Blogs

Dyers of Ilminster has just been classified by English Heritage as a grade 2 listed building of national importance. This independent department store with original façade and fine wood interior has been serving customers since 1871 and is one of a number of attractive and individual shops in Ilminster, including others which are also very long-established. Ask for the town's shopping leaflet at Ilminster Local Information Centre in the Meeting House Arts Centre.

We have now added a link on the booking page of the Myrtle House website that allows you to check online as to which dates are available for bookings. We hope that this facility will help you to plan your holidays more effectively, whether or not you are actually able to stay with us!

Those nice people at Google have sent one of their Street View vans past Myrtle House, so now you can explore the house and area from the comfort of your own home! What you can't get from this, however, is a sense of the wonderful amount of space available behind the house: with plenty of parking, a garden and paddock to enjoy, and then a view across the acres of fields behind the house looking across to Broadway village, this farmhouse never fails to provide a real contrast to the hemmed-in existence so many of us encounter every day.

Following the March 2010 assessment, the inspector wrote "This period property continues to provide a comfortable standard of self catering accommodation in an attractive village setting, having also benefited from further investment and upgrading since the last visit."

We've been working hard to maintain and improve Myrtle House over the last year, so it is satisfying to see that recognised by the inspector.

Great news! We have decided to hold our charges at 2009 levels for the new year. This means that our tariff starts at a rock bottom £300 per week, or even less if those staying number four or less.

Finally on 21 September 2009 a BT Broadband connection was established in the house. Our visitors will now be able to use this facility should they wish.

The Blackdown Hills, only a few miles from Myrtle House, provide the location for any number of wonderfully scenic day-trips for people who enjoy exploring nature. We recently learned that the nearby Neroche site has created a wheelchair- and pushchair-accessible 1km circular trail, available to the public and with spectacular views across Somerset. Their website has more information about this new trail, as well as giving details about their other trails and activities they operate for the benefit of visitors.

You may not know, because it is one of "Somerset's Best Kept Secrets", that Cheddar Caves houses the largest colony of Greater Horseshoe bats in the country ... and they are Britain's rarest mammals. We recently learned that:

Did you know that Cheddar Gorge has the finest collection of inland limestone climbing crags in the entire country? Apparently it was here that Chris Bonnington trained for Everest!

Cheddar Caves & Gorge Tourism has been working with Martin Crocker, the author of The Cheddar Gorge Climbing Guide, The Climbers’ Club and The British Mountaineering Council to restore 300 of the best climbs and make them available for recreational climbing for up to 10 months a year. Please see www.cheddarcaves.co.uk and go to RockSport Adventure Days/Climbing Access.

Each year we are subject to a rigorous inspection by an independent body on behalf of Visit Britain, the national tourist authority. This year was no exception and the Inspector's overall summarising comments are repeated below: