Newsletter September 2019

Another busy Cornish summer is over and we now look forward to quieter Autumnal days enjoying the crisp air and changing colours of the season.  Book your 2019 Autumn/Winter stay at Butterwell Farm within the next week and receive a special 5% discount when you use the code Discount05 to book online.

All of our properties are now open for SHORT BREAKS between now and the end of the year.

If you would like to book any of our properties or have any questions please just send us an email with your enquiry: info@butterwellfarm.com
Availability calendars can be found on our booking page.

Although Butterwell Cottage will be closed 26 October to 23 November for driveway landscaping works it is still open for bookings at a discounted rate as the property itself will be unaffected. If you would like to make a booking during this time please contact us directly.

Remember for 2020 both Kingfisher Cabin and Cobnuts are available for short stays year round. Buzzard Barn and Butterwell Cottage during peak season are both a 7 night minimum with a FRIDAY changeover (excluding Christmas and New Year which fall on a Friday in 2020).  The rest of the year we offer a 2 night minimum. Please check our booking page for peak and off-peak dates.

Our TripAdvisor reviews continue to average 5* and all of our cottages hold a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence. If you would like to read our reviews just click on the TripAdvisor logo on each individual property page on our website.

 

 

Butterwell Farm Cottage Improvements

The re-landscaping of Butterwell Cottage is now complete with a new chimney style BBQ and lockable shed for bikes and fishing rods. We’ve created a lovely outdoor space that catches the last of the evening sun and overlooks the river and vineyards.

Cobnuts has acquired a fabulous new super king size four poster bed! Also a brand new large screen television. It’s a wonderful space to cosy up in front of the fire after an autumnal adventure in Cornwall.

The projects to continually improve our guest experience at Butterwell Farm never end! This winter we are re-landscaping the driveway, entrance gate and parking area for Butterwell Cottage and Bed and Breakfast.  This should not only improve the appearance and usage of the area but further enhance the views to the river from Butterwell Cottage.  This will be followed by the re-landscaping of Buzzard Barn driveway, parking, garden and BBQ area.  This will be the final phase of a full makeover for Buzzard Barn which guests have been appreciating over the last year. Visit our website to see the beautiful new interiors of Buzzard Barn.

Although Butterwell Cottage will be closed 26 October to 23 November for driveway landscaping works it is still open for bookings at a discounted rate as the property itself will be unaffected. If you would like to make a booking during this time please contact us directly.

 

 

Butterwell Estate Updates

We have been busy keeping on top of things on the Butterwell Estate.  We have acquired 10 “new” chickens from the British Hen Welfare Trust.  Deemed too old for the egg farming industry they are still giving us about 5 eggs a week each at their new retirement home!

Sam has been working hard to clear old fencing ready to replace it with new.  At the same time we are hoping to plant a significant number of trees to improve the structure of the river bank and contribute further to conservation and environmental efforts.

It’s that time of year when we need to start thinking about getting a ram in to lamb our small flock of 12 ewes. We hope to have one in with them sometime next month to produce some spring lambs which is always a highlight in the Butterwell calendar.

 

 

Nature Watch

It was predominantly a hot and dry summer after a brief unsettled spell in early June and the odd day of rain in July. Guests have enjoyed some fantastic walks and cycles through the Butterwell Estate and in the surrounding woodlands and Camel Trail. The lucky ones had the first views of this year’s new fawns with their mothers as well as foxes and otters. Eventually after holding out for many weeks we set about cutting the grass in the tree plantation and the paddocks on the far bank, being extra careful to avoid the young fawns. We were very surprised to find eight fawns hidden in the long grass which were all left undisturbed.

The bird life was excellent again this Spring with one guest counting more than twenty species to one bird table in an afternoon, including the wily Sparrow Hawk!  And Sam thinks he’s heard the call of the Nightjar!  The Canada Geese and ducks managed several broods although the Geese suffered from the island ponds drying out early due to the exceptionally dry Spring, losing several clutches to our resident foxes and stoats. The kingfishers and dippers have all been successful and the young are already active on the river. The highlight is probably the owls which have very noisy at dusk and even during the day with quite a few more sightings of Barn Owls along with the more numerous Tawnies. Our African visitors arrived a little late this year and seem to have developed a liking for the new stable style door at Buzzard Barn. A number of Swallows have had a look inside for a suitable nest site!

 

 

Fishing 

With a very dry Spring and only brief wet interludes fishing has been steady with Sea Trout trickling through on most night tides. Most notable has been the size of some of the fish with a number into double figures seen. Our first success was very early in May when the first Sea Trout of 2.5 lb was caught on night fly. Most anglers left it till June and have been successful including a number of firsts. Steve West from Exeter managed four in his brief visit, largest 2.5 lb and caught on his first three nights of fishing for Sea Trout at night ever. Martin Bodley managed three Sea Trout for his visit. Mark Kerans caught four Sea Trout to 2.5lb. As usual there were many encounters with large fish and despite several losses a fair few fish in the 4-5lb were landed by some of our experienced anglers and fish of 6lb and 8.5lb were also caught, all carefully released.  By the end of August we had 58 in the book. This was quite respectable given the drought conditions. There was a surprising lack of peal but once again we have seen large numbers of Sea Trout running on the large tides in early September. This seems to be a common feature now and probably reflects the dry summers we have been experiencing. Unfortunately night fly fishermen have generally disappeared from Butterwell by the end of August when we revert to daytime fishing for Salmon. At least this has demonstrated a good head of spawning fish.
The Salmon season got off to a slow start in September in low water with four in the book by mid-month. Keith Hamson had a brace and lost a very fresh fish estimated at 18-20lb. Mike Withers and Alan Dimmock caught a fish each, the best a 12lb hen caught by Alan. We remain hopeful the rain forecast this week will entice fresh fish onto to Butterwell beat! Butterwell still has availability for Salmon fishing till 15 December.

 

 

To see regular photos from Butterwell follow us on Instagram: BUTTERWELLFARM and Facebook: www.facebook.com/butterwellfarm

If you are interested in staying or fishing at Butterwell Farm please contact us today!