4-star holiday cottage near Malvern, Worcestershire
Roses and clematis are in bloom on the screen around our LPG (gas) tank brightening up the entrance drive approach to the Barn.
We have planted a new dark pink clematis in a pot on the patio to climb up the Malvern stone wall and the trellis above.
Seed heads have appeared in the wildflower paddock in front of the Barn. It’s time for the grass to be cut.
Spotted recently at Rhydd Barn, perched on the wall of our converted pigsty, a beautiful red-legged partridge! We managed to get quite a good photograph of it:
To quote from Wikipedia: The red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) is a gamebird in the pheasant family […]. It is sometimes known as French partridge, to distinguish it from the English or grey partridge. The genus name is from Ancient Greek alektoris a farmyard chicken, and rufa is Latin for red or rufous.
We are pleased to announce that Rhydd Barn has again been awarded a Four-Star Gold Award by VisitEngland in an assessment carried out on Friday 19 March 2021.
Rosemary Boaz, owner of Rhydd Barn, wishes to express her heartfelt thanks to her wonderful staff: cleaner Sharon and maintenance person/gardener Max. Without their valuable work this award would not have been possible.
It is especially noteworthy that, within the total score awards, the cleanliness of Rhydd Barn scored 100% in all areas—an important factor in this time of Covid. Again, thank you to Sharon for all her hard work.
This is the web address of our listing on the VisitEngland Assessment website: https://www.visitenglandassessmentservices.com/establishments/rhydd-barn/
Here are the highlights from the VisitEngland report:
Much of the scheduled maintenance work has been completed on Rhydd Barn. Recent sunny weather allowed the paintwork repairs on the exterior walls to be carried out. Also the old wooden bench on the patio has been treated with preservative. Some minor repairs inside the barn have also been done.
Spring-cleaning of the barn interior is now under way as we prepare to welcome guests once again after the current restrictions are relaxed on 12 April.
Below are a few photos taken by our wonderful maintenance man, Max, showing his work on the exterior.
This is the time of year when we can get any less urgent and ongoing maintenance jobs done on the Barn. For example, some of our current works include:
A few photos below showing repairs needed and a nice sunny one of our new outdoor chairs:
We hope to post a few ‘after’ photos later to show the Barn restored to its full glory!
Lots of lovely snow at Rhydd Barn. Photographs taken on the morning of 24 January 2021.
The wooden fence along the Rhydd Barn entrance drive has been reinforced with the use of ‘grandfather’ concrete spurs. The grandfathers are short concrete posts fixed into the ground to which the wooden posts of the fence are attached. See our photographs below.
UPDATE: If you look very carefully you might spot the lead caps fitted to the top of each post to protect the open grain of the fence post tops from moisture ingress. We hope that our fence will now last for many years!
Rhydd Barn has obtained the ‘We’re Good to Go’ mark. The scheme means Rhydd Barn is adhering to the respective Government and public health guidance regarding COVID-19, has carried out a COVID-19 risk assessment and has the required processes in place.
The ‘We’re Good to Go’ mark is a UK industry standard launched on 25 June 2020 by VisitEngland, Tourism Northern Ireland, VisitScotland and Visit Wales. For added reassurance, an ‘alert’ system will ensure that businesses signed up to the standard are notified of any changes to the official guidance so you can visit them with confidence. Spot checks will happen throughout the recovery period as required.
See also: The ‘We’re Good to Go’ Industry Standard.
We have a ‘We’re Good to Go’ certificate which we will display in the barn.
Here are some photographs Rosemary, the owner of Rhydd Barn, took on her recent visit. They show plants growing in the small wildflower meadow and cut hay lying in the field below the barn with the Malvern Hills blue in the distance. Rosemary also managed to capture an image of a young pied woodpecker on the fence to the hay field. Click on a photo below to see a larger full version.
Now that Rhydd Barn is open for holiday bookings again we hope you will be reassured that we have spent the last few weeks making the barn as Covid-safe as possible. We have followed the relevant official guidelines — below is a summary of the changes we have made.
Rhydd Barn has introduced recommended protective measures against the spread of COVID-19. We are following the Professional Association of Self-Caterers (PASC) Self-catering COVID-19 Cleaning Guidelines — also recommended by VisitEngland (the former English Tourist Board).
Our cleaner and gardener are implementing the extra precautions needed to eradicate any possible traces of the SARS-CoV-2 virus thus minimising the risk of contracting COVID-19. We are sending extra instructions and terms and conditions to visitors before their stay.
We have a COVID-19 Risk Assessment in place which has been passed on to our staff. Our cleaner is using a comprehensive changeover cleaning checklist. Our rigorous cleaning and disinfecting procedures between each set of guests pays particular attention to sanitising high-touch points such as keys, door handles and light switches.
We have decluttered Rhydd Barn to ensure that there are a minimum of non-essential high contact items — for example we have removed many of the ornaments around the property and the attractive extra cushions on the bed.
We request that you bring your own bed linen and towels with you—if you would like us to provide them then we will have to charge you an extra £10. Please indicate your preference on our booking form.
We have installed a hand sanitising station in the barn by the main entrance door.
Rhydd Barn is applying for the ‘We’re Good To Go’ industry standard mark a self-assessment scheme that has been designed by the four UK tourist organisations. This will be a signal to you, our guests and potential guests, that we have worked hard to follow Government and industry COVID-19 guidelines, that we have a process in place to maintain cleanliness and aid social distancing, and that we have read and implemented the Government’s and Public Health England’s (PHE) COVID-19 guidance.
UPDATE (8 September 2020): We have now obtained the ‘We’re Good to Go’ accreditation. See separate news item: Rhydd Barn is ‘Good to Go‘.
Here are some useful links: