We found that short breaks often blocks people wanting to book week stays or longer and we also found it hard to rent the odd mid week breaks that were left. (plus its more cleaning and washing for me!!)

So after pondering for all of a minute (I think it was the cleaning thing that did it!) we decided to only offer short breaks as a kind of last minute booking meaning we now release weekend and mid week breaks 2 weeks prior between Easter and  summer and 4 weeks at all other times - full details on the availability page.

After looking at my bookings book I found we only did about 4 - 5 short breaks in each barn in the whole year - so hope people won't be too disappointed but of course it means that if we do have odd weeks and days left I'll be doing a lot more last minute specials on our availability page.

So keep an eye out - -

Bawburgh's a lovely village, not just because I live her but also because of the great stuff -

St Walsons Well - a traditional bricked up well at the back of the church where St Walstons was supposed to have stopped for a drink on his pilgrimage back home to Bawburgh.

The Church - Medieval in all its splendour, with its Naped flint walls, its quirks and its gorgeous tower.

The Pub - The Kings Head is a gastro pub serving up fine foods and a good selection of ales, its rooms sprawl in its Victorian building meaning there are little nooks and crannies and a warm fire blazing in the middle. plus in summer you can enjoy al fresco eating in its beer garden.

The River Green - home to the July Duck Race and Fate. Fishing, feed the ducks, take a paddle or chill on its soft green grass under the shade of a tree. Picnic & bring over a drink from the pub - everyone does it!

The Mill - residential now but still looking impressive as the back drop to the river and river green, with cascading water oozing out of its gates.

The Bridge - behold the Victorian built bridge sending cars one by one over its delicate frame.

The Village Hall - we have barn dances, bridge, Christmas Fayres (this year Dec 10th 11-3pm, open gardens (coming in 2017), party's, social evenings, weddings and more plus a playground out back for the kids to enjoy. The Zip wire is coming soon along with some new editions to the already fabulous play area.

The Goose Farm -  - - - goosie ganders our feathered friends enjoy a free range life on acres of grass land up New Road from late summer. With over 10k disappearing a few weeks before Crimbo we were all shocked to hear 1500 went missing one chilly November evening never to bee seen or heard again. It even made the national news - but somethings a little fishy in bawburgh and I'm not talking about

Bawburgh Fisheries - new doors private (members only) fishing lakes one of which we over look - bustling with hugh monsters to mini silver slivers. Herons, kingfishers, otters and kestrels all have a plunder.

When you have a business, tons of people phone and e mail you up asking to advertise with them on websites, in magazines and newspapers - if we did everyone we would be in bigger debt than Lodge Farm put us in - in the first place.

So we decided to blow this years advertising budget on updating our website - it seems likes ten blue moons ago, when I was sitting in the caravan as project manager to what was then a run down building surrounded by mud and rubble. Working on text for the old one - - I was so excited when it launched months before we were ready - but it was out there & I loved it.

Six years on and thats a long time in internet years it was looking a little old fashioned, a bit like a Vol U Vont filled with a tin of Baxters chicken soup and garnished with some curly parsley (it all goes back to food!!!) so  - - - here it is looking modern and fresh like a Quinella of whipped goats cheese on a bed of pea shoots with a mint foam and a few micro chunks of sorrel jelly served on a ridiculously large slab of slate scattered with a splash of aged 1 million year old balsamic reduction.

Hope you enjoy - - feed back always welcome.

So you’re having a fabulous holiday in Norfolk at Lodge Farm Holiday Barns and you spend the day in Norwich.

Why wouldn’t you its in the top 10 shopping destinations in England with over 300 independent shops down the lanes alone, 12+ fabulous historical buildings, 31 medieval churches and the biggest outside market in Europe with 200 stalls including food stalls selling mushy peas & pies, hog roast, local sausage hot dogs, great coffee, gluten free pastry’s, fish and chips, a full English and more.

