Renting a Farmhouse - Ludlow, UK
A Weekend in the Countryside
I have been doing quite a lot of visiting with family over the last couple of months. After my trip to Florida to empty my storage unit and visit with my brother, I came back home to Los Angeles where I had flown in my mom to watch @little-ricky. I spent a bit of time with her and my older son before flying with @afturner to the UK for a 2 week vacation.
We have been staying with her sister in London, rather than with her dad who lives in Newmarket where we usually stay. When we come to the UK, we like to go to Ludlow to visit @afturner's friend from school. It is definitely one of my favorite places in England for the absolutely beautiful country views.
There isn't a lot of space for all of us in her friend's house, so we usually try to find a nice place to rent in the country. This time we managed to get this gorgeous little house on a farm just outside of town. We actually got lucky, because the owners are trying to sell this place so that they can move to France. They are getting close to finding buyers, so we wouldn't have gotten the chance had we waited much longer!
One thing I like around Ludlow is that there is a lot of locally made, high quality products. They have everything from local cheeses, butter, jams and chutneys, bacon, to ciders and beers. This particular cider, Robinsons, I was told by a local is quite smooth and sneaks up on you. Apparently he drank 4 of them and his legs basically gave out on him. He was quite amused that he stood up and collapsed but seemed fine from the waist up. I think I will stick to one or two, just in case!
We invited our friends over to the farm house where we grilled chicken and had salad on the side. It was a great day! The owner left us all kinds of outdoor games to play, such as a bow and arrow set with suction cup arrows and a target.
The owners have a lot of chickens and ducks hanging around the property. They were very kind to give us duck and chicken eggs to have with breakfast. One thing I love in England that you don't get as much of in the states is room temperature eggs. When the eggs have not been refrigerated, it makes it much easier to cook them. The problem with refrigerated eggs is that when you try to do sunny side up, the yolk is often too cold so you have to overcook it a bit.
I also just feel like they taste better unrefrigerated. That is a subjective opinion, of course!
The whole house is very rustic and has a lot of wabi-sabi. One thing we all had to be careful of was the stairs. They were clearly built with no kind of measuring devices whatsoever. Each step was a different height, and if you weren't careful you could easily come tumbling down, or knock the crap out of your foot.
You definitely have to watch your step and move carefully around the house. Especially going through certain doors, which had about 5 foot high openings.
Perils of Black and White Houses
A local friend was telling us that you should never buy a black and white house. We asked why, and he began to tell us about a friend of his who's career is repairing these types of houses.
Apparently, according to him, people used whatever they used to cover the wood in black in an attempt to protect the wood from the elements. The problem, he says, is that this actually has the opposite effect. The black stuff that they put on the wood causes the wood to not be able to breath, thereby allowing the inside wood to rot.
He took me around the inside of the house showing me instances of where the walls have been repaired from such issues. Personally, I don't think it's that much fo a big deal. These houses look so thrown together anyway, so the repairs don't exactly ruin the aesthetic much.
I imagine that these house were built by the original owners hundreds of years ago, and that these folks weren't exactly carpenters. I building a basic house was similar to having basic cooking skills in those days. Most people likely had some level of basic building skills.
Little Ricky really had a great time chasing the chickens around. Funny enough, the chickens seemed to tolerate him quite well. In fact, they were kind of following him around.
We had a really great weekend in our little farm house. I'm going to make another post about some of the things we did which in town! I would highly recommend Ludlow if you are visiting the UK. Don't expect anything super exciting, but it is a great little town with friendly people and great local treats. It's also a nice place to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life.
hermosa
Gracias!
This feel like an amazing weekend, I have always wanted something like this but, I don't know, maybe soon.
I feel like sometimes it is essential to go away from everything and enjoy enjoy the calm.
Also, the house looks interesting and the view is amazing.
It is a lot of fun to travel and see new places. You are right about going away and enjoying the calm. Sometimes you need to get out of the chaos to even know that you were in it!
I haven't traveled in a long time and I keep seeing posts about traveling; maybe it's a sign, and indeed, when you are somewhere for too long you barely realize the issues around you because you are part of it.
The property is beautiful and @little-ricky really had great fun chasing the hen. stay safe awesome and alive
He had a blast! Thanks for your comment.
its my pleasure
The farmhouse is totally magical looking. This looks like the perfect place to enjoy life. Plus all the eggs one could ask for. I would be cracking those babies raw all day long!
