After two days of glorious sunshine and warmth over Easter when we were able to eat outside on the patio, the weather is now quite cold, but despite this there is a brightness in the garden with vivid green leaves bursting through every day, giving a sense of what is to come in the months ahead. Blackthorn blossom is out in the hedgerows and the gravel garden is a mass of bright yellow coming from the swathes of Primulas which have self seeded. Tulips that were planted in tubs in November are bringing splashes of bright pinks, oranges, purples and crimsons throughout the garden and the smell of Hyacinths is heady. We are so looking forward to welcoming guests back to The Cob from April 12th. We have been busy spring cleaning and fresh coats of paint have been applied. Some new paths have been laid through the perennial garden and paths mowed through the meadows, which are home to rabbits and pheasants at the moment. The apple trees are pruned and soon they will be in full blossom - what could be better than swinging in the hammock in the apple orchard on a warm sunny day in late April.

Here at Montpelier Cottage we are fortunate to have many projects to throw ourselves into during lockdown. Poor Simon will never have time for a rest while I have my "Lynn lists" ready to keep him occupied. Work on renovating the inside of our cottage has obviously been halted in lockdown as we need various tradespeople to work in the house once it is safe to do so. Gardening remains a constant, and if it isn't snowing or raining we are out there digging, pruning, cutting back and mulching. But on bad weather days we still have plenty to keep us busy - Simon's new found joinery skills mean we now have three new obelisks, giving height and structure to the garden. We have planted a lovely red climbing rose to go up one and on the kitchen window cill all my Cobaea seedlings have germinated. I have great hopes that these vigorous "cup and saucer" plants will look amazing climbing up the obelisks. Good old Pinterest was the inspiration for another project, and as you can see from the photo at the top of the page, the rustic gate now leading from the garden into the meadow looks perfect. Days are beginning to get longer and the bird activity in the garden is sometimes frantic with plenty of activity at all of the feeders, birdsong is more frequent and nest building abounds. The frogs are coming out of hibernation and we have wrapped up warmly and sat by the pond on a few evenings listening to the frog chorus. Every day we check the pond for frog spawn - none so far but plenty of newts swimming about. Snowdrops are now going over, but the Hellebores are spectacular and more bulbs are emerging, with the glorious Iris in full bloom at the moment. Not long to go before the clocks march forward an hour and we can enjoy sitting outside in the early evenings satisfied at all we have achieved during the long cold winter months.

It's two years ago this month since we got the keys to this very special place. When we look back at photos of those early days I'm not sure if we realised just how much hard work lay ahead, but we had the vision and two years on we have made massive progress and are feeling pretty proud of our achievements so far. Launching The Cob one week before the first lockdown wasn't such good timing, however all three lockdowns have given us time to work on bigger projects around the property ensuring that when we have been able to have guests stay, the gardens and grounds are at their best. Even through this years hard winter where we have had floods followed by snow and temperatures as low as minus 9 degrees, the garden has remained a huge source of pleasure and inspiration. Already we have huge drifts of snowdrops and such a variety of hellebores all flowering in various areas of the garden. In the bottom meadow the mustard yellows and deep reds of the dogwoods and willow give us a stunning splash of colour and when the sun does break out and shines on them they really do look like flames warming up the icy ground below. There are also an abundance of catkins on the hazel, alder and willow trees which I love to cut and bring indoors with other bare branches and twigs and scatter round the house in jars and vases. Soon the warmth of the house means that buds burst and leaves or flowers appear giving us the hope that spring is near. On the last Sunday in January we took part in The Big Garden Birdwatch noting down all the birds to land in the garden over an hour. We loaded up the bird table and settled down in the warmth of the kitchen to count all the hungry birds visiting us in sub zero temperatures. Along with all the usual visitors - tits, dunnock, sparrows, blackbirds, robins, finches, starlings and magpies we were lucky to be visited in that hour by our resident Greater Spotted Woodpecker. Also flying above the meadows in that hour we spotted kites, buzzards and a pair of Peregrines. When the weather has allowed we have cleared around the two large ponds and removed a couple of trees that were getting too large at the edge of the larger pond. More work needs to be done clearing the ponds but for now we will leave them alone in the hope that the frogs will soon be out of hibernation and laying spawn as things start to warm up next month. On freezing days Simon has been busy in his mancave - his latest project has been making obelisks for the garden to give some height and structure for climbing roses, sweet peas and cobaea in the summer. We were thrilled to be featured in The Sunday Times Travel Staycation Supplement amongst the best B&B's to stay in. As a result we have taken quite a few bookings over the last couple of weeks for later in the year. We are just waiting to hear the announcement as to when we can open again and look forward to safely welcoming guests back to The Cob.

