Animals came in “Two by Two"

Following on from my last blog, our long awaited vast window for the new dwelling here at Holwell finally arrived all the way from Germany via Wembley of all places where it was carefully cut to size.



The crane arrived at 9am and the glass arrived at 7pm. By 7.30pm it had all gone horribly wrong and we all stood transfixed with our own individual emotions and frustrations as we saw the glass chink and shatter before our eyes as it was removed from the lorry.

Well, now what – my worst nightmare was here. The first family of guests was due to arrive the next day and although they knew the spec. of the house included under floor heating, they were not likely to be prepared for a radical new form of air conditioning – ie no glass in the window! Sadly we had to board up the not insignificant hole again and wait for their arrival.

Fortunately, the house itself so surpassed their expectations that it wasn’t the end of the world and they were very understanding and enjoyed a lovely week of walking and relaxing.

Even Sebastian had to reluctantly admit that my “Italian Puff’s Kitchen” was growing on him and that the house now furnished and pictured out was gradually becoming somewhere he could imagine living after all.

I actually think that the overall team of architects, builders, National Park planners and ourselves have not done a bad job of it; it blends in perfectly with the surroundings – thanks largely to the granite we were luckily enough to secure from the Duchy of Cornwall, and works really well as an overall design.

The final landscaping of lavender bushes was made only to be ripped up unceremoniously by the meandering donkeys who snuck into the garden when I wasn’t looking and rooted every plant up and shook it vigorously before dropping it back on the soil. Little buggers also proceeded to crap all over the new granite patio and grind it into the gravel whilst terrorising the guests dog at the same time. I have now made it clear to the new incumbents that they must keep the gate closed at all times.

Despite having to wait for the first pane of glass for over 3 months, miraculously a replacement pane arrived at the docks last week and with the lessons learnt from the first attempt, this was second time lucky. It was worth waiting for after all. Now all I have got to worry about is how to keep it clean and avoid one of our now many doves flying into the centre of it.

Today was another landmark day for Holwell; the final attempt to get planning permission for the last remaining barns. After several abortive attempts, refusals and withdrawals, the process of negotiation had resulted in a compromise that was acceptable to the members of the National Park and all were suitable happy with the proposal; phew ! I think they were also relieved to be at the end of the extensive planning activity at Holwell over the last 2 years.
We are also coming up to the anniversary of our first guests to the farm cottages next week. We have been delighted with the way they have been received and the fact that they have been so busy in this our first year.


This week the animals came in “two by two” – on Wednesday we had two new belty calves and yesterday we had two litters of piglets totalling 30 in all ! Because the sows were both in the same pen we did have a few anxious hours when it became obvious that one was more dominant than the other and one sow ended up being booted out of the arc but her piglets remained in with the other. Separating them out was a tad tricky, but at one day old it isn’t the end of the world if one or two end up with the wrong tit !

My Dartmoor Stallion Star Fighter brought his harem of mares and foals back across the now dry mire to the dairy fields below the green lane. They have been over at Emsworthy now for just over 6 months and it is as if he knows instinctively that he must leave the grazing over there to recover sufficiently before the Winter and to bring his girls back over to Holwell to keep their condition up on the grass here before the goodness goes out of it.

The other unusual aspect of this move back here is that the 4 or 5 mares he “annexed” off the moor into his lair have all stayed over there; again, an instinctive move on his part to only bring back those which belong here; such a clever chap !

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