The eggs were amazing. We actually bought a bunch of them before we left. We got several dozen for like £6. We are still eating them!
Sometimes I think about moving back to the country somewhere. For me, the ideal place would be somewhere with a lot of nature, but easy access to the city.
I'm obsessed with eggs. I go through 2-4 dozen each week on my own.
The type of location that you describe is totally a possible reality, but just have to motivate to move which is not easy.
dang bro, I thought I ate a lot of eggs but you beat me. I eat 2 or 3 every day, 7 days a week. I used to be scared to eat a lot because of all the bad publicity about cholesterol. But now they are saying that you can eat as many as you want because they are super good for you. I wish the science could be a bit more precise on it...
If I eat a lot of cooked eggs my stomach doesn't really react well. However, I always eat them raw so I never have any issues. I'd say about 9-12 each day. 3 or 4 when I first wake up. Same after the gym and then before bed.
That is really awesome! It looks like you had a great time. The setting and the house is very quaint. That is cool that you have the chance to get so much local produce and goods. That always makes the trip more fun and enjoyable I think. Very interesting on the construction of the house. I wonder what is in the black stuff that they use.
There is a big store in town called something like 'Ludlow Farm House'. It is completely full of local products. I haven't had anything that was bad from there. Of all things, the butter and bread are really good. Makes me sad that everything is so processed and crappy these days in the supermarkets.
I wonder if the black stuff on the wood is creosote? I know they use it a lot in England. But I don't know much about it.
The store sounds amazing! Probably the closest we get to that is the farm market or the roadside Amish stands.
Yeah, I remember the Amish stands back when I lived in Kentucky. Where my mom lives, in Elizabethtown, the Amish always come into town so that the locals can get stuck behind them in traffic for a half an hour.. lol. It usually isn't too bad.
Haha, we have a couple buggy areas where I live too!
I have been traveling for a long time, but not as extensive as yours. If I have the opportunity in the future, I plan to travel to England.
It is a lovely country. The people here in my opinion are mostly very kind and courteous. Except for some of the rich snobby people you come across sometimes. They are a different type of animal.
I've heard that people are kind and gentle. 😊
That looks like such a cool place. I love the look of it
It is, dude! You would get some amazing photos here.
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That's some lovely countryside brother. In the cider picture I wonder if you were being fired upon while attempting to enjoy your beverage.
It would certainly add another level of action to the process!
Haha, it's funny you say that because shortly after I took this photo, one of the kids shot another kid with an arrow in the butt. Luckily they are suction cup arrows. We were having a lot of fun with them!
well as a child that is exactly what we would have done as well. Hopefully the other kid didn't kick up a fuss about it. Hell, we used to throw lawn darts at one another.
haha, no he didn't care. He actually laughed and ran around holding onto the 'wound' for a couple of minutes.
Am sure the kids will enjoy them self hope the arrow was not hurting?
Beautiful home... The carpet grass is top notch
It is! Very primitive but beautiful.
This is so beautiful! What a great time :) absolutely lovely. I sure do miss the UK! Hope all is good :) It's been a while!
I always love visiting here. The only thing I don't like is the crazy long flight! And my toddler was not having it...
I bored 😒 with long trip too but I love to travel alot @nuthman
Wow,what a nice trip you had.i could feel every bit of exploration in your content,maybe am gonna take vacation nowadays.😁
Thanks! I hope you do manage to get a vacation.
Yeah,do have a lovely day
Wao this is cool friend and the place looks so beautiful, what a lovely family you have, you got lucky to secure this beautiful abode all the best man @nuthman
Thanks, Toby! We had a great time. It is a blessing to have a good family.
So nice to see you guys gathered to have fun.
Hello to little Ricky 👋. Seems he is having fun with the chickens.
Thanks, @coolguy222! We are headed back to America today and I am already sad to leave.
Hey Rick - I had problems signing in a few times lately - eventually I managed and posted, but I missed a few posts by my friends, such as this one.
These are awesome photos! Very romantic place! I shared it now, since I like to keep this, such as many of the awesome posts I collect.
I like to upvote, but am too late now - so comment on my message, and I can upvote your comment - btw, thanks for your consistent votes on my posts, very much appreciated!