ROSE Award 2022

We are delighted to announce that on Thursday 5th May 2022, Middleton House, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, was awarded a ROSE Award from Visit England. There are only 100 winners across the whole of the country.

”The ROSE Awards recognise the accommodation providers across England who provide visitors with the warmest of welcomes. They celebrate the establishments where the owners, management and employees…. provide outstanding experiences for their customers.”

An extremely big thank you to all our guests who have left such wonderful, positive reviews over the years. A big thank you too to our Visit England Assessor who put us forward for the Award in recognition for all our hard work.

We are absolutely delighted!

Sunday August 15th 2021

The Mid-Somerset Show

It is fantastic news that The Mid-Somerset Show is going to go ahead this year!

It is still the only Free one day Agricultural Show and it is right here on our doorstep!….well nearly 

Although it now has a new show site, it is still just a couple of fields away from Middleton House! Marquees have already started going up and can be seen from Rooms 1,2 and 4!

What you can expect – Shetland Grand National, Terrier Racing, Heavy Horses, Falconry Displays, Livestock, Show Jumping, Food Halls, Rural Crafts, Vintage Vehicles, Arts and Crafts, Somerset Cider Championship, Flower Show and Floral Art.

Guests staying with us can leave their cars on our drive and walk to the show. For those taking their car, car parking fees will apply.

Let’s hope the sun shines …..it should be a fantastic day out! 

We had a great time at the Vintage & Classic Tractor Show a few weeks ago…..so many tractors to see!

We tried to spot a few that Kevin had driven in the past (coming from an agricultural background) but

some of them were just a little too old! It was lovely to see our guests there too selling their wares.

We really liked the model layouts which were so well done…….. they looked so realistic!

We managed to capture some of them, pictured below.

                               A further hall had a wonderful exhibition of even more tractors and we just had to take

a picture of the one with the milk churns.

The Sunday of the Tractor Show also coincided with the Toy Fair which was well attended and brought

back a tinge of nostalgia! The photo captures a view from above.

It was well worth attending especially with the Toy Fair too! It would be lovely to have you stay with us!

We had a fantastic time at The Royal Bath and West Show recently. Although fully booked, we did manage to spend a couple of afternoons there and it proved to be most enjoyable.

As well as seeing the many sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle all in tip top, award winning condition……

we saw lots of award winning cheeses, tasted a variety of the local ones and sampled some wonderful cider!

The tractors, farm machinery and vintage traction engines are always amazing to see…..

but we always love to watch the sheep shearing competition and were pleased to make it just in time for the finals!

It was also extremely good to meet John Trott from the Mendip Bonsai Studio, located very near us in Downside Shepton Mallet. He has recently been awarded  the prestigious role of ‘The Master Grower’ at the 2019 RHS Malvern Spring Show. His Bonsai exhibits were an absolute delight! Perfection in miniature! He permitted us to photograph some of his amazing work so we could share them with you.

John’s workshops are always very popular and he can be contacted directly for more information.

The Royal Bath and West have already decided on their show dates for next year, 28th-30th May 2020. Although it will only be a three day show, it will still contain all the elements to make it a great family day out. For more information for 2020, please click here.

Over the years we have had many sponsors of The Royal Bath and West Show, judges and  ‘visitors’ stay with us whilst attending the show…..we would love to welcome you too!

What or who is Chickory Tip?

Chickens or rather hens, have always been a part of life here at Middleton House so that we can give our guests the very best eggs, but we have to mention Chickory Tip who is our VERY BEST, EVER, hen. She is a Columbian Blacktail Hybrid  and has been part of the family now for over three years!!

Why is she so special? Chickory has laid over 1,000 eggs! Our eggs, once collected, have always been recorded so we know exactly which hen has laid an egg, and the day it was laid on. Even two ‘brown’ hens will lay eggs with a slightly different colour helping with accurate recording!

Chickory helps with nearly everything in the garden……clearing the weeds, digging out the moss in the grass, keeping the slugs down……and she knows not to attack our flowering plants in the garden!

She knows how to relax too after all her busy work and will stretch fully out, wings open especially in all this lovely sunshine we have had recently.

Chickory was a bit apprehensive and confused when we had the snow earlier this year, but Kevin made a little path for her so she could still be outside and not have cold feet 🙂

Amazingly she comes to us when we call her, follows us around when we are in the garden and even taps on the window when she wants a little more food other than her grain and chicken mash……..she loves brocolli! She even ‘nuzzles’ us like a dog when she wants a little more to eat when we are having some food on our picnic bench! She has recently been eyeing up a small wooden train we have…..perhaps she is thinking of an alternative mode of transport!

All our hens have had different personalities over the years……..’bossy’, ‘laid back’, ‘just happy to be with us’ and one hen called Bebe, just loved to jump everywhere that we were worried that she would jump over the fence!

Hens do require some work to look after, as do all animals, but we would not be without our ‘Chickory Tip’  here at Middleton House……we award her a cup for over 1,000 eggs!

Wells Cathedral High Part Tours 

In Spring of this year we were invited by Wells Cathedral to experience the opening of their High Part Tours.

It was a brilliant 90 minute tour of the upper areas of the Cathedral.

We discovered hidden spaces, medieval tracing floors, galleries. trumpet holes, chambers and saw what it was like behind the Wells clock. Amazing!

There are up to 250 steps, some uneven floors, low ceilings and narrow parts, (the narrowest point just 60 cms wide) …….but it is well worth a visit!

The Mid-Somerset Show, always a fantastic day out for all the family, took place on Sunday 19th August, and thankfully, it was a lovely sunny day. The only free entry show in the UK, and there is always something there for everyone to enjoy!

Located on neighbouring fields, very close to our Bed and Breakfast, it was great to have staying with us,  judges, a commentator for the event and guests just wanting to attend the show.

The Show has features of an agricultural show with competitions for show jumping, livestock, poultry & dogs

………. as well as competitions for fleece, vegetables, fruit, jams, cakes, floral arrangements, arts and crafts.

                                      I’m pleased to say my flapjacks did extremely well 🙂

We are sure you would enjoy it in 2019….and Middleton House is the closest Bed and Breakfast to it!

There are so many lovely places to visit in Somerset.

A visit to Cheddar Gorge is always a great day out, whether you want to enjoy the views from the cliff top,   

visit the caves where prehistoric man once lived and where Cheddar Cheese is left to mature!

Or, just have a stroll by the river. The independent shops have interesting gift ideas and don’t forget to sample the delicious Cheddar cheeses!  We had a lovely day there and it is only 11 miles (approx) away from Middleton House!

Also, at the end of May, on Bank holiday Monday, there is the Annual Duck Race hosted by the Cheddar Vale Lions Club. The 28th Duck Race takes place on Bank Holiday Monday 2019. It’s a  fun day out and, if your duck crosses the winning line first, there is a £100 prize!

We hope you will have a good day out at Cheddar too!