We moved late June, and things have been non stop since! Mark has been busy getting into the farming life, and we’ve finally submitted the planning application for the yurts, after a few delays along the way with wildlife surveys etc. that were necessary for the application. We hope to hear back from the planners towards the end of August, and all going well, we will then crack on with setting up the yurts, and converting the Dutch Barn into kitchen and bathroom facilities for guests.

In the meantime, while we wait for news on the application, I thought I would share a couple of pics taken during the first silage cut

Silaging

Silaging into the Summer Evening

We are certainly hoping the weather will be good, although we know our cosy yurts will keep you comfy and dry, no matter what the weather

Here is what their long range weather forecast predicts:

Summer 2010

June 2010

June starts with some reasonably fine weather, and with several days worth of pleasant sunshine, it will feel warm.  The pattern through June is unlikely to be all that stable, so expect some rain as we pass through mid-month, although again, there will be some pleasant sunshine from time to time, keeping temperatures on the warm to possibly very warm side.  Whereas we can expect some further fine conditions before June is out, there will be some rain around, some of it heavy, so there will be no clear stretch of stable weather as we enter July.  June will on be a warmer than average month.

July 2010

July too starts on an unsettled note, with some rain around, but Summer will emerge, and we can expect some decent drier spells and some warm to very warm temperatures. Through mid-month, there may well be a continuation of the warm, settled weather, good spells of sunshine with just light winds, but towards the end of July things will breakdown a little, with thunderstorms developing,. possibly leading to some flash flooding.  It will begin to feel humid too by late month, so expect the thunderstorms to rumble on a while.  July will reflect a warmer than average month.

August 2010

August starts unsettled too with some thunderstorm activity, but this will break, and some more fine weather will emerge, and with some lovely unbroken sunshine, we may well see some record temperatures.  Towards mid month, there will still be some pleasant weather around with long spells of sunshine, but this will be broken up with periods of unsettled weather.  It will remain warm through the middle part of August.  The latter part of the month again sees some good weather, but this will be short lived, as more showery and cooler conditions move in.  August will reflect a warmer than average month.

Mark and I headed to the top of the field where we’d set out a fence earlier in the day. As it’s the first time for a few months that they’ve been out, I was warned they’d be quite frisky! So we had to stand at the boundaries to remind them of the fences!

When they came into view, I couldn’t help laughing – these usually sedate gentle giants, were prancing around like lambs!! They all charged up to the top of the field, then back down again, then back up again! Some of the cows were rubbing their heads in the dust, and flicking it up over their backs with their front hooves. The little calves in the herd were also enjoying themselves, and seemed to be working out all the goings on, and wondering where they fitted into the heirachy.

After a few frantic charges, they all seemed to settle down and get on with the important task of grazing, while soaking up some sun.

Anyone staying at Somerset Yurts this time next year, will be more than welcome to come along and witness this brilliant event – a real treat, and a sure sign that Spring is here, and Summer is on the way

I had a wander around the farm this afternoon, armed with my camera, to try and capture signs of Spring. I didn’t have to look very far! The garden pond is absolutely crammed with frogspawn (or it could be toadspawn – not quite sure!). Snowdrops have been out for a couple of weeks now, but still going strong. I also couldn’t resist a trip to the calf shed, where numerous new additions to the herd at Hill Farm can be found, looking all fluffy and lovely on their straw bedding

We have an exciting couple of meetings coming up over the next few days to progress the planning – so we’ll update you as soon as we have more news!

Spring at Somerset Yurts

Keen to make sure the wood doesn’t go to waste, we have been busy chopping it up for the yurt’s woodburners. Hopefully this pile will be ready to use this Autumn/Winter, as Ash dries out quite quickly

Woodpile in Gotton Down

The full “mini-site” is here – http://www.guardian.co.uk/visit-south-west and our mention is on this page – http://www.guardian.co.uk/visit-south-west/ten-green-breaks-in-somerset

Well worth a browse if you’re looking for a green holiday in the UK!

In case you are wondering, the colours are green, orange, and red to add to our existing blue yurt. Orange is the traditional colour that most of the Mongolian yurts would be painted, so we were keen to make sure we had a properly authentic orange one! red is seen as a holy colour, so it will be interesting to see what sort of vibe this yurt has. Apparently green has no real meaning, but does set off the elaborate hand painted patterns very well, being a darker colour. We also think the green will fit very well into the countryside setting.

Along with the yurts, we ordered some authentic Mongolian furniture to furnish the yurts with, and they look fantastic. We think they will really add some character, as well as providing some useful storage and seating

We’ve also updated our bookings page to reflect that we are not yet in a position to take bookings, but we’d still love you to fill in your details so we can let you know our launch date as soon as we know it! Plus, we’ll send you a money off voucher as a thank you!

So, if you haven’t already done so – go and fill out your details here and be one of the first to know when we launch.

I was rather dubious about staying in the yurt overnight, but with the woodburner stacked up with some well seasoned oak, lots of sheepskin rugs on the floor, and a warm blanket on the bed, we were absolutely fine.

We look forward to welcoming guests no matter what the weather now!!

Over the Christmas period we had some extremely cold weather and hard frosts, but we didn’t get any snow We are back in Reading at the moment with a seriously heavy snowfall outside, and wish we were back in Somerset to see the snow on the yurt and get some nice pictures… oh well, hopefully it will stick around until the weekend when we’ll be back again.

A quick update on planning progress: We are still progressing well with the planning application, having now engaged with an Architect to help us draw up plans for the facilities. We also expect to collect three new yurts towards the end of this month, which will go into storage while we prepare the site and facilities over the coming months. All very exciting!

Anyway, here are a couple of images taken over the Christmas period. We are working on a gallery page too, so you can get a better feel for the yurts and the farm.

Winter Yurt