- So you’ve had a busy day shopping, had lunch in one of the great restaurants in the city, you’ve even maybe had afternoon tea in one of my favourite tea joints (Biddys /Harriettes / Assmebly House)With the day drawing to a close, you’ll soon be on your way back to your comfy Norfolk Barn surrounded by tranquility, idilic lakes and wandering wildlife (see what I did there) BUT with tired feet and a holiday appetite you might consider taking back some scrumptious take-away food.

Try – Flaming Galah’s - Australian pies served with creamy mash, mushy peas and comforting gravy. The Pies are packed with exciting delicious filling like Chicken sate, Chunky beef & bacon along with daily specials like braised duck, curry lamb and more all for under £5 plus you can pull up outside and grab a couple to go. Call 07837 915375 / 123 Ber Street.

Try – Moorish – Falafels to die for, warm whole-meal or plain pitta filled with 3 hot falafels, smothered in home-made humus, topped with fresh chopped salad and drizzled with chilli, tahini or garlic - - or have all three! A take-away falafel is only £3.50 extra topping are a grab at 50p each like feta, olives, tabbouleh or crispy aubergines. 01603 622250 / 17 Lower Goat Lane

Try – Brick Pizza – Pizza doesn’t get any better than this, wood fired fresh dough beauties with quality Italian style toppings on a delicious Italian tomato in house sauce. 01603 620661 / 39 Market Place

Try – Grosvenor Fish Bar – not just the best fish n chip shop in Norwich, it’s the no.1 restaurant on trip advisor. A well established family run business with a menu full of surprises as well as the usual’s. They use Suffolk fish and Norfolk potatoes. Fish n chips from £5.50 or go for Loony toons!! 01603 625855 / 28 Lower Goat Lane

Try – Louis Deli – a window and counter full of homemade & local tastiness. Grab a mezze picnic of artisan breads, charcutterie, pickles, salads, pastries, cakes and more. 01603 763377 / 81 Upper St. Giles Street. Then eat, enjoy and taste Norfolk and do it all over again the next day.

- - ah, holidays are great aren’t they.

For more takeout options in Norwich go to www.lovenorwichfood.co.uk

I love the sun - I love England and I love Norfolk - - after a drulling winter we can all embrace and worship the sun, after all we don't get it for long. A lovely Spanish couple came earlier in the year and arrived in the rain, I felt I needed to appologise like I was responsable for the bad weather we occasionaly endure at Lodge Farm - - but they said with out that rain your countryside wouldn't be lush and green and beautiful. It made me apprechiate the diverse weather we have, East Anglia produces crops that get exported all over the world because of our climate, when we get snow - we pick the children up from school and go on an adventure becasue those 3 days of snow we get every year mean fun and no work. Then when we get the sun we revel in its gloriousness - - - -  and today I'm reveling.

A couple of Canadian geese are escorting 6 lovely little chicks around Lodge Farm - they have even learnt to hang around at corn time for the chickens to grab some them selves. Elvis and Pricilla the swans are taking it turns to sit on their nest - cant wait to see their cygnets. We have build a double garden bed to go on one of the lakeside decking ares for all to enjoy (got it in the winter sale for £40) - - what bliss lying on a bed on the waters edge watching the wildlife go by. The only problem is when the chickens know I'm down there they follow me - and cluck away until they realise im no good for corn.

Popping up soon is this years PoP uP restaurant - "my Little Greek Cafe' as we speak im listing to the Greek music cd i bought to see if its any good - - - I must admit I've shouted "Woopa" a few times. Me and hubby are getting the back garden ready, its the last place to renovate/landscape and its a big expensive job so we are doing as much as we can before the big event - - tickets are £5 for entrance and a drink, they'll be a bar - already in place, I just need to paint and decorate it. I'm doing food to order - mezze style like hallomi, lamb stew, humous, pitta bread, cheese balls etc etc - - the place will look, sound and smell lovely. I've sold 3/4 tickets already so you may get in if you contact me quick. Info on the event page.

