So this time last year we had just completed our first Christmas booking, were checking in our New Years guests and were looking forward to our first full year at Hall Farm, excited for the challenges that 2020 may bring. We set ourselves targets, personal ones, business targets, financial targets etc... and were excited about the year. Who could've predicted what lay ahead? Like everyone we have been hugely affected by coronavirus. Through it all we have tried to stay positive, tried not to worry about the lost bookings or the financial impact. We've used the vacant site to renovate our cottages and playbarn - more on that later - and enjoyed getting to know our beautiful local area better with our little girls and Twiggy the dog. 

As the rollercoaster year draws to a close we thought it fitting to bring together a little timeline of our activities, as follows:

January and February

I'd imagine you could call these normal months. January was quiet - though busier than forecast, and February got busier, with the half-term holidays blocked out with happy families. We had a check in pretty much everyday over the week which meant we couldn't enjoy much time together as a family which was challenging with L off school and ready to blow off steam. We made the decision that we would limit our check-in days over school holidays in future, to strike a happier work - family balance. Bookings were starting to pile in for March, April and May, surpassing our expectations and keeping us motivated on dark nights. Oh, and there was a strange virus that had been discovered on the other side of the world, nothing to worry about I'm sure...

March

March started off well but it was becoming increasingly likely that Covid 19 could cause us a problem. The thought of having to close down for a few weeks or even a month was unsettling; little did we know that midway through the month we would be shutdown, completely, with no property income at all for the best part of three and a half months. The next week was spent moving bookings or refunding cancellations and desperately trying to think of ways to keep afloat over the next few months. Fortunately our guests were incredibly understanding and were very flexible with moving their dates which soothed the initial sting. 

April

We are very fortunate that Tom was still working full time as a teacher, which added to a bit of relief support from the government enabled us to pay the bills, albeit a fraction of what we would've earned which is hard to forget! Insurance companies weren't paying out but we had enough to get by so we spent the majority of April enjoying the incredible weather and extra time together as a family... walking in the local area, jumping on the lockdown bandwagon with Joe Wicks, zoom calls, homeschooling, and a lot of gardening when the girls afforded us the time. 

May and June

By this point it had become quite clear that we weren't going to have guests for quite some time so we decided to dig deep and embark on some renovations. We upgraded some bedroom decor and furniture, but wanted a bigger project so we decided on a complete overhaul of our playbarn and outside spaces. With Ryan (Tom's friend) as our project manager we completely remodelled our indoor playspace with new heating, lights, flooring, plastering, windows, doors and paint. Tom helped around his work - where he could while homeschooling continued in the house. Once it was decorated we sourced some accessories second hand and new - table tennis table, pool table, toys and games. The feedback from our guests since has been fantastic, making all the juggling and hard work so worthwhile.

We pulled down the old play area and built a brand new one at top of the garden after excavating and levelling part of the lawn. Where the old climbing frame was we put in a traversing wall [a lot harder than it looks] and a nice challenge to occupy our family too! We updated the signage around the property, keeping the colours of the previous signs. Some new garden furniture followed for outside our cottages and a new barbecue area for our guests to enjoy the sun - fingers were crossed we would have chance for guests to christen them in what was left of the summer.

The final weeks of June were spent frantically painting walls, several of which needed replastering after wallpaper was removed, and sanding floorboards, an onerous task to put it politely. With the grand opening just around the corner we had managed to upgrade both bedrooms in Manifold and update some of the soft furnishings and art work.

July-October

It seems strange to bunch all these months together but they literally flew by. We were fully booked from the moment we were allowed to open (July 4th, our very own Independence Day!) to the moment we were once again instructed to close. Amidst a few longer bookings we managed to escape to Wales for a few nights at the end of August to recharge our batteries; sorely needed after the year we've had.

During our months of business-as-usual we welcomed some wonderful guests, many of whom have already booked again for next year. We received lots of compliments and even won a regional hospitality award. We continued to listen to feedback from our guests and planned some improvements if another national lockdown came into force...

We finished this period by building a new enclosure for our new permanent guests. Eight rescue hens, with more to come once we get another coop organised. We love our little hens (Gina, Mini, Rebel, Lacey, Rosie, Linda, Bunty and Fifi) and our young guests have enjoyed meeting them too. We now gratefully gather fresh eggs everyday for own and guests consumption! 

November -December

Another lockdown you say? Oh well, what's four more weeks...? We were a little resigned to our fate and had already made the decision that we would make some further improvements to the cottages if we were to close. The list of next steps was long,

1. New heating in all the cottages to replace the old night storage heaters.
2. New flooring in Manifold and Thor's
3. New kitchens in Manifold and Thor's
4. Paint all three cottages
5. Install new fuse boards and upgrade the electrics
6. Update Thor's master bedroom

After much debate, in the end we couldn't decide a logical order so we just went for an "all of the above" approach. The craziest of crazy months ensued, with different tradesmen on site everyday (hugest of thanks to Ash, Leon, Paul, Ryan x2, Salva and Steve). They went out of their way to get us finished for Christmas, arriving at 5am on some days and not leaving till almost midnight on others. *If anyone needs new carpets, flooring, electrics, kitchens, painting etc... we can't recommend them enough, just ask for details!*



We helped out (and hopefully didn't hinder!) where we could, taking it in turns to work into the early hours. One night in particular stands out where we didn't finish varnishing, cleaning, sanding, filling and painting until 2am. Not a typical run up to Christmas amidst planning the perfect farewell to 2020 for our own family, and EVERYTHING that goes with end of term at school.... which makes the fruits of our labour so much juicier! We are really pleased with the end results

We were grateful to be able to squeeze in our Christmas booking in line with the governments ever-changing guidance. Fortunately our guests were very understanding and changed their length of stay accordingly. The final night before their arrival was spent cleaning up all the debris from the work, dusting off new surfaces and putting up the Christmas decorations, We cranked the Hall Farm Christmas experience up a notch this year, reorganising the playbarn into a cosy and festive setting for guests to spend a special day together, complete with a 7ft Chrustmas tree, lights, a fully set table and lots of special, locally sourced treats. Our guests were blown away and had enjoyed a very memorable Christmas Day.