|
|
|||
|
You are here >>> Assessment Centre >>> B&B and Working Holidays |
|||
| Border Collie Rescue - On Line - B&B and Working Breaks at Our Assessment Centre | |||
|
|
|||
|
Click on one of the links below to go directly to the section you are most interested in or simply scroll down. |
|||
|
Working Breaks/Weekends at the BCR Assessment and Re-habilitation Centre |
|||
|
These facilities are being offered as a means of financing the centre and enabling the work of Border Collie Rescue to continue so please do not expect conventional standards of service to apply. The dogs will always come first so you may need to be a little flexible and understanding during your stay as we fit in looking after you with looking after them! After all is said, we are here to serve the dogs and you can help us if you come and stay with us as a paying guest and better still if you are prepared to help out while you stay with us. |
|||
|
If you stay with us you will be staying at a rescue centre for dogs - a love of canines is a pre-requisite! |
|||
|
About the facilities |
|||
|
We have two rooms available for guest accommodation at the centre - both sleep two. |
|||
| One room has a King Size Double Sleigh bed - the other has Twin divans. The two divans can be zipped together to form a Super King Size Double - 6 foot wide. The twin beds are 6'6" long to accommodate our taller guests. None of the rooms in the farmhouse are en-suite. | |||
| Both guest rooms have remote controlled TV, DVD player and Stereo Radio/CD player + alarm clock, steam iron and other useful provisions for short term and longer term guests comfort. The farmhouse has full central heating. | |||
| There is a residents lounge for the use of guests in the evenings with wide screen TV, DVD and Video player with 5.1 surround sound. During the day BCR may use this room for interviews so it is not always available for guests during the day. Outside we have gardens to the front of the house, facing south over the Vale of York. Both guest rooms and the lounge all face south, overlook the garden and have excellent views over surrounding countryside. | |||
| The origin and date of the farmhouse has been difficult to pin down but the location, as a place of human habitation, can be traced to Anglo-Saxon times and is on a high spot, known locally as Thorpe Hill. Thorpe, as a place name, is of Anglo-Saxon origin and loosely means 'overflow village'. It is thought that in times of trouble or perhaps flooding, the area was used as a retreat by the Saxon villagers who used to farm the valley. The property has been extended over centuries, the very original building now being the rear of the property. At some point, in an affluent period, the present frontage was added giving four good sized rooms, now our guest rooms, library and sitting room. Later an additional extension was added to the East to give a fourth bedroom with farm office below. Later still the present single storey kitchen extension was added to the West, possibly over the site of a previous extension to the original house. After that, a smaller extension was added to the kitchen to form a utility room and downstairs WC. The whole property was run as a working farm until fairly recently. Since the demise of the farm, the house, outbuildings and land were rented out individually or unused. Border Collie Rescue is now bringing the whole together again as a single working unit. The Farmhouse is Grade Two listed as a building of historical significance. Many original interior features remain and the house retains a warm and pleasant character with exposed beams, uneven upper floors and door frames that are 'not quite square'. |
Below - Front of Farmhouse |
||
 |
|||
| Below - View from the garden | The land around the centre is mixed use farmland - some arable, some pasture and some woodland, all maintained under the EU Stewardship Scheme as mixed agricultural and wildlife habitat. The woodland and wildlife areas are maintained by the estate. Due to the variety of environments there is a great deal of wildlife on the ground and in the air. Birds of prey are seen daily around the centre. Owls nest in the outbuildings. Woodland birds frequent the sky from the 100+ acres of mixed and deciduous woodland immediately adjacent and meadow loving birds are also common. The land that Border Collie Rescue uses is administered by the estate under the Stewardship Scheme and is maintained jointly by ourselves and the estate to be environmentally friendly to wildlife with set aside boundaries around the fields forming wildlife passages and encouraging the growth of indigenous plant species. Some of the lower lying land is marshy, encouraging birds and animals that prefer this sort of environment. There is an abundance of wildlife including Deer, Badgers, Rabbits and Foxes. The environment immediately surrounding the centre is not heavily populated by humans, comprising of farms, remote houses and small villages, connected by single track roads - but the nearest main roads are only 3 to 4 miles distant so we are not entirely cut off from access to the outside world. | ||
 |
|||
| We are located approximately 10 miles from York centre with its many historical attractions as befits an ancient Cathedral City. The City is also famous for its museums, live music venues and shopping facilities. We are also around 10 miles from Malton, and ancient market town with interesting features and shops. The North Yorkshire coastline, with its well known harbours and resorts like Whitby and Scarborough, is within easy reach, as are the North York Moors - with the Yorkshire Dales just an hours drive away. There are many historical sites, castles, abbeys and houses only a short drive away, maintained by English Heritage or The National Trust and a number of independently owned country houses and gardens nearby, the most well known being Castle Howard with its house, gardens and visitors centre, which is just up the road. | |||
| We welcome visitors with well behave and well mannered dogs. Those with problem dogs should have a look at our 'services' page! We would expect dogs to be under their owners control and be able to mix freely with other dogs and not start fights. Dogs stay free but it should be noted that dogs are not allowed upstairs - not even our own dogs. We have a large room where dogs can be accommodated indoors overnight and outdoor facilities for dogs that prefer to live outside a house, so all are welcome and all can be accommodated. All dogs coming onto the premises must be fully vaccinated and evidence of this is required so remember to bring your up to date vaccination certificate/s if you bring your dog/s with you! | |||
|
Below - Library at Christmas 2005 |
Below - Yes - it was cold - outside! |
||
|
|
|
||
|
Our 2 night working breaks or weekends are for people who want to combine a short break with a taste of work experience in the day to day routines of a Border Collie Rescue centre. Sorry, we cannot accommodate children or visitors dogs. |