So - - at present we have plenty of availability over summer in one barn or another, so get your self over here - contact me with any questions or go to the avaiability and price chart to see whats on offer.

Just sitting here sipping some liqouirsh tea waiting for the Visit England Assessor to arrive - it's an annual event. You see we are graded 4* GOLD which is really good, we could go for a 5 * but that means changing some furniture to French Boroque!!! or something like that and offering a welcome hamper and making sure you salute to all that enter. So we are happy with a 4 gold. Apparently lots of places when recieving 5* wish they hadnt bothered becasue its hard work keeping up imaculate 100

% on apsolutly everything and people would obviously have very high expectations - I know I would.
So with our grading people can enjoy the high standard, with the 5* touches, 5* bathrooms, 5* cleaning and get comfort in knowing we are keeping up apperances while paying a very resonable price for a great place fantasticly located in a beautiful setting.

Every year I have to make sure there are enough cutlery and crockery in each barn - one for the dishwasher one for the cupboard with a few spare. I have to ensure all my weekly and monthly jobs are done like polish the sofa, scrub the walls, dust the ceiling! If naughtly peole damage anything - we have to replace it - hopefully with better next time so we are alwasy improving - they like that.

The assessor walks round with her white gloves rubbing her finger along door frames checking for a spot of dust - - I one left a single crumb in a draw and was marked down 2% - - I could of kicked my self because I saw it and left the draw open ready to hoover it out - but then shut it by mistake. I only got 98% cleaning that year but it was still a 5* standard - despite the offensive crumb.

This year they'll be happy as we have replaced the sofas with comfy new ones, replaced the king sized bed matresses with bouncy 1000 sprung, memory topped beautys, replaced a few white goods, replaced a few laminate furniture with solid Oak - - No veneer in errr. I've bought better knife racks, added branded pens, beer glassess (thanks to one visotors suggestion), water bottles and much more.

Since last summer last year we have re-painted all the ceilings and white walls, painted the gardned furniture, door steps and B.B.Q's - replanted, landscapped further - mind you thats always on going. We've added more lakeside paths. I've even added a hand built bench for the playground - - - pheew

You see thats the good thing about a good grade - it means your keeping up the standards - constantly imporving - it keeps us on our toes and our visitors happy.
Welcome to Lodge Farm Holiday Barns - We are 4* Gold and proud of it.

I've been so so lazy over winter with lots of longer term holiday rentals and not so many cookery courses - I don't feel guilty!!! Well I do a little. But now its starting to feel a lot like Spring with enquiries coming in daily and cookery courses being booked. I've already taught Japaneese, Fish and Thai in the last two weeks -

While I've not been so busy I've been doing my home work - BREAD - experimenting with sour dough starters, theres a three week old one in my fridge now being fed every few days, maybe it will eventully be passed on to my grandchildren or maybe not - it's not quite perfect yet!

I've also added a few more courses to the site - Afternoon Tea in the Victoria Dining Room - look forward to people booking on to that plus Inclusion classess. I've got some childrens birthday partys coming up - they are always good fun especially the smell test!

Norwich has now got a tramploine park and due to be opening another one this summer - boing!
I've now joined the UEA sportspark - its only 5 mins up the road and great for everybody who fancies a bit of something or other, guests of the holiday barns can enjoy the drop in classess, they do an over 50's club with aqua aerobics, netball, yoga and zumba to mention a few. There are tons of drop in toddler sessions, a climbing wall and gymnastics sessions for teens and inclusion clubs. It's a massive place with a full sized olympic pool and athletics track - plus its got a great cafe where you can watch the climbers on the wall in front of you.

Drey Yard is my favourite family mid week lunch time restaurant, they do a great lunch time special - perfect smoked meats and juicy burgers - love it and at night time you can get smoked brisket and colard greens - phooor.

