Peter and I (Gail) have been married for nearly 40 years and have two grown up sons. Peter had a career in the forces which meant moving around the UK and parts of Germany until we moved to Castleton House in the Spring of 2002. Initially we spent a lot of time gradually restoring, decorating, redecorating and buying furniture for their home, now work on the garden and growing produce in the allotment takes up much of our time.
In 2019 I took over the running of the town’s Literary Festival. This is an annual event held in October; and takes up more time than I initially imaged. Four or five days of authors talks and a share of the profits going to local charities. www.mereliteraryfestival.com
I’m a keen cyclist and have completed a couple of overseas challenges for the British Heart Foundation, the first in 2010 in Rajesthan, then 2011 in Vietnam/Cambodia. 2014 was less strenuous with a one day ride for the Princes’ Trust, 2015 Hook of Holland to Amsterdam as a day trip, in 2016 we cycled and visited vineyards in Bordeaux and 2018 took us on a cycling holiday in Transylvania with the highly recommended – http://transylvaniacycling.ro/ 2019 found us biking along the Danube from Vienna to Budapest. Since then I’ve been trying to get a group together to do another trip, but I fear electric bikes are beginning to look like the way forward for us.
With our two sons in May 2023
We continue to enjoy welcoming visitors to our home and will do all we can to help you enjoy your stay. We are happy to give advice about taxi services, where to eat and often book tables at local restaurants. Our guests frequently plan their day over breakfast and we are always very happy to help. We regularly lend maps, look up information on the web and share our extensive local knowledge of Wiltshire and the surrounding country.