Just before Christmas Mary and Hugh moved out of their little managers cottage, which had been their home for three years and the builders moved in! The plan is to convert the cottage into three new rooms which will offer a different style of accommodation.
The rooms will be in a modern style with great views out over the marsh towards the sea, will have outdoor seating areas and the full range of services and equipment. We aim to offer guests a continental breakfast in bed service or they are welcome to come over to the main house for the full Sussex breakfast.
The builders are busy installing sound insulation, a complete re-wiring of the building, new boiler and hot water system and all mod cons.

We have been busy in the garden this year and have been clearing a lot of the woodland area so that it is more open. But the thing that has plagued us for years is the fact that pond leaks outside the Crow's Nest. The pond itself is water tight but when you switch on the pump to more the water down to the bottom pond it all leaks away. So this year we have bought a brand new waterfall and have installed it between the new ponds. I chose one with lots of little steps so that it makes gentle running noise like a small stream. It has been working well and we have planted a new blue-grey bed outside the Inglenook room which really cheers up the seating area outside the patio doors.

We have always thought how great it would be if we could offer some modern stylish accommodation in addition to the old Tudor House. Also we have some stunning views over the marshes to the sea that are largely hidden by the garden hedge. We have now gained planning permission to convert the three rooms in the managers cottage into three extra hotel bedrooms. They will be kitted out in a modern stylish way and will make the best use of the stunning views out over the organic farmland. You will be able to watch the rabbits, foxes, owls, herons and other wildlife that run around the fields. Building work will start this winter but since most of it is internal it will not cause any disruption to the main house. We will have the cottage open to the public from Easter 2011. New pages will appear shortly on the website about the cottage - not even sure what it will be called yet!

Strand House has teamed up with Seddlescombe organic vineyard so that we can sell their wine and range of fruit liqueurs (very yummy especially the blackberry one). This week has been English wine week and we have had a display in the hallway of their full range with leaflets, a poster and special offers. We have had a great response and had to order more stocks. The red wine went well and I think we have now drunk the vineyard dry! My favourite is the Old White but the liqueurs are very good with desserts so they have been incorporated into some of the dishes.

We have been busy redesigning part of the garden into a Japanese 'stroll garden' creating a quiet relaxing area beside running water, which will provide a stunning photo opportunity for our guests especially wedding couples.

The garden has been built and designed by local company Rhino Rock who specialise in Japanese gardens. Hugh is a member of the Japanese Garden Society and was one of the team who built their Gold Medal garden at Chelsea Flower show in 2004.

Our exciting new venture is about to really get going with the start of the building work in Rye Bay cottage. Mary and Hugh are in the process of packing up and moving out and then the builders will move to start gutting the cottage. Building work will take into the New Year but will be confined to the interior of the cottage so guests should not notice any difference at Strand House

George our resident pheasant has been in residence for over two years now. In his first year with us he had a harem of three hen pheasants but did not have any last year. But he seems to have struck lucky this year as we have just seen a small brown hen pheasant at the feeding box.

The marsh outside Strand House is often plays host to strange visitors and today is no exception. Today we saw a pair of white Egrets wading around in the ponds and poll in the company of a couple of pairs of Herons.

Here at Strand House we are starting our little expansion project. We are turning the managers cottage into three modern rooms for guests to enjoy. These will be furnished in a modern style - New England as it is a contemporary building. These rooms will offer great views out over the marshes to the sea wall at Pett Level. We have planning permission, a builder and are due to start work on this in the next couple of weeks. We will be open for business by Easter 2011 and look forward to seeing you trying out the new rooms.

W