December 2011
It seems all has been quiet, but we have been working
hard to bring the new Lady Deramore into being. She is now ready – 3 months
ahead of schedule. This carriage will provide luxury accommodation, building on
the success of the past and the demand we have experienced for our carriage
holidays. The website now has the first views of the carriage interiors. Click
on the links above.
The exterior of Blackberry Halt has been completed in
that the structure is complete and the roof is on. Windows and interiors are
next... watch this space!
August 2011
The Lady Deramore has now lost her Virgin colours and is
now (mostly) in Skipwith Station livery. Inside, the carriage is framed out
ready for first fix and the electrical work has already begun.
A lovely photograph has been submitted by one of our
guests – taken Skipwith Common. It shows a frog being eaten by a snake. Quite a
capture – view it here.
July 2011
Blackberry Halt has had its slab cast and the inner
brickwork is up to the roof level (the start of the new curved roof). We are
waiting for a rolled beam to arrive to provide the roof support and a major
internal feature.
Lady Deramore has now been stripped completely and is ready
to start the fitting process. We have at last solved the problem with kitchen
units being too high for the bottoms of the carriage windows – the new kitchen
will have an island unit. The layout in the Lady Deramore mans there are no
corridors and no wasted space, so we have enough to make a large kitchen with
an island unit which we believe will be a big hit!
June 2011
Ground preparations have been completed for the Lady
Deramore and the soak-away for the hot tub (which will belong to Blackberry
Halt) has nicely accommodated the remainder of the concrete slab which we had.
Over 60 tonnes of rubble has been disposed of and the remainder has been
“stored” inside the new platform!
Stripping of the new carriage has commenced. All the
seats and carpets are out and this weekend (19th June), the first
end has been stripped to accommodate the new bathroom. Our first attempt at a
layout is shown on our scrapbook
page
May 2011
She has arrived....!!! The Lady Deramore arrived on 9th
May. The place was chaotic with heavy haulage vehicles everywhere, but the
operation was flawless and the Lady Deramore is now in place. The scrap
book has been updated, so please take a look... You can also see many more
photographs on Flickr.
Also, there’s now a photo montage of the delivery on YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05enUWgwOD8
For those watching progress, the platform has now been
constructed to the east of the carriage. Updated photo are on the scrap book...
Our plans for June are to focus on the future Blackberry
Halt. The building frame is being fabricated from steel and will be delivered
as one and erected (we hope) within one weekend!! The steel will remain on show
inside the building, preserving a railway character whilst it will be
beautifully insulated outside the frame. The architects http://www.nativearchitecture.co.uk/
have done several such unusual project and we would recommend a look at their
web page.
April 2011
Progress is being made towards the new development. The
old station yard sheds have been removed (and the view is much improved!!). The
new carriage which will be the Lady Derramore is due to arrive with us at the
end of April / early May. It will look a little odd initially as it is fresh
from service with Virgin!
April 16th – the tracks are down. Visit our
scrap book here
for more details...
February 2011
In preparation for the demolition of our wonderfully ugly
large barn, we have transferred the laundry to our house. It is accessed by a
new dedicated door at the end of the house by the re-cycling area. There is a
washing machine, tumble dryer, iron, ironing board and sink available as well
as a freezer for “Derwent Mail” and “Derwent Flyer” guests.
January 2011
After two years, we finally obtained planning permission
to proceed with development at Skipwith Station. We will be purchasing a
further railway carriage (to be named the Lady Derramore after the lady who
first opened the station in 1912) and we will be developing the loading shed,
which was previously on a goods siding, into a studio apartment to be called
“Blackberry Halt”.
The “Lady Derramore” will feature heated floors and a
Jacuzzi bath. There will be a private terraced seating area with open views
over the fields. We hope that this accommodation will have a double bedroom, 2
single beds and a double Futon in the lounge area similar to the Derwent Flyer.
“Blackberry Halt” will be a studio apartment and will be
luxuriously appointed (also with under-floor heating and a wood burning stove)
and will feature a private courtyard garden with external hot tub and will be just
for couples.
December 2010
In one of our most difficult months, we froze up
completely during the month with temperatures of -17°C. We regrettably had to find alternative
accommodation for some guests and also had to cancel some – for which we apologise.
The problem was eventually solved by chopping off the water main and running a
new one (suitably insulated) into the field. Hence, Christmas was saved!!