Winter has arrived at Montpelier Cottage with sprinklings of snow and hard frosts for the last few weeks. The freezing cold weather has put a halt on gardening and as we have just finished our latest indoor renovation project we are spending time exploring more of the stunning, panoramic countryside of Herefordshire. Our latest trip was to Hergest Ridge, a short 12 minute drive from our cottage, which is a large elongated hill, part of the Offas Dyke path on the border between England and Wales. We enjoyed an exhilarating walk to the top of the ridge. The higher we went the deeper the snow. A fantastic walk even if the blizzard prevented us from taking in the spectacular views over the Shropshire and Welsh hills. Once back home and warmed by the kitchen Aga, we sat hugging our mugs of hot chocolate looking out onto the garden and meadows. At this time of the year the bird table is full of sparrows, tits and finches darting back and forth to collect peanuts and sunflower seeds. Every so often our resident Greater Spotted Woodpecker swoops in and all the other birds fly off while he hammers away at the peanut feeder. We had only spotted the male woodpecker with his defining red head but recently we have also seen and heard a female in the nearby Ash tree. It would be fantastic if we could get a glimpse of their young in late spring. As we were warming ourselves and bird spotting we had to contain our excitement as we spotted four Roe Deer right up against the stock fence between the perennial garden and middle meadow. It was the most beautiful sight, but all too quickly they must have sensed our presence and ran elegantly back through the meadow into the woods that border our land. Despite it being too cold to do much work in the garden it is already showing signs of growth with the snowdrops, hellebores, cyclamen and primroses all bursting through the frozen ground. Although we are currently unable to welcome guests to The Cob due to Covid restrictions, we are so proud to have been featured in Sawdays top 10 Favorite Inspections of 2020. A crazy year to launch a bed and breakfast business but we have met so many interesting and lovely people and received such fantastic reviews that we are so looking forward to welcoming guests back to The Cob to enjoy the peace and tranquility of the gardens as Spring approaches.

As we turn back the clocks and the nights draw in we are embracing the Scandinavian habit of Hygge here at The Cob at Montpelier. Cosy nights in front of the woodburner surrounded by fairy lights and snuggly blankets. We have just installed a new TV with DVD player and now have a supply of DVD's and a basket full of board games such as Scrabble and Chess to while away the dark evenings. Despite the colder, wetter weather the full length Verandah gives plenty of opportunity to sit outside wrapped up in a blanket and observe the abundance of wildlife which surrounds us. We had a wonderful walk on Black Hill recently, the views over the Herefordshire countryside were stunning. We found a little wind shelter on the top of the hill which is known locally as the Cats Back, where we had a picnic before starting the descent through a ravine following the stream and then through woodland back to the car park. We have also taken a drive down the Wye Valley to go "leaf peeping", which means observing the changing colours of the foliage on the many species of trees as they turn from summer greens to the yellows, reds and golds of autumn. It was a stunning experience seeing the amazing colours light up the landscape. Covid restrictions allowing we are hoping to be able to offer a three day Christmas package from 24th December in collaboration with a local restaurant who will provide Christmas lunch for our guests. Details and prices for Christmas and New Year offers will be posted on both our website and Sawdays listing very soon. We are really hoping government guidelines will allow us to make a very special, magical Christmas and New Year at The Cob and one to remember for a long time.

