Harry's holidays...

 A grand old man, Harry is 14 and has spent every Whit week for nine years at Watermill Cottages.  



And although his back legs are not too steady these days, and though sleep is almost, not quite, but almost, more important than food - he is a Labrador after all - he always goes for his morning and evening amble down to the stream to cool his paws, sniff the air and catch the breeze.

 He loves scents and knows them well here, he's at home in Barleycorn Cottage where he's stayed every year for nine years.  It matters, as his eyes don't see too well now.  His nose tells him who we all are!



As you can't teach an old dog new tricks, Harry needs help getting out of the stream.  Out for him is always up on to the grass.  It most certainly is NOT up a plank of wood, onto a flat rock and then onto the lawn.  

'Honestly, who do they think I am!'  gruffed Harry, as he deftly removed a burnt sausage from beside the bbq.

The Times recommends Watermill Cottages 23 May 2015

The Times recommends Watermill Cottages

The Times, to our delighted surprise, recommended us in its Travel Doctor column on Saturday May 23 2015.  

Watermill Cottages' 20 acres of rural coastal retreat near Slapton Sands beach in South Devon's AONB is perfect for families of all ages and sizes with plenty of dogs!


It was in the Weekend Section, which luckily Andy at Strete General Stores held for us on Sunday morning.

The Times quoted prices for May half-term 2016 for Rose, Quack and Barleycorn Cottages - the same price as 2015 - prices and availability for 2015 are on this link.  

For 2016 prices and availability please call us on 01803 770219 or email christine@watermillcottages.co.uk

Word has got out! 

April news - new field, ducklings, lamb report

 
April the first and it's not a joke - this morning two bright yellow ducklings for Dark Green Duck, our first of the spring.   Mrs Duckel, the grey and white duck, looks on from her own nest - she has three weeks to go.

Field with a View 

We've recently added a six acre meadow for your enjoyment at Watermill Cottages - it's at the top of the lane and has stunning views over Start Bay to the lighthouse at Start Point.  It's great for sunsets (and eclipses) too.  

We're planning a campfire place and rustic seating so it'll be the perfect spot for family picnics and sundowners, never mind watercolours, photography, kite-flying (it catches the breeze), and rolling down the slope.  It's a healthy stroll with the delight of walking down hill home to your cottage.

Sheep Report   Matilda is thriving (still on bottles), here she is with the cuckoo lamb from last year and Jesse the friendly Jacob ram who eats from your hand

Cuckoo lamb, Jesse ram and Matilda

Jesse

   

Bottte Feeding Matilda the Lamb

Matilda's mum only has half a working udder so we're bottle feeding Matilda twice a day at Watermill Cottages smallholding and teaching her to eat lamb food... She comes running and bouncing when you call her name... why does bottle feeding a lamb make everyone so happy!

Teaching Matilda to eat solids is not easy - she is easily distracted and likes to jump for joy... the Belted Galloways, last year's calves, are not impressed...  Matilda was born in mid-February, she's thriving we're happy to report.  She's in the sheep shed at the moment but shall soon be in the field next to the kitchen garden, behind Barleycorn Cottage, where there's plenty of fresh grass for a growing lamb and her mum.

   

 

      

Hens on wheels ...

checking out the 'Hentrance'

John's mobile hen house ...

 A New Year and a new move for the chickens at Watermill Cottages ...  

John has spent a few winter weeks in his workshop happily building a new mobile home for the hens. 

Yesterday they took a first look round.

It's compact, warm, easy to clean (detachable roof and rear nesting boxes with lid), has light-sensitive door closing, and best of all, it's on wheels.

The plan is to involve the hens in weeding and prepping the kitchen garden.  

We'll move them over the lane and use electric fencing to keep them safe from fabulous and very friendly Mr Fox as they weed, fertilise and dig over some of the ground.

Happy faces all round (except for Mr F) and scrummy eggs and veg too.

new calf - a Little White Bull

 

Welcome to our newest arrival, a happy healthy little white bull calf born ten days ago.

Mum and calf doing well in this long fabulous Devon summer sunshine at Watermill Cottages rural coastal retreat.



Now, what shall we call him?  Any ideas?  

ten rescued ducklings

'There are ducklings all over the lawn, quick come and help' so we ran to the rescue ith buckets, fishing nets, wellies and anything we could find...  

A mallard had nested in a clump of pampas grass by the bridge,and her ducklings were leggily darting down the bank into the stream and being washed away.  they pooled in the eddies by the lawn, ran to the grass then back into th stream as we approached them.

The flow under the bridge was too strong for them to swim back upstream to their mum who called them to join her and the few duckling who'd entered the river well above the bridge.
 
We collected ten of them and put them in an open-topped box where we hoped thier mum might join them and encourage them out.  She didn't.  So John rigged up the poultry heat lamp in the chickenarium he built for hen chicks last year and we made a warm nesting box at one end with a dog-bowl pool and food at the other.  They were there for a week before the whole construction was sodden - 
mallards ducklings love to splash!

They're now in the dog kennel with a heat lamp and a large baking tray pool in the sunshine - it doesn't matter how wet everything there gets.  We crush corn and pellets for them, give them grass too.  They are thriving! And very fast.

A few more weeks of heat lamps and they can join the muscovies and ducklings.  So far so good....  

It's spring at Watermill Cottages!