The Crow House Barn Project: Back in the Saddle Again

So with apologies to Gene Autry aka The Singing Cowboy, we are "Back in the Saddle Again" Barn-wise! Actually, click on the link at the end, it's bonkers!

At the start of the year, I thought I'd write a journal about the Barn. A whole year of the thrills and spills of life as a bed and breakfast practitioner. It seemed like a good plan at the time. Folks have often kindly expressed an interest in the shenanigans of this unexpected change in our lifestyle and so I thought if I wrote it down I might be able to make something saleable out of my memoir. Think The Minack Chronicles by Derek Tangye or Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence. I did not, of course, expect the entire edifice to crumble so spectacularly when I embarked on this writing challenge. Coronavirus was a distant event in Wuhan and like everyone else, we didn't see this tsunami coming or how it would change everything.

We waved goodbye to our last visitor just before lockdown and hosted a couple of key workers at the start and then... nothing. We had, by this time, taken delivery of the intrepid granny who lived with us in the house, but the Barn, like theatres, was dark. We applied to host key workers because, with a Nightingale Hospital in nearby Harrogate, we thought we could be useful. But our booking agent deemed us unsuitable (though it took them from early April when we applied to late May to make their minds up). We refunded, cancelled and re-scheduled bookings through the whole period feeling very miffed that our new enterprise was apparently the ultimate perishable product.

In the meantime, although we were both doing our day jobs from home, we did all sorts of maintenance - painting, replacing electricals and generally gardening ourselves into the ground - literally! Then, as things eased and the R-rate started to dip significantly, Boris said we could open in a few days. And because we are isolated (we call it 'secluded' because isolated sounds a bit Wuthering Heights) enquiries rolled in. The early ones were mostly enquiries rather than bookings because obviously folks were cautious. Could they cancel if we went back into lockdown, what were our new cleaning protocols, etc etc. We answered with what felt like endless patience - if there was a local or national (God forbid) lockdown again, we would reschedule or refund as before. But some folks were looking for more wriggle room than that. No you can't just change your mind, and you definitely can't do it at 3 days' notice!

After a few days, the enquiries had turned into bookings and folks desperate to go somewhere beyond their own self-imposed prison yard, however lovely, were booking apace. Meanwhile we had got out of the rhythm of changeovers, biblical laundry and the need to be at home. So now days off are few and far between but this is our new life and we're happy to be back in the saddle again. Yes, everyone else can travel now but we'll be here as long as we have guests, which we hope is a long time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5F-O_19lSI

We did a fabulous walk at the weekend from Osmotherley along part of the Cleveland Way. What a beautiful part of the country we are privileged to call home!