after all what else would we talk about if every day were the same!!

Today a group of 12 Americans checked-in to the hotel - they are half way along their coast to to coast challenge and as I write enjoying a well earned dinner, basking in the knowledge that tomorrow is a rest day!

The hotel is 90% full tonight - and I have taken several bookings for later in the week - so we are "ticking over" pretty well. Traditionally Wimbledon fortnight is usually a bit quieter than usual. Not quite sure why - televisions are available in every room!!

My menu recommendation tonight would be the Smoked Salmon & Asparagus Salad, followed by Yorkshire Lamb Hot Pot, then the Bramley Apple Crumble, a slither of Yorkshire Blue and a nice cafetiere of Sumatra coffee (perhaps with a small glass of our new late bottled port - just arrived!). Talking of Yorkshire Lamb - I have now ventured into the world of farming!. Together with my next door neighbour (a retired farmer thankfully!) we have bought some sheep with twin lambs. Here's the technical bit - the ewes are "mules" which are the result of crossing the Blue Faced Leicester Tup with the Swaledale Ewe. These "mules" are then crossed with a Texel Tup to give a lamb that is able to withstand the dales climate and fattens well. Our lambs are fattening at an amazing speed on the lush Bishopdale pastures and should be ready very soon. We will be keeping a few for breeding stock, enjoying a few for our own table and we may be featuring home grown lamb on the Stone House menu very soon! - move over Gordon Ramsey!!

Anyway - I am keen to see how this first blog will look on website - so I will post it now. Hope to report back soon.

Bye for now.

Chris Taplin

Co-proprietor

Stone House Hotel