4-star holiday cottage near Malvern, Worcestershire

News

  • Maintenance at Rhydd Barn

    I stayed at the Barn during the first week of September and was able to take a lot of photographs. Paint was peeling off the walls inside the converted pigsty—it has now been redecorated. Also the pigsty exterior brickwork on the side wall and the back of the pigpens was repointed in places. The gravel drive has to be weeded regularly and the grass in the field mowed and strimmed along the edge. Grass in the sewage tank area in the field also has to be kept short. The sewage tank is inspected regularly—most recently in August when it was found to be in excellent order.

    Here are some photographs:

    Pigsty repointing
    Pigsty repointing
    Pigsty interior repainted
    Pigsty interior repainted
    Driveway weeding
    Driveway weeding
    Grass cut by fence
    Grass cut by fence
    Sewage tank area grass cut
    Sewage tank area grass cut
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  • Field cut for hay

    My sister sent me this photograph of the field in front of the Barn. The long grass has just been cut for hay. Here is the photo:

    Rhydd Barn field cut for hay
    Field cut for hay
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  • Maintenance, August 2023

    We have carried out some necessary maintenance and repair work on Rhydd Barn:

    • Re-pointing work on the lower part of the south exterior wall and converted pigsty.
    • The inside of the south entrance door has been treated to prevent water entering.
    • Wood surfaces at the end of the converted stable block have been painted.
    • The metal gate to the grassy area behind the barn has been painted.
    • The wooden entrance gate to Rhydd Barn has been treated to prevent algae and coated with a preservative.
    • Fridge doorknob tightened—which was a much trickier job than it appeared to be!
    Main entrance door treated against damp
    Converted pigsty repointing
    Metal gate painted
    Fridge doorknob tightened up
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  • Four star gold award for 2023

    We are very pleased to announce that Rhyyd Barn has, yet again, been awarded a 4-Star Gold Award rating by VisitEngland. The inspection was carried out on 14 March 2023. The Gold Award is an additional accolade for those ‘offering exceptional quality within their star rating’.

    4-Star plus Gold Award logos

    We are so grateful to our maintenance team at Rhydd Barn: Sharon our cleaner, Max our gardener/’handyman’, Tom our builder and Andrea, Rosemary’s sister, for all their hard work. Here is the summary from the official report which we received a couple of days ago:

    Rhydd Barn continues to offer comfortable very well well maintained accommodation for its market.
    Mrs Boaz, the Proprietor and her team clearly take great pride in the barn, this being very much
    reflected in the high standards achieved and maintained and for which all are to be congratulated. A
    real credit to you all. Well done!
    It is therefore a pleasure to once again reconfirm the Four Star Self catering rating along with Gold
    Award for another year reflecting this, and fully deserving. Congratulations to you all!!
    It is also understood that the Proprietors feel the current rating and award meets well with the market
    expectations and business levels catered for and we wish them all the very best for a successful
    coming season.
    Wishing all, all the very best for the future and stay safe and well.
    Walkers Accreditation also confirmed for another year.

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  • Conifer tree reduced

    The large conifer tree at the entrance to the driveway to Rhydd Barn was becoming too tall. So, reluctantly, we decided it needed to be reduced in height along with a general pruning. Our gardener did a neat job and you can see the difference between the before and after photos below.

    Conifer tree - before
    Conifer tree – before
    Conifer tree - after
    Conifer tree – after
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  • New security lights

    New outside lights have been installed. We have replaced a failing security light opposite the garage and a third new security lantern light has been added on the pigsty wall. The new light attached to the pigsty can be left on to light up the patio area in the evening. The overall result is much better lighting now all round the Barn. The new lantern-style light on the pigsty wall is shown below:

    New outdoor light -01
    New outdoor light -01
    New outdoor light -02
    New outdoor light -02
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  • New balcony doors

    The wood in the original balcony doors was going rotten at the bottom. We have now replaced these wooden doors with two new double-glazed plastic French doors. They are rosewood (a dark brown) on the outside to match the rest of Barn windows and white inside to match the internal decoration and new handles. See photos below.

    New balcony doors - outside 01
    New balcony doors – outside 01
    New balcony doors - outside 02
    New balcony doors – outside 02
    New balcony doors - inside
    New balcony doors – inside
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  • Improvements

    A broken gutter downpipe at the end stable has been removed and replaced so rainwater once again flows into the water butt there. By our other water butt beside the converted pigsty we reseeded a bare patch with grass seed. See photos below.

    New water butt by end stable
    New water butt by end stable
    Before grass seed - sept 2022
    Before grass seed – sept 2022
    After grass seed - jan 2023
    After grass seed – jan 2023

  • Autumn flower planting

    The flower pots, tubs and baskets at Rhydd Barn have been attractively replanted for the autumn and winter. Our gardener took some photos:

    Flower pots at Rhydd Barn -02
    Flower pots at Rhydd Barn -03
    Flower pots at Rhydd Barn -01
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  • Ditch clearing

    Worcester County Council Highways insisted that I had to clear the ditch along Hanley Swan Lane by the side of my field. Apparently I was the ‘Riparian owner’ of the ditch under the Land Drainage Act 1991. I was told that flooding issues were apparent though no flooding could be seen. I managed to get the ditch cleared by my cousin’s son, Richard, who rents our fields. He used a hedge cutter and digger with a shovel putting the excess soil into a trailer for removal. As the before and after pictures below, the ditch is now beautifully clear! My field is to the right of the hedge.

    Ditch - may 2022 - before clearing
    Ditch – May 2022 – before clearing
    Ditch - oct 2022 - after clearing
    Ditch – October 2022 – after clearing
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