Dream house recreated to attract tourist trade
Dream house recreated to attract tourist trade
A young couple with an old
house and a young business
have won a clutch of awards
in just a year, as Tessa Gates
found out when she visited
Locksbeam Farm
MOST people take years to get a home together and a business up and running, but Richard and Tracey Martin have achieved this and more since they married in 1997.
Dairy farmer Richard – who farms in partnership with his father, Arthur – and farmers daughter Tracey, moved into their house at Locksbeam Farm, Torrington ,Devon, on their return from honeymoon. So did the builders. The 17C house was to undergo major work to make it fit for the B&B guests Tracey was determined to attract to her new home.
"The house was watertight but cosmetically nothing was done – it even had concrete skirting boards to some rooms," says Tracey (33). However the house was to need more than a few boards and paint. "If we had stopped to think how long it would take and what we would find…."
The whole building has been gutted, rooms have been stripped to the bones, altered and replastered, the five bedrooms are now all en-suite and outside three coats of render have smoothed and protected the farmhouse. The couple laboured on much of the work themselves to keep costs down and all that needs doing now is the attic – which is short of a few floorboards. "We feel we know every wall and stone personally," says Richard (36).
It has been a considerable investment for the couple – who benefited from some 5b funding – but Tracey seems to have enjoyed the challenge of getting a deal on just about everything from building materials to mattresses. She bought tiles by the pallet for the many bathrooms, 24 fire doors, 300 yards of carpet – as she was buying in bulk she got some good prices.
With a nose for a bargain, Tracey scoured the West Country to source good secondhand items of matching bedroom furniture in the make she wanted. Her pride and joy – the four oven Aga she had always promised herself now reigns supreme in the kitchen – and it comes into its own when she cooks the roasts and traditional dishes that the guests enjoy most. Their spacious dining room has room enough for the guest that fill the four bedrooms (two double/twin and two family size) they let, and caravanners from the five van Caravan Club hideaway site they have on farm.
The couple have been welcoming guests to Locksbeam Farm for just over a year now with considerable success. They have gained five awards with perhaps the most prestigious being The England for Excellence 1999 silver award for outstanding customer service. Sponsored by the Daily Telegraph, the England for Excellence awards are the Oscars of tourism. The Martins, who were nominated by guests, were among 10 area finalists who were whittled to the best three and invited to London to be feted at the Savoy hotel. "Ours was the youngest business in the final," says Tracey.
"Customer service and quality accommodation is what this business is all about," says Richard. The couple have gladly given up their own evening meals for guests who have arrived unexpected and hungry; found dentists and doctors for guests as necessary and offered friendly chat or quiet space, as needed. "It is a great way to meet people and a great way to tell them about what is really going on in farming," he says. "Over the next few years we feel sure the farmhouse business will be a lifeline."
They are both determined to make Locksbeam Farm a place people will want to return to again and again. "Dealing with the public is a pleasure for us and awards are just the icing on the cake," says Tracey.
Inquiries:01805-623213.
Welcome home: Tracey and Richard have renovated
their home to
provide guest accommodation.