PERCH & SETTLE

Stunning garden sculptures that work beautifully as bird tables

Perch & Settle will help us enjoy our gardens, and the summer, even more this year.

Designed and handmade in the New Forest these beautiful bird tables make a dramatic statement in any garden, combining contemporary design with the practical considerations of providing food and shelter for wild birds.

The bird table and elegant, 4-stemmed stand – designed to resemble the stems of daffodils emerging through the grass – are made from an extraordinary material called Accoya and its board derivative, Tricoya. This FSC softwood is completely resistant to decay and distortion, outlasting and outperforming even tropical hardwoods.

Hooks and feed trays are incorporated into the design so that birds can be fed with a variety of feeds depending on your most regular visitors, or to attract new species. And the bird tables are available in a natural finish or painted in White, Dove, Slate, Sage or Willow

For outdoor dining, black is the new black!

Black may not be the first colour that comes to mind for outdoor dining tables, but we think it should be.

At 3.6 metres in length, Perch & Settle’s stylish all-black table makes a dramatic statement on any patio, deck or lawn and bright coloured serving bowls, glassware and summer salads really pop against the deep black table top. It also co-ordinates beautifully with any seating that’s pulled together for a big gathering – from the patio, the dining room or the kitchen. Or settle on matching benches, they’re super comfortable with or without cushions.

The tabletops and bench-tops are made from Millboard®. It combines the beauty of natural wood in a moulded composite that’s long-lasting and, unlike wood, won’t rot, stain or warp.

Beautiful, practical, sustainable, Perch & Settle will help you to enjoy your garden more this summer, and every summer.

CONTACT

01425 651951

info@perchandsettle.co.uk ADDRESS

Perch & Settle Stuckton Farm,

Stuckton, Hampshire SP6 2HG WEBSITE

www.perchandsettle.co.uk

Let us blow your mind…

Design / Branding / Marketing / Advertising / Websites / Digital / Print 01202 287233 | hello@stallionpearce.co.uk | www.stallionpearce.co.uk The Rent Doctor - Peter Woollard Landlords helpline 01202 716553, call us for a free Consultation

Quality Residential; Your trusted Local Letting Agent

We are all hoping for a wonderful healthy second half of the year and making decisions about renting property will be on many property owners minds.

We have had a very successful and well organised rental campaign throughout the Covid crisis which has enabled many tenants and landlords to receive a near normal service throughout. We now arrange for a pre occupation Covid clean to make any new property safe for tenants, which is much appreciated.

If you need some help with renting your property in the near future, we are now taking out new properties under a managed and non management basis as we have many good tenants contacting us for good quality accommodation.

Ring us today if you would like to use our professional services.

Tel. 01202 716554 | 07836729797 Email. pw@quality-residential.co.uk www.quality-residential.co.uk

Thank you for being so responsive. Lovely time and we will be back next year.

- A GUEST FROM PARIS

Bespoke Town & Country UK Concierge Company

We provide luxury lifestyle and elite property management.

With offices in Poole, we offer tailor-made management and maintenance solutions to suit your needs. A bespoke service is curated for travel, accommodation, events and experiences, concierge services and property management. Emma MacDonald has a background constructed in real estate, solid reputation amongst HNWI clients and celebrity personnel, merging private estate management with concierge services emerged as a natural progression.

www.whisper-us.co.uk

Tel. 07811195986 Email. info@whisper-us.co.uk

Whisper Us, 194 Bayside Business Centre, 1 Sovereign Business Park Poole Dorset BH15 3TB

Why a forest escape is what every family needs right now

Claire Spreadbury and her brood head to Cheshire for rest, relaxation and to reconnect with nature.

Trying to entice a hormone-ridden 11-year-old outside to learn survival skills in the forest, when it’s pouring with rain, is quite a tall order. Long, painful sighs evolve into deafening silence, followed by several devastating death stares. So, I use my jolliest sing-song voice to over-compensate and get us out the door.

Forest rangers Gerry and Mike lead us into the woods and brief us on how to build a shelter. Rosie shuffles about looking for wood while Poppy, her 8-year-old sister, runs about the forest enthusiastically grabbing everything needed to make the A-frame.

ABOVE & RIGHT

Forest Holidays lodges at Delamere

Forest | Forest Holidays/PA

FAR RIGHT (TOP)

Claire Spreadbury’s daughter Poppy

using a Swedish fire steel to create a

flame | Claire Spreadbury/PA

FAR RIGHT (BOTTOM)

Claire Spreadbury’s daughter

Poppy and her den-making kit |

Claire Spreadbury/PA

We’re in Cheshire’s largest woodland, at Forest Holidays’ brand new site in Delamare Forest, and we’re getting stuck in.

