Eliud Kipchoge might have broken the two-hour marathon barrier in Vienna on 12 October, but he’s still yet to the conquer the gruelling Hambledon Hilly Run course. Even the promise of a free-race t-shirt and a Hartridges soft drink has yet to attract the Kenyan long-distance runner to one of Hampshire’s most scenic and welcoming villages.
The fifth Hilly event on 21 September 2019, was especially hot with habitual winner Julian Manning unable to get near his own course record. Like Roger Federer in his Wimbledon pomp during the last decade, he still looks unbeatable.
Sarah Zacal is the latest ladies champion after finishing in a hugely impressive 49 mins 38 secs. Former champion Celia Fox-Robinson was just 52 seconds behind.
A new trophy for the first lady in the 60+ category, was presented to Jacqui Hands in memory of the much missed Hambledon villager Jo Thompson. Michael Stares earned the Gordon Birdwood trophy once again as the oldest competitor in the race.
For many, the highlight of the event is the Mini Hilly up on the National Trust protected Speltham Down. Nearly 100 children took on the steep and challenging 1km and 2km routes with some of the more vertical sections near impossible to run up.
Thanks to all the runners, supporters and volunteers for making the Hambledon Hilly the great event that it is. A special thanks to our key sponsors de Mellow & Co, Hartridges Soft Drinks, Hambledon Vineyard, Rebalance Pilates and The Country House Company. Thanks also to the Friends of Hambledon, who provided the fantastic food and refreshments. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2020.
If you are looking for an exciting opportunity to explore different income potential and a family home then we have a unique property, in the South Downs National Park, which could be ideal; a well presented, 5 bedroom detached property with in excess of 8 acres, stable block and established B&B facility, situated at the edge of West Meon.
This versatile home has been sympathetically upgraded and whilst it is a comfortable home for the owners, also provides additional income as an established B&B and DIY livery. Given the acreage, stables and enviable location, this could be the ideal property for those looking for a home/income lifestyle or simply for those with an equestrian interest looking for a property with good equine facilities surrounded by an abundance of outriding.
The accommodation is very well presented and arranged over two floors. On the ground floor is an extensively fitted kitchen/ breakfast room with utility, a sitting room with fireplace, a conservatory and a formal dining room which could (subject to planning permission) be opened into the double garage which it adjoins to create further living space.
The first floor has an open plan landing which is an ideal study/library space and there are three double bedrooms each with their own ensuite facilities. In addition, there are two further good-sized bedrooms and a large family bathroom.
The grounds are a particular feature of the property which is approached via a private driveway which leads to the house and then onto the stables and paddock land beyond.
To the front of the house are established flower/shrub borders and immediately to the rear is the enclosed garden which has been attractively landscaped and laid out as a large sun terrace with stunning raised perennial and shrub borders.
The driveway continues behind the house to the yard and stable block which has power and water. There is an area where chickens are housed and a further area with attractive planting enclosed by formal hedging. The driveway also leads to the paddocks which benefit from being slightly elevated. There is no additional access to the land so there is a very good degree of privacy and security overall.
West Meon is a sought after village situated on the South Down Way making it incredibly popular for ramblers, cyclists and riders creating a high demand for stop over accommodation for paying guests.
Available for sale through The Country House Company at £1,100,000. For full details please call Kate Porter on 02392 632275 or see www.countryhousecompany.co.uk
We have a variety of properties that are available for a shorter or more flexible term. So if you are looking for a more flexible rental arrangement or unwilling to commit to a year’s tenancy then we can help.
A stunning four bedroom barn conversion in Selham, West Sussex, is available fully furnished on a weekly basis as a holiday let, or on a 3 – 6 month contract. The property incudes a stunning kitchen with electric Aga, large open plan dining space, vaulted ceilings, galleried landing, courtyard garden and lawn area. It is situated in a beautiful setting close to Midhurst and Petworth.
In an equally beautiful setting in the Meon Valley is a stylish, fully furnished two bedroom brick and flint cottage, available fully furnished for 9 months. The cottage has an open plan kitchen, dining and sitting room, with wonderful views over private grounds.
Available furnished or unfurnished for either 3, 6 or 12 months is a 2 double bedroom barn conversion in Broughton, Nr Stockbridge. It is set in a courtyard with separate private terrace and views to open countryside beyond. The Property is approached via electric gates and has open plan living space with vaulted ceiling, fireplace with stove and book-shelving. To the rear of this room is the well-appointed kitchen with dining space and a comprehensive range of equipment and appliances.
