After a 'glittering' reception and dinner in York at the Railway Museum we had the envelope opening wait for the winners in our category. Noelle's Cottages won gold along with the fabulous looking, medieval accommodation - Woodhouse Farm Cottages in Herefordshire. The official description is 2009 Self-catering Holiday of the Year Enjoyengland Award for Excellence. We just like to condense that to say 'Best in England'! We were absolutely delighted and can hardly believe we have progressed so far in the four years we have been in business. We are so grateful for the encouragement and support of our guests, for our long suffering family who help out when they are available and the army of people who have come along with us in this adventure. Alice and her domestic support, Diane, Janet and Louise who has now stepped back to grow her bump a bit more. We were joined recently by Ruth who is trying to organise us better. Our builders - Halders have embraced our approach and standards while Nigel Barnes our plumber goes the extra mile and a half for us. Stephen Bean (Associates, now of Malton) has advised on our ecology and wildlife as well as landscaping our gardens and producing the bendy house which you can see on our Flickr page. We must make special mention of 'our' joiner Keith who adds his personal touches to the restorations and to the underfloor heating. He has become nearly a family member over the 12 years we have lived here and restored the Hall. David and Paul work steadily away to keep the gardens tidy while Stan visits regularly to keep an eye on my bees, I think I am a very poor pupil, 'could try harder'. Hann's butchers have made the saturday sausage run much more agreeable as I queue jump the patient gathering as also happens in Chocolart who supply the handmade chocs for the cottages. Our website designers Gary and Cheryl-ann of http://www.design-farm.co.uk/ have done a fabulous job on our communications and much more besides. Cheryl helps with styling and on all those occassions when we need to rush around for a photoshoot. Gary designs our presentation and is an enthusiastic supporter of Noelle's Cottages and Welsh football.
Ric Blenkharn had the inspiration to use the space in the Barn to best advantage and helped us slip through the planning process with ease. Edward Green - Technical Welding Services -designed and made not one but two staircases with a stunning end result. Rita and Claire have made miles of beautiful curtains and other soft furnishings while Krystyna Demkowicz styled, coloured and decorated to perfection.
Thank you all.
Ric Blenkharn had the inspiration to use the space in the Barn to best advantage and helped us slip through the planning process with ease. Edward Green - Technical Welding Services -designed and made not one but two staircases with a stunning end result. Rita and Claire have made miles of beautiful curtains and other soft furnishings while Krystyna Demkowicz styled, coloured and decorated to perfection.
Thank you all.