Harrietts has been opend a year or so now - its East Anglians answer to Bettys - a quaint tea rooms with Victorian styles waitresses and a pianist where you can enjoy Welsh Rarebit, afternoon tea, fancy cakes and the like.

We went to the Bawburgh History group last night and found out that Herroin could be bought from Chemists in Victorian days for the benifit of healthier skin, Bawburgh used to have 2 butchers, 2 black smiths and a post office - all saddly gone now but at least we've still got the pub.

This years the anniversary of St Walston - we have St Walstons well behind the church and they'll be a big celebration in May with a pilgrimage and flower festival - apartently in the day St Walstons was as big as any other - 5 priests were brought in to deal with the crouds - well at least they had somewhere to buy some sausages and somewhere to post a parcel. Apparently the water from the well was sold on Norwich Market - -

We've got a well and the waters FREE from the taps in any of the holiday barns -
go on - give us a visit.

It's a beauty spot they say, surrounded on three sides by Lodge Lake, fields in the distnace, the nay of horses in the field beyond and 100 massive trees along with 50 medium ones and another 100 self set shoots - - beautiful it is.

- - well that is until Norfolk has a hurrican followed by the Range helicopter, followed by an avolanch of rain just after the leaves turned brown, yellow and orange - beautiful they were!!! How the hell did God make the earth in 7 days when ot takes me 7 days to blow, rake up and gather 100 ton bags of the buggers!

It's gone a little quiet now with one barn empty, we had the usual cascade of lovely holiday makers over summer and then the work and house movers for a few months - but now thinking about the Christmas and New Year week. I've got my big box of Cheesy glittery decorations in the attic all ready with the three Christmas trees - every year I add a few more pieces to the collection - I've got the Christmas puddings ready all infused with Cognac and Guiness - packed full of fruit, even the pudding haters have been converted with my scrumptious beast. One for each barn ready to go - along with a few other goodies so my guests can enjoy their stay. Christmas is fully booked and New Year is nearly, just got The Dairy available for the week on special - if your reading this and fancy a relaxing New Year break in a one bed (room for a little one) call me and I'll knock a tad more of for you - quote the BLOG.

Not happy with my chickens they have been of lay forever, I've got a feeling one day I'll find 100 eggs somewhere around the farm - I can't wait to see a fresh egg in the box - if they don't lay in spring they'll be chicken pie!!! (not really - probably make a Korma!) The 4 Geese are going further a field (litrally) for fresh grass and greens - I only see them in the mornings and later at night. Got Mohamed & ali the Egyptian Geese back again, I wonder how the 3 family of Canadian Geese are doing in migration somewhere. Which remind me - just up the road is a goose farm, tons of white geese to bee seen from the village and they all dispear a few weeks before Christmas - strange that! Which also reminds me to go and put the chcken in the ovenfor dinner, not one of ours of course.

Talking of food - I've added a few more courses to my list - Afternoon Tea, can't wait to do that one - plus I'v got our family Victorian Dining room on offer as an alternative eating venue, you can go modern and eat in the kitchen, American and eat in the Diner or go all old fashioned and eat in the dining room - - unless its summer of course and then you can go eat by the lake.

Plus Mr Roux has inspired me to work with special needs adults so I've offered some discounted courses to teach independance cookery. Hope I get some takers.
Plus I've sold my first Christmas cookery voucher - November 16th - its usualy a mad rush 2 weeks before Christmas - but I'm sure I'll get plentyof that too.

Over and Out - - don't hesitate to contact me to book, info on my cookery classes or the holiday barns - - Zena

It's been a while - - what a busy summer, not quite as busy as last year I had to work hard on advertising - But lots of last minute breaks and business bookings.

Had some really interesting guests this year a few authors, actors, writers, children of all ages, people from every corner of the globe well as far as Canada and China in the other direction - fishermen, Doctors from the NHS, Tutors fro the UEA, young and ancient!!! its been a good summer. apart from when I ran one the chickens over on the driveway - but that's another story!!!

