Since I bought Tarn House two-and-a-bit years back, I’ve invested every penny earned back into the house and garden. Some of that investment has been boring but important behind the scenes stuff (new oil tank, new water filters, chimney repairs etc).

But a lot of it has been making guests’ breaks better than ever.

As we approach summer I thought I’d do a shameless celebration of six things that are new at Tarn House.

1. New stove!

Probably the most appreciated of all the changes, Tarn House got a beautiful new stove from the guys at Beetham & Dean, Ambleside, last year. Not only is the new one easy as anything to use, but within an hour of being on the front room is guaranteed to be toasty warm for the night – no matter how cold it is outside.

2. New mattresses!

All bedrooms now have luxury pocket-sprung mattresses from Mattison – who supply many of the UK’s top hotels. It’s lo longer just the peace or mountain air that’ll assure a good night’s sleep…

3. Lounge refurb.

We completed our lounge refurb in January. Not only is the room brighter, there is new furniture, new lighting, a host of new Cumbrian mags and books and original art all over the walls –including a few of my own photos.

4. Treats!

I’ve taken the responsibility of testing various sweet things from local producers on behalf of Tarn House guests *very* seriously. Guests now get cookies from the more-ish Country Fare bakery in the Eden Valley, soap from Pure Lakes in Staveley and tea and coffee from Kendal institution Farrers. (My sister is on a lifelong mission to get me to stock Grasmere Gingerbread, which I am refusing as I know she’ll test eat it all.)

5. New entertainment!

For those rainy days… we’ve bought a pile of new DVDs and wired up both TVs to Netflix. The new super-fast broadband means up to four devices can stream at any one time.

6. Hedging our bets.

I wrote about my fledgling hedge(ling) a couple of years back. The plan was to replace some of the invasive rhododendrons with native hedging to encourage wildlife. The whips are thriving (just one of the 100 died). Just another 10 or so years before they can be laid :-/.

 

Share This