After the year or so we’ve all gone through, immersing yourself in nature has never felt more necessary, and within 20 minutes, all signs of Kevin The Teenager have completely disappeared, as my mainly wonderful eldest daughter builds a spit, bench and herb garden for our genuinely epic den.

We’re all pretty proud of it. And as a reward, we mooch over to another part of the forest, where the kids use Swedish fire steels to light the campfire, and toast and gobble fluffy marshmallows until we feel sick.

The 11th Forest Holidays site opened on April 12 and is situated deep into Delamere. Dark wooden lodges are dotted about the forest and despite being brand new, the site looks reassuringly rustic.

We’re in a White Willow Premium cabin, exclusive to this location, which contains everything we’ve come to expect from an open-plan family cabin, plus lots of fancy extras, like two robes per person – one for the lodge, one for the hot tub, Hypnos mattresses, a Nespresso machine and Nutribullet, a wireless charger and in-built Bluetooth speaker, complimentary Prosecco, and an outdoor grill, fridge and pizza oven.

I keep finding myself swinging in the egg chair, staring out the floor to ceiling windows. Waking up to the light of a new day streaming through the tall pines is a total delight. And being completely surrounded by forest feels wonderfully good for the soul.

Smatterings of dappled sunlight make the tree trunks glow as we amble towards the reception to sign up for the Peter Rabbit trail (£7.95 per child).

Rosie might have rolled her eyes (again) at the utterance of Beatrix Potter’s most famous character, but the holiday spirit soon kicks in, as we meander round the one-mile track, looking for clues, spotting birds and learning about nature.

It’s easy to feast like kings here, whether you bring all your food and cook in the kitchen, order food or recipe boxes that make life easy (the pizza packs, £17 – which come with ready-made dough and toppings to make and cook two pizzas in your outdoor oven – are utterly delicious), or stop off at the Forest Retreat and enjoy food and drink made by someone else and not served in your home – which still feels like a novelty.

Sink a refreshing bottle of Peroni (£4.50 for 660ml) or watch the sun dip down behind the trees over a G&T (£5.75) while the small folk explore the twotowered treehouse, beautiful bug hotel and handmade adventure playgrounds, which include a fallen sweet chestnut tree, lovingly carved into a bench by local tree sculptor, Andy Burgess.

For a proper treat, afternoon tea (£17.50 per person) is delivered and set up wherever you want it in your cabin. Forest-themed crockery comes with an array of Tea Pigs pyramid bags, and delectable sandwiches, scones, cakes and pies are piled high on wooden towers.

We can hardly move after gobbling less than half of it, but it sets us up for an afternoon of mountain biking. The undulating landscape makes for the perfect play area as the hire bikes’ giant tyres (£32 adult/£28 child, for the whole weekend, or bring your own) bump and hop across hills, streams and grass-strewn woodlands. Rosie squeals and gasps as she follows her dad down steep and scary paths, before using every last ounce of energy she has to pedal back up.

And if you want to get out of the forest, there’s plenty to explore in an around Cheshire, too. Go Ape (£25 per person) is just the other side of the forest, which you can walk to in 20 minutes, before climbing up and around the trees, testing your balance and bravery. Every heartthumping step is worth it for the adrenaline-fuelled zip wire finish, most often accompanied by delighted squeals and a messy (but soft) crash landing.

There’s also the brand new Bewilderwood outdoor attraction – full of treehouses, wobbly wires and slippery slopes, one of the country’s best zoos over in Chester (both are around a 20-minute drive away), and in half an hour, you can reach The Ice Cream Farm, where you can scoop and lick at an impressive 50 flavours of the good stuff. The adventure park is a bit young for our two, but we happily join the queue for the new drive thru,

and snap up four cones of deliciousness (dairy-free options are plentiful, too). Single standard cones are £3 for one scoop, but anyone really hungry can attempt the quadruple for £6.

More R&R can be found back at Delamere, but after the sixth slam of the door, I was beginning to wonder if the in-cabin spa treatment was actually worthwhile.

After months of longing for a massage, booking local Glo therapists in to pummel the stress out of my homeworking shoulders was a no-brainer. I tried to banish the family, but Poppy refused to go for a bike ride. Now fully camouflaged up after completing her den-making kit in the woods outside the lodge, she wanted to stay and play at being Bear Grylls. But Bear Grylls gets bored, hungry and nosy after quite short time periods…

It wasn’t quite the serene experience I would have had at a spa, but it was still lovely.

