Our spacious, modern house is individually designed and set in 2.5 acres of garden. The views of the hills are stunning from each of the three large bedrooms. Downstairs features a high, airy hallway leading to a comfortable, spacious kitchen / dining room with french-doors to the garden.
Wireless internet access is available on request.
Our breakfast is a healthy vegetarian one. We use free-range eggs, fresh fruit, yoghurts, croissants, toast and cereals. Eggs, jam and honey are locally sourced where possible. Breakfast is served between 7:00 and 9:00.
Packed lunches can be provided if booked in advance (useful if you are walking or cycling as there are no shops in the vicinity).
Evening meals can be booked at the village pub The Shepherd and Dog (only 5 minutes walk - telephone 01273 857382). An alternative is the Royal Oak at Poynings (about 15 minutes walk - telephone: 01273 857389).
As both pubs are very popular, it may be advisable to book a table in advance in high season, (please mention that you are staying at 'Four Acres' when you book).
'Four Acres' was built with the environment in mind.
We incorporated a rainwater recycling system which collects rainwater from the roof and stores it in a 6,000 litre tank (buried in the ground to prevent algae growth). The rainwater is then pumped as needed up into a header tank in the roof and distributed to flush the toilets, for use in the washing machine and outside tap. (The water in the bathroom taps is mains water and safe to drink, and mains water also kicks in in times of drought.)
The second major feature was the installation of a ground-source heatpump which extracts heat from the ground for use in the house with minimal fossil fuel input. This system uses a 300m long pipe buried one metre down in the ground and filled with antifreeze. This fluid is pumped around the loop and comes into the heatpump at ground temperature. The heatpump extracts 5 degrees of heat from the fluid, and compresses this heat (like a fridge in reverse), which is then transferred into the underfloor heating and into the hot-water tank.
Thirdly, the house has a whole-house ventilation system which incorporates a 95% efficient heat exchanger. Warm, wet air is extracted from the bathrooms kitchen etc. and passed over the heat exchanger to remove the heat before it is expelled to the outside. At the same time, fresh air is sucked in from the outside, passed over the heat exchanger where it is warmed before being very gently fed into the living areas of the house. In order to make this system efficient it is teamed with highly insulating American windows and external doors with no ventilation grills so that no heat can escape without being extracted by the heat exchanger.
We have tried to extend this principle into the running of the house by wherever possible drying bedlinen on an outside line so that it does not consume energy in the drying process and does not need ironing before use. We recycle or compost all recyclable waste.
The house is a non-smoking environment.
