this very well managed and most attractive hostel is well presented and clearly meets the demands and expectations of its guests. It is most encouraging to hear of the steadily increasing level of occupation in “The Stables” block and the continuing high occupancy rates in the main house.

Since the end of July we have enjoyed the company of a school activity week, a cello choir, a 40th birthday celebration weekend, a church family camp/reunion [details on last blog] a local community led group working with young people from several different countries and now Stream of Sound are practicing this week for a concert in Derbyshire on Friday. We are preparing for a family camp to arrive tomorrow in the main house.

Fitted into this busy programme was a wonderful celebration meal yesterday for a lady who is 90 today. Surrounded by family and friends the sun shone, the sweet pea theme ensured that the dining room looked bright, fresh and delicate for such a special ocassion, it was a beautiful day.

Finally, a group of young adults from South Wales gave up a weekend of their time to come and work at Dunfield creating a quiet garden area where a tree has had to be felled. A bench and bird table compliment this area and will provide many happy hours of quiet contemplation for all of our guests who want some space or time out. Please take a moment to enjoy the view and the wildlife from this very special area when you are next at Dunfield and give thanks for the good work of young people across the country that seldom hits the headlines

my son has just returned home after his school’s visit to Dunfield House. He has had a super time, I understand the food was outstanding. Thank you for running such a wonderful place

The school arrived on Friday evening after visiting the Wyre Forest on their way down, they had a campfire in the grounds, played in the woods and stream, swam, ate heartily, went for a long long walk and took part in activities around the grounds developing their understanding of how our world works and where they fit into that world.

We currently have 40 infants playing outside in the sunshine, they are here on a music course – they have eaten a cooked breakfast with the home made porridge being enjoyed by many.

Paul and I had last weekend off [thanks to Barbara and Stuart for looking after Dunfield our staff and guests so well] ……………..we stayed in somewhere called ‘the stables’ – not too far from here [hehe] and visited places in Herefordshire that we had not been to before, Hampton Court & Gardens near Leominster was fabulous, the sunshine making it even more spectacular, we can certainly recommend the food in the Orangery. Shopping in Leominster is always quirky, unusual and fun. Sitting by the river at Bredwardine was a time for a summer time snooze, reading and watching the kingfisher go about his business – fleeting glimpses but rewarding to see.

The Stables was fab, everything we needed – when talking to guests we chat about the main house being on the same site and that offers a fully catered service primarily for children and young people – what we didn’t realise was how much we appreciated hearing the children playing in the grounds, not loud enough to disturb us eating breakfast outside reading the papers in the glorious sunshine but that summer time sound of children playing in woods, streams, playing football better than England and scoring more goals

We found that we need to put something up in the showers to hold toiletries so we don’t have to put them on the floor, bedside lights for reading would be helpful and comfy sofas to relax in at night – we can make the small changes now and work towards the bigger ones over a slightly longer period of time.

We can recommend the Stables to family groups, friends getting together, church and youth groups – the setting is healing, set apart from our everyday life, envigorating and life changing whatever your needs. The walks in the area are fab and we are still finding different routes after being here for nearly 6 years. Please contact Paul and I to discuss ways we can personalise your programme to make sure you get the most out of your visit – each and every group is unique.

Feedback from the family included ‘Dunfield feels like home’, ‘all ages were catered for’, ‘very friendly staff’, ‘cleanliness of the whole site’, ‘freedom of space’ and ‘excellent food’.

If you would like to arrange a family get together then why not look at what Dunfield has to offer, Sue & Paul are more than happy to chat with you about the possibilities and opportunities to meet together.