Come and stay at Ammonite Lodge for holidays near the Devon/Dorset coast and the beautiful countryside of south Somerset. On your way down to Cornwall? Ammonite Lodge is an ideal stopover on your journey west and provides a welcome break for B&B accommodation. We look forward to welcoming you to our home!

Great Cranes
The project to reintroduce European Cranes to the Somerset Levels is moving on and getting plenty of media coverage. Most recent sound bite was BBC Radio’s Saving Species programme (R4 on 8th June if you want to play it again). All the eggs brought so carefully from Eastern Europe have hatched. Visit the website for pictures of the one-month old chicks in their “crane school” at Slimbridge. You can also meet Amy King and Roland Digby, the surrogate crane parents who are rearing the birds through their first delicate weeks. These babies will soon be in Somerset so watch their progress on http://www.thegreatcraneproject.org.uk

Large Blues
Large Blue Butterflies were re-introduced to Somerset 25 years ago, having been declared extinct in 1979. They occupy a site owned by the National Trust at Collard Hill near Glastonbury, one of 25 South West sites where the butterfly has re-established. The Trust is hoping for a bumper year for Blues this summer and Collard Hill has lots of other species to spot too, many butterflies and moths and beautiful orchids.
Here’s some Blue things to do:-
20th June - a Collard Hill open day for visitors to meet wardens involved with the care of the Large Blue.
You can download a walk around Collard Hill showing best places for Blues at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/walks
An NT dedicated hotline will give up-to-date recorded information on numbers during the flight season (further information on 07824 820193).
You can go on a Large Blue blog with daily updates and pictures at http://ntlargeblue.wordpress.com/

Glove Affair
An exhibition of glove-related art - garments, hangings, sculptures, animatronics and writings, all on the
theme of gloves and their symbolism in history, art, literature and romance.
A South West Textiles Group Touring Exhibition running from 17 July to 11 September at the Somerset Rural Life Museum. Further information on 01458 831197

Ilminster Midsummer Experience
Join in Ilminster’s four-day festival with exciting entertainment for all the family including Craft and Food Fair, Ilminster Party in the Square, Nine Choirs evening, Strolling Garage Sale, flower festival, sports and more….
10-13 June 2010
www.ilminsterexperience.co.uk

Ilminster’s First Tuesday
On the first Tuesday of every month, Ilminster Businesses are offering the chance to win a fabulous prize in the First Tuesday draw. All you have to do is shop in Ilminster, look for the First Tuesday blue and green balloons outside businesses, shops, restaurants and pubs and then ask for details on how to enter.
30 businesses are taking part and it’s growing!
Arts in the Garden
This is the summer exhibition of the Somerset Guild of Craftsmen running in The Walled Gardens of Cannington, one of the Classic Gardens of Somerset.
Exhibition runs 16th - 27th June 2010
For information go to www.canningtonwalledgardens.co.uk
All lit up at Glastonbury
St Michael’s Tower on Glastonbury Tor - owned by the National Trust - is to be illuminated each night of Glastonbury Festival (23 to 27 June) from sunset to sunrise. Coloured light using the latest LED technology will go on at 21.31 British Summer Time each evening, the exact time of sunset. The Tor is five miles from Worthy Farm and will be visible from higher ground on the site as well as the surrounding countryside. And Festival goers this year also have the chance to escape to the National Trust’s Outside Inn and enjoy a fresh air bar and chill-out zone using Silent Disco headphones to listen to the sounds of the outdoors. Find out more about the NT at Glastonbury on www.nationaltrust.org.uk/glastonbury or on Twitter.

If you are booking a course at Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage, we can offer you accommodation at Chard. Ammonite Lodge Guest House is only about 15 minutes drive from Axminster and provides ideal B&B accommodation for visits to River Cottage HQ and the River Cottage Canteen in Axminster. Call us now on 01460 63839 to book your bed and breakfast accommodation.

Fossil hunting and coastal walks are just a short drive from Chard - Lyme Regis and Charmouth are great places for fossil hunting. Whether you want to stay for one night or more, Ammonite Lodge is a good base for the coast.

Looking for somewhere to stay in Chard, Somerset? We offer comfortable bed and breakfast accommodation in our lovely 300 year old Grade 2 listed guest house. Close and convenient for the Devon and Dorset coast and for exploring the many beautiful country houses and gardens in Somerset.

Come and stay for 3 nights or more during the week commencing 29 March 2010 and get 25% discount on the cost of your total stay. Offer includes room and breakfast and is subject to availability. Accommodation in South Somerset offers you great countryside on the doorstep and lots to do and see. The Jurassic coast is a short drive away. Offer ends 5 April 2010. Bookings by telephone only - 01460 63839.

Places to stay in Chard are limited, so to guarantee your accommodation in Chard, Somerset, why not book online. Special discounts are available for 3 or more nights - please quote our blog reference East2010, when booking your accommodation by telephone. It is highly recommended that if you are attending a wedding in the Chard area, you book early to avoid disappointment as there are not many accommodation places to stay in Chard.

CHRISTMAS CHEER
The Montacute House Food Fayre on 19 December features music and mistletoe, mulled cider and apple juice and lots of other eats! National Trust shop and restaurant open and added NT surprises include real reindeer. If you want to plan your foraging in 2010, there are more food markets at Montacute 27 March, 1 May, 26 June, 25 September, 30 October, 27 November and 11 December.
Still on food, South Petherton has a produce market in the Blake Hall 6 to 9 p.m. on 22nd December. And in the face of all this eating, Bruton sings! The Choral Society gives a Christmas by candlelight concert in the Longhouse at Mill on the Brue, Thursday 17th December at 7.30pm. Tickets include a glass of mulled wine and nibbles and are on sale from Bruton Pharmacy or at the door.
BIRDING
Walk off extra pounds with a guided walk at RSPB’s West Sedgemoor reserve on either Boxing Day or New Year’s Eve, or take up a 2-for-1 offer to do Greylake and West Sedgemoor in January.
RSPB’s 2010 Somerset events have been set and there are lots of nature related activities throughout the year, from peat-free compost days to guided walks and bug hunts! Contact RSPB West Sedgemoor on (01458) 252805 or email to west.sedgemoor@rspb.org.uk for more details. Visit www.rspb.org.uk/reserves to find out more about all the reserves and walks events.
And make sure you catch the starlings at Ham Wall near Glastonbury. Phone the STARLING HOTLINE for regular updates on 07866 554142
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?
Somerset is to have a purpose-built county Heritage Centre by the end of 2010, offering full visitor facilities with a large search room giving access to everything held in the County Records. The Centre will house all the County’s archives and reserve collections in modern, purpose-built facilities. It will be easy for people to learn about Somerset and their own history through more than 10 million items currently in storage. South Somerset has its own Community Heritage and Access Centre based at Lufton in Yeovil and showing exhibitions at the Heritage and Information Centre.

The reservoir at Chard is having some important visits this autumn from migrating birds. A great white egret, cattle egret, turnstone and spotted redshank have all checked in for a stay and there is now a red throated diver enjoying the site. The water level has been lowered to carry out some work on the banks and the site rangers think the exposed mud - and what it contains - may be the attraction for some of these birds.