Maybe it’s the fact I’ve been staring at the same four walls for the best part of 14 months, but I’m not sure Saturday nights with the family get much better than making pizza, cooking it outside, playing giant Jenga on the deck and splashing about in a hot tub watching the stars come out, all the while being surrounded by trees in the middle of a forest. Even the 11-year-old seemed happy.

HOW TO PLAN YOUR TRIP White Willow Premium cabins at Forest Holidays in Delamere start from £830 for a two-bedroom lodge for four nights. Visit forestholidays.co.uk.

A two-hour Relax & Unwind mix and match spa treatment costs £150.

The Forest Discovery Ranger Experience costs £10 per adult, £8 per child, and The Forest School Den Kit costs £60.

Words by Claire Spreadbury, PA Pictures credit: Forest Holidays/PA

Renting your home out for the summer - genius or madness?

Demand for staycations this year is absolutely unprecedented and it’s clear that it’s going to exceed supply not only in school holidays but probably beyond. If you’ve ever considered moving out and renting your home there will never be a better time, and if you have a second home that you normally keep for yourself then opportunity knocks!

Second Homes Many clients don’t really need the money and their place is precious to them so why do they bother with the hassle? Some just like the idea that a few weeks’ rental can cover their annual expenses but for many it’s the concept of ‘free money’. This won’t make sense if you are an accountant but in their mind the money is in a di erent category so they can spend it on something they couldn’t normally justify to themselves – spectacular holiday, classic car, motorbike or jetski, you get a really big reward for minor inconvenience.

Main Residence This is another level of challenge in that packing up and moving out of your own home is a major undertaking. You can put your stu into a garage or spare room that’s locked up or rent some storage but don’t underestimate what a task this is! Of course circumstances vary – a single person in a large house may find it relatively easy, a family with three children rather less so. Several of our clients have said that part of the benefit was being forced to declutter and throw away things they never use and with a deep clean before and after the rental it was almost like therapy for their home!

PROS • No need to interact with guests, do any work or deal with crises • Expert advice on pricing and presentation • Professional cleaning and linen supplied • Brand and existing client base for marketing CONS • Commission may be higher Methods for the madness? • Cleaning & linen costs with vat Broadly speaking there are three options • No connection with guests – you may to consider: enjoy delivering hospitality 1. DO IT YOURSELF • Need a proper clear out and deep clean With platforms like Airbnb it’s certainly possible to get the bookings yourself, 3. RENT TO AN AGENCY especially this year and if you’re just going Some agencies including ourselves will rent to move locally and be around anyway it the house for the whole period at an agreed may be an option. rate and take on the risk of voids and costs of cleaning, linen and guest services. PROS • Lower fees than full agency (not as low as PROS EVERYTHING FOR THE HOLIDAY HOME OWNER they seem as substantial fees are added • You know where you stand from the start IN SANDBANKS & SURROUNDING AREAS to the price before the guest pays) • Cheaper cleaning and laundry cost if you and so can book that holiday • Hand over and forget without buying Shopfront on the Peninsula | Sophisticated Digital Marketing employ a cleaner directly extra things neededCleaning, Linen & Changeovers | Maintenance & Renovations | Concierge Services • Cheaper still if you do it yourself! • No risk of empty weeks or cancellation24 Hour Emergency Callout | No Restrictions on Owner Bookings • Allows for marketing as homeshare so Let us take care of all the work so you can enjoy your holiday home and take advantage less preparation CONS of the significant tax benefits of running it as a furnished holiday let business. • Less income in the end if all weeks are sold CONS • Dealing with guests from enquiry to arrival Think long and hard before making a • Being on call 24/7 for potentially commitment as you can’t back out at the challenging guests last minute but also think about what you • Less control over cancellation policy and usually have to do to earn the money – it other conditions may be the easiest cash you ever made! • Income not certain until booked Simon Tolson owns Rumsey of Sandbanks.SERVICED LETS FROM RUMSEY OF SANDBANKS 2. FULL SERVICE AGENCY The perfect solution for temporary accommodation from a weekend to 5 months Letting with a premium agency takes away Contact Simon on 01202 707357.No minimum period rentals | Broadband and maintenance included all the work and worry, especially if you are Regular cleaning and linen change services available simon@rumseyofsandbanks.co.uk| Fully furnished and equipped planning to go away. Rumsey of Sandbanks will tailor the experience to suit your exact needs so you can get on with the rest of your life and we can turn an awkward stop gap into a great and memorable experience.

EVERYTHING FOR THE HOLIDAY HOME OWNER www.rumseyofsandbanks.co.uk IN SANDBANKS & SURROUNDING AREAS 01202 707357 www.rumseyofsandbanks.co.uk | 01202 707357office@rumseyofsandbanks.co.uk