Panic over - we find a natural spring under the hotel's car park

Car parking is an often forgotten and yet very important part of your day. The last thing you want is your guests to be arriving having been frustrated by the venue's car parking arrangements. So we took a long hard look and decided we could usefully improve access from the car park to the hotel, particularly for ladies in high heels.

Embarking as we are on our best weddng seasons ever as one of Oxfordshire's leading country house hotel wedding venues, we decide that March was the right time. We planned to quickly install a path and some lighting across the car park. This is the view now  of the car park restored, toward the hotel. 

On the 22nd March we dug a trench across the car park in which to lay cables. To our horror we discovered a natural spring flowing underground right down the line of our trench. not being "groundwater" experts, frantic consultations with local "experts" established the need for a drainage pipe to take the water flow some 50 metres to the duck pond.

What we thought would be a day or twos work, turns out to be a 7 day job using more heavy equipment than a major alteration to a motorway junction. Any way today is pretty much the last day and we can spread the pea shingle to make the car park look less like a dirt bikers hill track and more like the cared for area it previously was.

Rest assured as the light fades, we are now  back to normal. When you have your wedding here, the  already good parking facilities will have taken another step forward.

Bridal carriages with a difference are shown below!!!

The happy team - From L to R, Alastair Vaan, Daniel Breakspear, Steve MCartney.

What never ceases to amaze me is the flexibility shewn by my workforce. Daniel is one of our stockmen, and is here on Sunday becasue the work needs to be done for the week ahead. Helping him out for a few hours during their break between Sunday lunch and evening dinner service are Steve and Alastair from the kitchen team.