For full details on these properties and more see www.countryhousecompany.co.uk or call 023 92 632275
Bedales have a record team of 65 entering in the Great South weekend of running events being held in Southsea on 19 & 20 October. The team is being supported by The Country House Company and comprises of Dunhurst pupils, Bedales students, teachers, support staff, parents, Old Bedalians and other friends.
Over 20,000 runners will be competing over the weekend as the event celebrates it’s 30th anniversary. Previous winners of the 10 mile race include running legends Mo Farah (GB), Paula Radcliffe (GB), Sonia O’Sullivan (Ireland) and Joseph Ebuya (Kenya).
Along with Pledgit, The Country House Company is supporting the team by funding their running shirts and matching the first £1,000 raised for charity. The team are raising funds for two charities: the John Badley Foundation which provides transformational opportunities to attend Dunhurst and Bedales for young people in difficult situations – without fully funded places, they would not otherwise have been able to consider an independent education; and the locally based Fitzroy charity – where Bedales students volunteer – supporting people with learning difficulties and autism.
Support on the day is welcomed. Saturday’s schedule is: age 14+ 5k (10.30am); Mini 1.5k (from 12pm); Junior 2.5k (girls 1pm; boys 1.45pm); and on the Sunday, the 10 mile event starts from 10.15am. Look out for the race on TV! Donations would be much appreciated online here which will be split between the charities. Many thanks to all runners and supporters.
For more information see Great South Run or Bedales
Bedales have a record team of 65 entering in the Great South weekend of running events being held in Southsea on 19 & 20 October. The team comprises of Dunhurst pupils, Bedales students, teachers, support staff, parents, Old Bedalians and other friends.
Over 20,000 runners will be competing over the weekend as the event celebrates it’s 30th anniversary. Previous winners of the 10 mile race include running legends Mo Farah (GB), Paula Radcliffe (GB), Sonia O’Sullivan (Ireland) and Joseph Ebuya (Kenya).
Along with Pledgit, The Country House Company is supporting the team by funding their running shirts and matching the first £1,000 raised for charity. The team are raising funds for two charities: the John Badley Foundation which provides transformational opportunities to attend Dunhurst and Bedales for young people in difficult situations – without fully funded places, they would not otherwise have been able to consider an independent education; and the locally based Fitzroy charity – where Bedales students volunteer – supporting people with learning difficulties and autism.
Support on the day is welcomed. Saturday’s schedule is: age 14+ 5k (10.30am); Mini 1.5k (from 12pm); Junior 2.5k (girls 1pm; boys 1.45pm); and on the Sunday, the 10 mile event starts from 10.15am. Look out for the race on TV! Donations would be much appreciated online here which will be split between the charities. Many thanks to all runners and supporters.
October 2019
Smoke Alarm and Carbon Monoxide Alarm legislation
As a recent question arose on the regulations for smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms, we thought it worth clarifying the current legislation.
The Government introduced the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations (2015) to make landlords in the private rented sector in England responsible for ensuring that smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are appropriately installed and are in proper working order at the start of a new tenancy.
The law applies to landlords renting residential accommodation to one or more tenants occupying all or part the property as their only or main place to live.
As from 1 October 2015 landlords have to ensure that a smoke alarm is fitted on every floor of their property where there is a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation. They will also have to put a carbon monoxide alarm in any room where a solid fuel is burnt, such as wood, coal or biomass and includes open fires. It does not include gas, oil or LPG.
Landlords or agents will then have to ensure that the alarms work at the start of each new tenancy. For example, by pressing the test button until the alarm sounds. The start of each new tenancy is the first day of the tenancy and the first day of the tenancy is the date stipulated in the tenancy agreement (even if the tenant decides to actually move into the property on a later date).
Landlords are also required to demonstrate that the alarms were working at the start of the tenancy, so it is advisable to get the tenant to sign a receipt confirming the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are working or ensure it’s in the inventory at check-in which is signed by the tenant.
During the tenancy it is a tenant’s responsibility to ensure the alarms work and it is their responsibility to change the batteries during the tenancy. However, should the alarms become faulty during the tenancy landlords are responsible for replacing them.
Under the proposals, a bathroom or lavatory is classed as a room used for living accommodation and a room covers halls or landings. Stairways are also included in the regulations. For instance, for maisonettes or flats above shops where the flat is on the first floor but you enter via stairs on the ground floor a smoke alarm will be required in the stairwell.
In addition, landlords do not need to check the alarms when a tenancy is renewed under the same conditions i.e. for the same premises by the same landlord to the same tenant.