November 2010
We held a very successful bonfire night and fireworks
display, our third, with our guests and a few friends attending. The display
was superb in a clear November sky!
October 2010
We have had an incredibly busy summer, and it has been
delightful to see so many returning guests – more than one third in fact. All
of you have left such wonderful comments in our guest book – thank you to you
all.
We were pleased to welcome our 1000th guest in
late October – a returning guest from Northumberland.
August 2010
Sadly, our eldest dog Wispa passed away on August 3rd
after 12 years of faithful service. It was especially sad that she didn’t get
the chance to meet our new arrival, Mocha, who joined the family on 27th
August. Mocha has her own spot on our
front page...
May 2010
An article on railway carriages appeared in the Daily
Telegraph. It seems that the author, Clover Stroud, had not done her homework
properly as she missed Skipwith Station out. However, the on-line comments put
her right with over a dozen comments from our guests.
January 2010
Paintings of the Derwent Mail and the Derwent Flyer have
been commissioned from local artist June Elsey (as shown on the home page of our
refreshed 2010 website). These are available, printed on canvas unframed
(approximately A4 sized) for £30 each.
Photographs shown on the opening slide show were taken by
our guests and us over the Christmas period. Many thanks to Sonia Elsworth and
David Senior!
December 2009
Skipwith Common, which is home to woodlarks, newts and
water voles has become Britain’s newest National
Nature Reserve. A spokesman for Natural England said Skipwith Common was of
international importance for its wet and dry heathland. Read
article…
November 2009
Many thanks to one of our guests for their write up which
resulted in us being mentioned again in the Sunday Telegraph Travel Supplement…
see downloads section (top right of this news section).
August 2009
Skipwith Station Holidays have sponsored a firkin at the
Bubwith Beer Festival to be held on 10th October 2009. If you are
visiting us in October, please let us know as soon as possible if you would
like to attend as tickets are in high demand…!!
July 2009
The charity Railway Children was sponsored by Skipwith
Station Holidays.
A team sponsored by Skipwith Station Holidays conquered
the three peaks (Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis) in the still warm (!)
days of early July. Meet the team and see the photographs here…
April 2009
Skipwith Station was a finalist in the York Tourist
Awards (Self-Catering) for 2009.
March 2009
Sunday Telegraph listed Skipwith Station no. 9 out of 101
affordable holidays in the UK (download available on our download page – see
link above right).
January 2009
We have applied for Yorkshire Tourism 2009 award for Self – Catering Accommodation of the Year. More news to
follow!
From February onwards, we are sourcing ‘Railway’ themed
beers to go into our hampers,
eg ‘Station Porter’ from Wickwar Brewery in the Cotswolds.
December 2008
Christmas and New Year were a busy period at Skipwith
Station. The New Year was seen in by us and our guests over champagne and
spectacular fireworks, celebrating the New Year and the second year of
operations for Skipwith Station. Special thanks to our guests for sharing the
evening with us.
December 2008
A guest of Skipwith Station books for the 7th
holiday / short break with us…
October 2008
The restoration of Skipwith Station and the Railway
Carriages is featured in “Build It” magazine.
August 2008
Skipwith Station Holidays was accepted by Alastair
Sawday’s “Special Escapes” as one of the few recommended Self Catering venue
for Yorkshire.
July 2008
Skipwith Station has a 4 page spread in Yorkshire Life
magazine…check our downloads…
March 2008
Following interest in Skipwith Station by local press,
the Sunday Express published an article in the Property section (see downloads
below).
Skipwith Station is featured in the March edition of
RAILSTAFF – an industry newspaper distributed at the launch day of InfraRail at
the NEC in Birmingham.
Over 100 people attended the opening day of Skipwith Station
Holidays on Sunday March 2nd 2008.
February 2008
Skipwith Station was featured in the March edition of
“The Journal” – a magazine delivered to “Yorkshire Homes of Distinction”.
Skipwith Station Holidays was awarded a 3-star
self-catering rating for Quality in Tourism by enjoyEngland.com
January 2008
Skipwith Station Holidays is listed in “Live Wire” – the
National Express in-train magazine available on London-Edinburgh routes. We are
listed as a top destination in York.
December
2007
Skipwith Station has been featured in a book by Paul
Atterbury (from the Antiques Roadshow) called “Along Lost Lines” published by
David & Charles (2007).
The station is also discussed in “Branch Line to the
Derwent Valley” by Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith, Middleton Press (2003).
Skipwith Station Holidays are members of VisitYork.com