It’s another cold day here with a bit of rain thrown in to make us want to stay indoors even more. We are suffering a ‘tired out’ state of mind today, maybe because it’s Friday and maybe just because we really are tired having had a busy few weeks.
We’ve written the letter to accompany our pond and tree grant application we just need to get a map 1:5000 scale which they ask to be included. I think we may have to buy a print. The letter is not on the list of requirements for the application but I hope it gives an insite into why it would be good for us.
The letter is as follows – what do you think?
When we moved here nearly 4 years ago we loved the natural beauty of the landscape as well as the surrounding area and wanted to spend more time within our community as well as promoting Wales as a wonderful holiday destination. Our small cottage and field once formed part of the Glanbrydan estate and appears on the sale documents used when the estate was sold off in lots in 1936.
Since we moved here we have developed plans to enhance the cottage and field which have now been given planning consent and we are just putting the final touches to the building regulations documents before submitting those.
We wish to transform part of our land into an orchard with a pond. The orchard would be accessed from a new gate at the top of our garden or from another gate we will be erecting in the new hedgerow we intend to plant to split the field into two distinct areas. Visitors will be able to enjoy the orchard on a nice day by taking advantage of a bench which will occupy a quiet corner. We will bring in a few ducks and move our chickens to this enclosed area. We will be adding a bee hive or two and mowing a path in between the trees. Other than that and a fruit cage for soft fruit the orchard floor will be made over to wild grasses and flowers. The upper part of the field will have clusters of indigenous trees planted. We have a large amount of oak around here but we would like to add other species to the mix such as beech and ash.
As mentioned earlier we are running a small business producing pasties, pies and home bakes which we sell through farmers markets within Carmarthenshire and Powys. We have also started to attend food fairs and other events in the last few months. We use the eggs from our chickens and as much as possible local suppliers for our ingredients. We intend to extend our vegetable beds to include more home grown ingredients this year.
We publish a blog, http://www.glanbrydan.com that was initially set up to compliment our business activities; the blog and business are called Glanbrydan. The blog has grown to include comment on our life style, information about local places to visit , recipes we use and what the small holding is doing. This blog is open to anyone who can access the internet and we will include progress of our plans as they take shape. This will all be accompanied by photographs of the work (another hobby). This blog has readers as far away as America and we see it as an extension to our own community.
Once all the work is finished to house and land we intend to open our two spare rooms up as bed and breakfast (subject to all official approvals of course) again hopefully bringing tourism to our area as well as supplementing our income.
I hope you find this information useful when considering our grant application and how it fits perfectly with what we are trying to achieve.