An explanatory booklet to help landlords further understand and comply with the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 has been issued by The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) available through the link below:
We are passionate about our beautiful environment in Hampshire and delighted to hear that others are taking the same pride in improving the area.
For years there was widespread concern at the decline of river life associated with the River Meon, sparking the formation of the Meon Valley Partnership (MVP).
The Meon Valley Partnership is made up of volunteers, professionals and local people all with an interest in a healthy river for a healthy community. Their mission is to provide a coordinated, strategic approach to conserving and enhancing the Meon Valley from source to sea.
The Meon is an internationally-important chalk stream and one of only 200 of its kind in the world.
Decades of pollution, modification and invasive species had taken its toll on the river and reduced its biodiversity.
Over the last decade the MVP has:
Re-introduced Water Voles – an important species of river habitat that recorded as locally extinct in 2003, but has now been returned to 30 locations along the river. Over six years, a total of 2,833 water voles were released along the river;
Helped otters to return – There are now thought to be three breeding females.
Worked with The Wild Trout Trust to make the river narrower in places, created deep pools, installed flow deflectors in the form of large tree trunks, and fenced out the cattle to allow plants on the banks to recover from trampling and grazing. The result is there are now lots of plants and insects on the banks and in the river, refuges for fish from predators, and a river that will stay cool in summer.
Together with The Wild Trout Trust have modified a weir, created a new wildlife friendly river bank and continue to manage and improve the river for wildlife.
In conjunction with other associations they have improved the stream as it goes through East Meon creating a more natural looking stream which should greatly improve the number of plants, insects, birds, bats and maybe trout too in this reach of the Meon.
They work with the River Fly Partnership to help monitor the water quality.
For further details see www.meonvalleypartnership.org.uk, www.wildtrout.org , www.gwct.org.uk , www.southdowns.gov.uk
This detached 2/3-bedroom bungalow presents a rare opportunity to acquire a property available for sale for the first time in over 60 years. Nestled in sunny gardens and within a level walking distance of Hambledon village, the property is enviably situated away from the main thoroughfare.
The accommodation is light and spacious with scope for updating and improving and further potential to extend (subject to planning permissions and consents). Accessed from the entrance hall, the sitting room is triple aspect with an open fireplace. There is a good-sized kitchen breakfast/room which is dual aspect, a double bedroom which overlooks the garden and two further bedrooms, currently linked, which could be combined to create a master bedroom suite. In addition, there is a bathroom, detached garage and store.
Accessed via a tarmacadum driveway which serves just two properties, the house is set within its gardens with areas of lawn interspersed with mature planting. To the front is an area for parking and access to the garage.
The house is close to the heart of Hambledon which is famous for its history and strong association with cricket and is surrounded by the South Downs National Park and National Trust downland. It has a combined infant and primary school ranked Outstanding by Ofsted, village store, a church, pub and well-known cricket club. The surrounding countryside provides lovely walks and extensive riding. A good range of local shops and amenities are available in nearby Denmead, and both Winchester and Petersfield are easily accessible, each with mainline stations and more extensive shopping and leisure facilities. The A3
provides a direct link to London, the South Coast and the M27 network to Chichester and Southampton Airport.
For full details or to arrange a viewing please call Kate Porter on 02392 632275
23rd September marks the official start of Autumn in the UK and 2019 marks the 200th anniversary of when John Keats spent a short while in Winchester and was inspired to write one of his most famous and best loved poems To Autumn.
Just as the seasons change with alarming speed and regularity so too have there been constant changes in the economics of property.
In 1818 while Keats was wandering around the water meadows of Winchester, 50,000 protesters were gathering at St Peter’s Field in Manchester, protesting the right to vote. At the time the government believed that unless you owned a significant amount of property and had a stake in the country, you could not be trusted to vote. Most of the land was owned by a tiny number of landlords and the majority of the population rented.
100 years later the 1919 Housing and Town Planning Act came into force and the 1920s saw massive growth in privately built housing. Between 1919 and 1929 just under half a million houses were built.
By 2019, whilst the whole world seems to have changed, there are some comforting constants and ‘An Englishman’s home will always be his castle’. The next 100 years may see a return to the majority renting, but this time with legislation on the side of the tenant and their rights and interests protected. There will always be a demand for property. Prices will continue to fluctuate and during the first half of Autumn we may all hold our breath and wait to see what happens on 31st October. Yet in this glorious county of Hampshire whilst, in the famous words of Keats, “The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft; And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.”, so the team here will be as busy as ever.