Steve's joined our work force - well me - our Man on Friday, Lodge Farms handy Andy. So the grounds are looking fabulous and the barns are well maintained.

We've bought new comfy fabric sofas for all the barns, new sprung memory foam topped matresses for all the double beds and the odd new replacement white good - plus The Courtyrd's now got solid oak dining table and coffee table to replace the old lamnate ones!!! No Veneers in er!!! (know what I mean) Plus The Dairy's now got a new solid pine king bed and matching solid wardrobe and bed side cabinets - - Looking good.

Doris, Charlie Junior, Boo and Splodge the geese are still wandering around amusing all the guests with their apple antics (ask about apple football). Elvis and Pricilla the swans were very sucsesful this year with their cygnets all 7 are now big and ugly grey. That might have something to do with the fisheires having a cull on the Mink - -

so - now I'm thinking about advertising Christmas and New year - it falls on a Friday so doing a Wednesday to Wednesday week or a 3 night short break - - - got avaialbility in all barns as I speak but going to advertise all over this week so hopefully it will be booked soon - - - why wouldn't you want to come here for Christmas, all glitzed up with the twinklies, treats and more and a great view - plenty of long walks and places to sit and enjoy the view. Warm underfloor heating and tons of restaurants and shops to enjoy in Norwich, Norfolk and Suffolk. Plus of course the real, very real father christmas always chooses Jarrolds - so go and see him, pull his beard its real! If you're really lucky you'll get tickets for the Thursford Collection or Winter wonderland - - - infamous stuff. Plus if you fancy a swim on Boxing Day or New Years day I'll recommened where to go and you won't be alone.

It was lovely to see Elvis and Pricilla at the weekend with their new 9 cygnets - all looking yummy. There is still 9 this morning, every year they dwindle with the foxes, mink, weasels and pike but hopefully since the fisheries have curbed the mink problem we'll start to see an increase in survival rates! We have 2 sets of Canadean Geese with 8 left, looking rather large now - we did have one in the house for a night with a broken leg, abandoned one evening becasue it couldnt keep up - but she gave up. Wild things should maybe remain wild.The Grey Lag Geese pop up on to the lawn every now and then with a few chicks - they all look a like so its hard to know if there different ones or the same!!!
But I love seeing all thewildlife with thei young - - - don't like the poo though!!!

We are getting redy for this years pop up restaurnat - this year its Mexican themed, the DJ is booked - no rave music just some Mariachi in the back ground and some nice flashing lights as the sun sets over the lakes. I've been practising my mole (the edible sauce not the mound maker) my pico de galo, my picadillo and churros!! - oh la la - what a feast. Of course its hard to cook for a crown, but with plenty of different dishes and making sure they keep on the mild side, hopefuly everyone will be happy - plus they'll be plenty of chilli sauces inc tamatillo salsa, fresh jalapenos, pickled and more on the toppings table. Me and Nick have been working on a Bar as this year we are licenced, I did the tiling at the weekend and its all looking pritty cool. Got some gold and silver tequilla in - for the shots and the cocktails, need to choose some wine and then stock up on sol and tequilla beer! along with some sanpelagrino and the usual fizzy stuff!.

I love any excuse to buy catering equipment and had the perfect one -  so bought some chaffing dishes, more plates, off course even more knives just becasue they were on offer and a temprature probe - dont want to give any one food poisoning - - off course I wouldnt, you can trust me to cook fresh and clean!

This week is very eery, no booking mid week in any of the barns - - its the first time we have been by our selves here - EVER! The fist day we moved in to the cravan in Lodge Farm to start our new life of renovation - the scaffolders turned up, then the roofers - for the next few years there was always someone or other here. Then the barns opened and the workmen were replaced by paying customers - - - that was a good feeling. Now 5 years later no ones here!!! don't like it, looking forward to my arrivals on Friday and a busy summer.