Several of my recent guests have been vegetarians, so I can offer a variety of options to accommodate their dietary needs.
Vegetarian breakfast options include a full English breakfast with veggie sausages, mushrooms, tomatoes, fried bread, and eggs.
Alternatively, we offer a fish-based breakfast, such as kippers or smoked salmon, served with scrambled eggs.
Another option is a warm banana muesli breakfast loaf with walnuts, served with honey.
For lighter options, we offer cereals, toast with preserves, and your choice of pastries.
Banana, Walnut muesli loafA selection of freshly cooked breakfast pastries.
Vegetarian Dinner options can include Butternut Squash Tatin or Mushroom tartlets with potatoes and vegetables. Trout is also an option, for an evening meal, if you eat fish. For couples with mixed diets, we can offer alternatives such as roast chicken or steak and ale pie.
Desserts feature Apple Pie or Lemon Cheesecake, accompanied by Farmer Tom’s local ice cream.
Butternut Squash and harissa butter tatin.Evening meal veg selection.Rainbow Trout for an evening meal.Apple and Bramble pie with Farmer Tom’s Ice Cream.
We look forward to making your stay enjoyable. Please notify Val of any special dietary requirements you may have.
For evening meals, we are not licensed to serve alcohol, but you are welcome to bring your own.
It’s almost mid-August again, and it’s time to bring home this year’s batch of baby calves. This is always a busy but very interesting time in the farming calendar.
Preparations have been ongoing for the last few days, washing and disinfecting hurdles, feed buckets, and milk pails. Making up pens and bedding down the sheds.
Arrival of milkStraw for beddingPreparing for the calf’s arrival
Powdered milk and feed have arrived today.
They will be fed milk in buckets for the next eight weeks. Each pen will hold six calves, and we will have a total of 90 calves. We will collect them in batches of 30, with the first calves arriving this Friday. The final batch of 30 will arrive home next Friday.
As they grow, they will be weaned onto hay and pellets.
Come and stay with us during this time, and you can watch them being fed, which happens twice a day.
(Pictures are of last year’s calves )
Last years calves enjoying milk Calves from last year enjoying a quiet moment
This week has been very busy in the kitchen with requests for evening meals. Each night, the guests have enjoyed a variety of home-cooked dishes.
Upon their arrival, they savored Roast Chicken with roast potatoes and three vegetables, followed by Strawberry Cheesecake and local ice cream. On another evening, the menu featured Steak and Ale Pie, accompanied by mashed potatoes and vegetables, with Bakewell Tart and ice cream for dessert.
On the final evening, the guests enjoyed Rainbow Trout with new potatoes and vegetables. This was topped off with a delicious Bramble and Apple Pie served with local ice cream.
We take pride in using Farmer Tom’s Ice Cream, which travels only one food mile. It makes a delightful complement to my homemade desserts.
Whole Rainbow TroutVegetables for evening mealBramble and Apple Pie with Farmer Tom’s Ice Cream
A Proud Milestone – We’ve Achieved a 4-Star Gold Rating!
We’re thrilled to share some exciting news from our little corner of hospitality. Our Bed and Breakfast has been awarded a 4-Star Gold Award following a recent independent quality assessment. This is more than just a plaque on the wall – it’s a symbol of the passion, hard work, and dedication we put into creating a warm and welcoming experience for every guest who walks through our door.
What Does a 4-Star Gold Award Mean?
The 4-Star Gold rating is a prestigious recognition given to B&Bs that consistently go above and beyond the standard 4-star criteria. It’s awarded not just for quality accommodation, but also for exceptional service, attention to detail, and thoughtful extras that make a stay memorable.
This accolade comes after a thorough independent inspection, where everything from the cleanliness of the rooms to the quality of breakfast and guest service is carefully evaluated, during an overnight stay by a mystery shopper. We’re proud to have not only met but exceeded expectations in many key areas.
Commitment to Safety and Standards
As part of the assessment, we also underwent rigorous checks to ensure compliance with current fire safety regulations. Guest safety is a top priority, and we’ve invested in thumbturn locks, stringent smoke alarm testing and recording. With clear evacuation protocols, and regular staff training to maintain a secure environment for all.
Additionally, water quality testing was carried out as part of our commitment to health and hygiene. We’re pleased to report that our systems met the highest standards, ensuring fresh, clean, and safe water for every guest – from the showers to your morning cup of tea.
A Heartfelt Thank You
This achievement wouldn’t be possible without our incredible team, whose commitment to excellence shines through in every aspect of our service. And of course, we’re deeply grateful to our guests – your feedback, loyalty, and kind words continue to inspire us every day.
Whether you’re a returning guest or planning your first visit, we invite you to come and experience our award-winning hospitality for yourself. The kettle’s on, the scones are baked for your cream tea, the rooms are ready, and we can’t wait to welcome you.Come stay with us – and see what 4-Star Gold feels like. 🌟
After a couple of weeks, we are now up to our full quota of 90 young calves arrived home. They are all feeding well and enjoy their milk twice a day. Guests are welcome to come and watch feeding if they are aound at the right time.
Roddy has roped Val in to help him with feeding now that we have all the calves home. They will be weaned off milk around the end of October, by then they will be eating hay and baby calf food.
This week I have been busy making a Chocolate Tart, a Treacle tart ( this is one of my husband’s favourites, an amazing Chocolate Fudge Cake ( my youngest son’s favourite ) and an Apple pie. What is your favourite?
I love to bake and cook too and find the time spent in my kitchen, producing delicious treats for guests and family alike, very relaxing. Seeing the finished result is very pleasing, BUT, the best bit by far is watching everyone enjoy the food. Adding Clotted Cream or Farmer Tom’s Ice Cream ( or a little of both! ) just finishes things off nicely.
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Finally on the first day of June we are forecast a week of sunshine. Will this be our summer? I am hoping this will be the just the start of it.
We are busy checking sheep and bullocks across all three farms and waiting for the silage grass to grow.
We have taken a trip to Okehampton Railway station to fetch a friend from London, for a flying visit. He paid a visit to all the family and we had a delicious meal out at one of our local pubs.
With some guests arriving from Australia this week it will be nice to show them around too.
They will meet our working sheepdogs and numerous cats before taking a walk out across the farm.
Busy in the kitchen this week making scones for guests arriving. How do you like yours? The Devon way, with Clotted Cream first and jam on top or the Cornish way, with jam first and Clotted Cream on top. You decide.
I also made this delicious Chocolate Fudge Cake for Roddy and Angus, TWICE. It only survived 36 hours each time. They really liked it and said it tasted even better, when served with Farmer Tom’s Ice Cream. So it looks like this will be added to the Evening Meal menu now too. So anyone for dinner?
Pay a visit to Forda Farm Bed and Breakfast in the next few weeks and you will meet these lovely little kittens. They are being hand reared by Val as their mum was unable to manage with so many. Mum still has two with her.
These three have been named Smoky, Ginger and Pearl. They are a bundle of mischief already.
The farmer has his hands full right now feeding 90 young calves, perhaps you will watch calf feeding, during your stay. ( They will be weaned by October half term. )
We have been missing our guests over the last few months but we have as always been very busy on the farm.
We had a successful lambing as the weather was so kind and the sheep went out to the fields with their new born lambs in lovely sunshine and have since grown at quite a pace.
All our young calves are growing fast too and are out grazing the pastures and doing well. We have brought in the silage too.
The sheep have now all had a visit from the shearer, so no longer wear their winter coats. Though the rest of the family could do with a haircut!
We are looking forward to re-opening very soon and welcoming guests back to Forda Farm Bed and Breakfast, we have missed your company.
