16/07/10 We cannot share the delight of one of last night's dinner guests who, in thanking us for her evening, also said how thrilled she was to have seen a badger leaving our garden under the gate as she drove off!
15/07/10 The badgers usually devour any ripe strawberries they can find on their nightly journey through the garden but last night they must have had a party in the fruit cage as they have completely devastated the rasberry canes! We put up with the holes they dig in the grass on a nightly basis but this is taking our hospitality a bit too far!
14/07/10 The recent strong winds and much needed heavy rain have left the garden looking a little untidy after looking so good during the spring and early summer. The currants and goosebery plants produced a reasonable yield and the rasberries have been prolific this year.
05/07/10 In the last few days we have started to receive September bookings. Be sure to book your Autumn Break before it is too late. Even when the days shorten and the air chills, the Loft is a warm cosy base from which to marvel at the glorious Autumnal colours of the forest and woodland or the frosted cobwebs that adorn the gorse on cold winter mornings.
14/06/10 Another glorious weekend attracted a number of enquiries for accommodation. Unfortunately our potential guests leave it too late to secure the holiday dates of their choice. The moral of this is surely to book your dates early!
05/06/10 Delighted to be taking delivery of butter from Artisan Fine Foods today - we feel sure that our guests will love it. Contact Suzannah Tricket for details of their products on 01258 880145.
03/06/10 Looking on the brighter side the weather is glorious here today and our current guests have spent much of today in the swimmimg pool, exercising and keeping cool!
03/06/10 We spoke too soon! The website has continued to be intermittent until we managed to speak to 123-reg support staff this morning and we are now assured that the site will stay online! So far so good but who knows how much business we have lost in the last few days. We apologise to potential guests who have been unable to view our site.
31/05/10 Hooray! It looks as though 123-Reg might have sorted out their problem and this website is back up and running. The last few days have been disastrous for us and for anyone trying to vist our website as 123-Reg had apparently created themselves a problem that they took a while to sort out. Just wondering if I am speaking too soon - yesterday we were up and down like a yo yo!
24/05/10 Many of our guests try to book their break in the Loft only a week or two before their holiday and we are finding that more and more are disappointed as their chosen dates are already taken. With June almost fully booked and July following close behind we would urge guests to book up well in advance to secure their holiday.
19/04/10 Our weekend guests have enjoyed the warmest and sunniest weekend of the year so far. Tomorrow we will start the process of opening up the swimming pool - very popular with our guests on a warm summer day!
29/03/10 Despite some generally disappointing weather this spring, the early flowers have been magnificent. Our best ever display of snowdrops, an abundance of colourful primroses and polyanthas and more recently a magnificent display of daffodils throughout the garden. As they begin to fade, the tulips are springing forth to add even more colour
19/03/10 This news page reads more like a History Book than news so we will endeavour to do better this year!
18/12/09 We would like to wish all the visitors to our website, a very Special Christmas Time.
17/12/09 Our 'Celebrate' offer has now ended.
06/11/09 We have released some new dates over the Christmas period.
03/11/09 The swimming pool has been winterised now and will emerge from under its cover next Spring!
01/11/09 The swimming pool heater has been switched off and just a couple of days remain before the pool is winterised but that is not a reason for staying away. Book your choice of winter weekend whilst there is still availability.
24/10/09 What a fantastic autumn our guests have had - well that is until this week when an Autumn 'low' hit the New Forest. Although lots of leaves have been stripped from the branches there are still some beautiful colours left on the trees to marvel at.
12/10/09 We have decided to close the swimming pool on Tuesday 3rd November this year. There are not many booking opportunities left if you want to take a dip this Autumn!
04/09/09 Our new guests had mentioned yesterday that they had not seen any wild deer during their holiday and then, surprise, surprise - as they returned home late last night there were a couple of deer grazing just outside - they were delighted!
21/08/09 Our guests reported seeing a family of badgers crossing the road in front of them as they returned here after a day out visiting Calshot, Hurst Castle and the Beach, then as they turned in to our track another badger emerged from our garden on his nightly jaunt!
19/08/09 Despite our English weather not being all that we had expected we have had a busy summer full of satisfied guests. The Autumn is a fantastic time to explore the New Forest and with September almost fully booked we are waiting for October and November bookings now.
17/08/09 Our first booking for 2010 is now confirmed - if you are wanting to visit Burley for a special occasion then maybe an early booking is advisable!
13/08/09 Booking for 2010 is now open.
12/08/09 We have just received our first enquiry for a 2010 holiday which has prompted us to sort out the calendar, availability and prices!
18/07/09 We have added Setley Ridge wine (http://www.setleyridgevineyard.co.uk) and Noah's Ark Farm eggs to our list of suppliers.
14/07/09 For a whole variety of reasons we have decided to restrict occupancy of the Loft to adults only from 01/09/09 onwards.
23/06/09 As we have not yet sourced any organic eggs for the Loft, we plan to provide Clayton's Free Range eggs for the time being 01794513242
20/06/09 A double first for us today - we have our first guests from Australia and what's more they are using the Loft as the base for their wedding weekend. We wish Katy and Anthony a fantastic service at Highcliffe Castle(www.highcliffecastle.co.uk ) and a real feast afterwards at their reception in The Three Tuns in Bransgore (www.threetunsinn.com)
19/06/09 So far, the locally sourced products we have decided to provide for our guests are -
New Forest Spring Water www.watersuppliers.co.uk ,
Perfect Preserve jams www.perfectpreserves.org.uk,
and New Forest Fine Foods butter www.newforestfinefoods.co.uk .
We will make these available as they come in to stock. Watch this space as we find other local suppliers!
12/06/09 We have been busy sourcing and sampling New Forest Produce over the last couple of weeks as we are planning to use as much local produce as possible in our welcome pack for guests. See http://www.newforestproduce.com/index.html for more information.
31/05/09 Our back-pack picnic set has arrived. Ideal for walking or cycling we expect it to be well used by our guests.
05/05/09 May Special announced today - enter the special code 'May' when booking and the system will deduct 10% from the cost of a holiday starting in May.
29/04/09 Within minutes of returning home from school the girls were checking out the pool temperature and having a swim today.
28/04/09 The swimming pool emerged from under its winter cover today and everything seems to be working splendidly!
13/04/09 The soft green leaves of the silver birch trees in the nearby woods, looked magnificent against the brilliant blue sky this morning and the sunlight was glistening on their silver trunks. Our Easter Monday guests will be fortuinate if this glorious weather continues in to next week.
23/03/09 A few of the daffodils have taken a beating from the strong winds over the last couple of days but most are still 'fluttering and dancing"! The magnolia trees are bursting in to bloom and hopefully we will avoid any late heavy frosts so they will flourish. I just missed witnessing the birth of a new foal this morning - now that is certainly a sight worth visiting the New Forest for - but unfortunately most mares find themselves a quiet private location away from you and me! We are looking forward to welcoming our next guests who arrive on Friday.
16/03/09 After a flurry of guests early in the year, March is very quiet and we are disappointed not to be able to share the beautiful show of yellow daffodils and forsythia with guests. Of course it is not too late to book a weekend away - we are confident that you will not be disappointed.
09/03/09 We saw our first two foals of 2009 today - over the next few weeks the population of ponies in the New Forest will increase as more and more of these long legged beauties appear.
23/02/09 Birthday, Wedding Anniversary, Valentine's surprise and now a Wedding weekend booking. What will your reason be for booking the Loft? Don't spend too long thinking because you don't need a reason - come and relax, maybe see the deer (they were just outside this morning), catch a glimpse of a badger (we saw one in the lane last night) or just stay in and 'crash out'!
22/02/09 We were all delighted to see that our guests had christened the new bikes today. They were spotted, helmets in place, venturing out this morning and returning home early afternoon. We will no doubt hear about their adventure before they leave!
20/02/09 the polyanthus, primroses and daffodils are opening up to add colour to the garden now. They are being joined by the camelia, snowdrops and cyclamen. Dare we suggest that Spring is arriving? Perhaps not, but it will be another year before these little gems re-appear so why not book a break in the next week or so and come and see them?
14/02/09 It's Valentines Day, the golden sun is shining from a brilliant blue sky and there is a sharp frost on the ground. Fancy letting someone else book their Valentines Weekend here in the Loft in the Forest before you did! Why not make it up to your partner. Book a different date and tell us its your very own Valentine's Weekend, when you book, and we will make it extra special for you!
13/02/09 Two shiny new blue and silver Giant 'Rock' mountain bikes have arrived, complete with matching helmets, spare inner tube and cable lock they are all ready for a tour of Burley and the surrounding forest. Will you be the first to use them?
11/02/09 We have purchased a New Forest Parking Clock for our guests to use during their stay in the Loft. We like to think that where we lead, others follow! No doubt someone will tell us that we are not the first!
09/02/09 Great excitement today as we have ordered two new mountain bikes for our guests to use.
06/02/09 Overnight rain washed most of the snow away but as I write, more snow is tumbling out of the sky. We hoped to shop for the bikes this weekend but maybe we will wait a while for them.
05/02/09 We have been delighted to have had three bookings in January and already have two bookings for February. Our second year has started well. Maybe the word is getting around that we really do try hard to give our guests a memorable break in the New Forest!
04/02/09 Bisterne Close is covered in hard packed ice and snow. Some cars have struggled on the hills in and out of the village.The garden remains covered and tracks in the snow of the foxes and badgers wind their way around the garden.
03/02/09 An overnight flurry of snow has dressed the loft and garden to perfection. The deer were close to the house this morning looking for food.
19/01/09 Despite the inclement January weather our January 2009 guests seem to have enjoyed their stay in the Loft in the Forest- see our 'visitor's comments' page for words like "faultless attention to detail", "a lovely hide-away", "fab, Gorgeous accommodation" and if you have time read what the 2008 guests wrote as well!
04/11/08 Congratulations to Christine from Bournemouth who has just won a free weekend at the Loft in the Forest in a draw on the Hidden Ideas stand at the Language Show which was held in Olympia between 31st October and 2nd November 2008.