|||
|
Normally arrive Friday evening and depart Sunday but these breaks can be taken over any two nights subject to space being available. |
|||
| Longer stays of up to 7 nights can be accommodated, but the minimum stay is two nights. | |||
|
You will be accommodated in one of our double/twin guest rooms with the use of the facilities described at the top of the page on a bed and breakfast basis. Breakfast at 8 am approx. We would expect each individual to help out in the centre for four hours each day on each morning following their nights accommodation, between 9 am and 1 pm. The work we ask you to do involves basic kennel duties and some handling of dogs, dependent on your previous experience. The rest of the time is yours to explore the area. |
|||
|
For this we would charge you £20 per person per nights B&B for two people sharing a room. Rooms are available for single person occupancy at £25 per person per nights B&B |
|||
|
Rooms are available from 6pm on day of arrival and we ask you to vacate and be clear of your room by 2pm on day of departure. |
|||
|
Charges - |
|||
|
Two people occupying a room - £40 per person for two nights including breakfast and £20 per person for each additional night up to 7 nights, based on two people sharing a double or twin room. |
|||
|
Single person occupying a room - £50 per person for two nights including breakfast and £25 per person for each additional night up to 7 nights based on one person using a double or twin room. |
|||
|
We are unable to provide lunches or evening meals |
|||
|
There are many local establishments offering a wide range of sit down or take away meals for lunch or dinner within a few miles of us. |
|||
|
Below - Spot (Surrogate Dad) and pup |
Below - Dot showing a pup the ropes. |
||
|
|
|
||
|
Below - Farmhouse from the back |
Below - Floss and Cap |
||
|
|
|
||
|
What the experience can offer you |
|||
|
If you come and stay at our centre on a working break we can offer more than an economic holiday stay in return for your efforts helping us in the day to day running of the unit. You will have the opportunity to gain insight and understanding of how we assess and re-habilitate the dogs we take in and gain a greater knowledge of how this breed has come to be what it is today - the best working sheepdog in the world. |
|||
|
You will go away with a better understanding of what motivates the breed, its hereditary instinctive drives and how these conspire against the dog if it is in the wrong environment. You will gain insight and understanding into the variety of problems that people experience when they keep Border Collies as pets and as working dogs and see how we help overcome these problems, turning liabilities into assets. |
|||
|
You may get the chance to see at close quarters how a sheepdog works with sheep and through this you will become enlightened about the special working relationship a stockman has with his dogs and how public admiration for these qualities has made the breed so popular as companions. You will be able to read about the history and training of the working sheepdog and read biographical accounts of peoples lifetime experiences with the breed. |
|||
|
You will have been able to talk and read about all the other disciplines the Border Collie is involved in. Scent discrimination, Search and Rescue, Sheepdog Trials, Working Trials, Obedience, Agility, Flyball........It's there if you want to pick up the books. |
|||
|
You will have worked with, and talked to, people who look after unwanted Border Collies every day of their lives and every hour of each day. You will probably have talked 'Border Collie' and lived 'Border Collie' for the duration of your stay - you will certainly have had the chance. |
|||
|
Your stay with us will have been a mixture of Guest and Staff - in a sense, the best (and sometimes the worst) of both worlds. We will make your stay as comfortable as that of a guest and yet you will join in the running of the centre like any other volunteer. Most of your days will be yours to enjoy as you wish - we only ask for 4 hrs work each day - but if you want to do more you can, just like any other volunteer - if not , do your bit and see what else Yorkshire has to offer - there is a lot of it out there and we will do our best to head you in the right direction! |
|||
|
You wont leave with any qualifications, certificates or references. You will not have attended a training course, just taken part in an experience - one, perhaps, you may wish to repeat. But when you leave you will be leaving with the additional knowledge that your stay with us has helped us help the dogs in our care - both by the input of your work and efforts and by contributing financially towards the running costs of the unit and its future success. You will also, hopefully, leave seeing the breed in a different light. All the better to make your contribution to an improved future for those of the breed currently in distress and those yet unborn. |
|||
|
It is quite simple - phone us on 0845 6044941 (2pm to 5 pm weekdays) to enquire about staying and ask any questions you may have. |
|||
|
Due to the changing dynamics of running a dog rescue centre, bookings are normally taken between 4 and 8 weeks in advance, however please feel free to enquire outside these paramenters. |
|||
|
Because we are running a rescue centre - not a Hotel or Guest House - and we only have the two guest rooms, it is crucial for us to use these efficiently to generate income to support our work. We must set the following conditions relating to bookings. |
|||
|
We normally ask for a deposit with a booking - if so the procedure is as follows - |
|||
|
Deposits on bookings |
|||
|
If we are able to accommodate you for the period you request we will ask for a non refundable deposit of £5 per person. |
|||
|
In all bookings the following conditions apply |
|||
|
We ask you to confirm in writing or email and pay your deposit (if applicable) within a week of the phone booking. |
|||
|
If you cancel your booking after paying your deposit you will lose your deposit. |
|||
|
We ask for full payment at least 7 days in advance of your arrival date. Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure that payment is sent to us in full, to arrive at least 7 days before your booking (minus the deposit already paid) |
|||
|
If we have not recieved full payment 7 days before your arrival date, we reserve the right to cancel your booking and retain your deposit. |
|||
|
If we make a mistake and have to cancel your booking after you have paid your deposit and we have banked it - we will return your deposit in full and offer you a free nights B&B - for each person booked - at a mutually agreeable future date. |
|||
| Top | |||
|
You are here >>> Assessment Centre >>> B&B and Working Holidays |
|||
| Copyright - Border Collie Rescue - 3037504 | |||