September is the month of Harvest and we have a bountiful crop of apples in the orchard. Our neighbour makes his own cider and offered to help us make apple juice from some of our crop. We spent a lovely day pressing and pasteurising our apples, giving us plenty of delicious apple juice to be able to serve to our guests with breakfast. The fine weather has allowed us to get ahead with painting the outside of the Shepherds Hut. We are so pleased with the results and hope many of our guests will enjoy a peaceful evening down by the hut with the fire pit lit, enjoying the spectacle of the dark skies that this area has to offer. We were pleased to welcome the winner of our instagram #treatournhs draw to The Cob. Nurse Mary had been working in ICU in a London hospital during the height of the pandemic. It was lovely to welcome her and her partner to The Cob over Bank Holiday weekend when they totally relaxed and enjoyed days out canoeing along the River Wye and walking in the magnificent Elan Valley. Thanks to all our lovely guests over the past two months and the lovely reviews they have left, we are so proud to have been featured in the i newspaper article - "24 Best UK Holidays for your Social Bubble". Having only been open since 1st August we are thrilled to bits to be featured in a national newspaper and we know that we have more to offer our guests in the coming months.

Another busy month for us here at The Cob at Montpelier as we prepared to welcome our first guests since lockdown. Working alongside Sawdays we can assure all our guests that The Cob adheres to the Clean & Safe Charter where we have measures in place to ensure good hygiene throughout our guest stay. Just as we hoped, all our guests have relaxed and enjoyed the peace and tranquility the gardens and meadows have to offer at The Cob. On many evenings our guests have opted to stay in and eat a meal on The Cob verandah overlooking the meadows - either getting a take away from one of our local restaurants or eating food they have bought locally. As a result we have decided to install a larger fridge to allow guests to store their own food, with of course plenty of space to chill a bottle of wine or a couple of beers. We have started renovating the old shepherds hut which stands in the bottom meadow through the orchard. Once completed this will be another area for guests to relax in, and the verandah attached to the shepherds hut will house a camping stove and utensils to allow guests to cook simple food al fresco. The hut will be the perfect place to sit and read, maybe practice yoga, nature watch or just contemplate, all in complete seclusion. We knew Montpelier Cottage was a special place when we moved here 18 months ago and it has been a delight for us to share it will all our lovely guests. We never imagined The Cob would be so popular so quickly after launching it, with booking enquiries coming through Sawdays almost every day. Its been hard work to get to this point but certainly well worth it.

As lockdown restrictions ease in England and Wales we have ventured out to our local town of Hay-on-Wye. Thursday is market day and is a mix of artisan stalls selling locally produced food and craft items. Each week seems busier than the last as the sleepy town wakes up. When we visited today it felt like the vibrant bustling town which so attracted us when we were looking to move to this area 18 months ago. Back home and we have cleared an area in the middle meadow where the pizza oven stands. We lit the oven for the first time and were thrilled with the delicious pizza we cooked washed down with a glass or two of red wine while sitting amidst the long grasses and wild flowers in the meadow. We are planning to make a proper cooking area by the pizza oven and provide dough bases and a variety of toppings for guests to cook their own pizzas. A day or so earlier we were sitting on the patio after a busy day gardening, dusk was falling when we spotted a baby roe deer down in the meadow below. He stood looking straight at us for ages before turning and running back into the woods that adjoin our land. Another magical moment here at Montpelier Cottage.

Yet another blistering month here in Herefordshire. The meadows are springing up and teaming with wildlife. The Marsh Fritillary, a beautiful highly patterned butterfly was once widespread in Britain, but has declined severely in recent years. Our neighbouring sheep farmer, Gareth, is keen to establish a network of habitats in our area and has provided us with a tray of Devils Bit Scabious plants which we have planted out in our wet meadow. This is the food plant of the Marsh Fritillary and hopefully this butterfly will be attracted to the food we have to offer. On a warm summer's day all that can be heard in the meadows is the hum of the bumble bees and honey bees as these pollinators feast upon the meadowsweet, ragged robin, spotted orchid, cuckoo flower and valerian which are flowering at the moment. Around 6pm most evenings we are visited by a male greater spotted woodpecker - he's a cheeky chap actually sitting on our kitchen window cill - then he flies off and sits on the old crab apple tree by The Cob. Just behind The Cob in the Blackthorn tree we have followed a pair of magpies building their nest since February and now we see that 3 chicks have hatched and are confidently sitting on a branch outside the nest while mum and dad collect food. We have been busy putting plans into place to reassure our guests that The Cob is a safe place to visit once lockdown restrictions are lifted. It really is the perfect place to connect with nature and relax.