Reducing the impact of the farmhouse

Orchard Farmhouse is heated by oil central heating for comfort but we reduce our use with a lovely wood burner in the sitting room an open fire in our Hardy Room.  We have updated our Rayburn range so that it also runs on wood.

We installed photovoltaics (solar panels) for electricity.  The installation is discreet so that the listed building is not impaired.  We have had a woodstore built, which has improved the look of the garage to some extent and when we can afford to, we are going to put photovoltaics on that too.

If you are looking for a farmstay in a character property then you will be interested to see the Portland Stone - it is brown and pink.  The building is listed grade 2 and is especially noted for the porch.  Funnily enough, the porch is not original, even though it is old.  Nor is the window in the roof, but both changes, probably made in the Victorian era, have enhanced the beauty of the building. 

Breakfast is taken in the original farmhouse kitchen.   The wall is exposed and you can see the original brick and timber frame.  The windows have window seats and look out onto the side garden which is stocked with flowering cherries- a spire and a weeping cherry.   Around the old post we now have a herb spiral.