January 2006

Craig y Nos Castle Newsletter 01 - January 2006

After five years of refurbishment and restoration work at Craig y Nos, and some £1.2m spent, I found we had no historical record of the works being completed. The intention of this newsletter, complete with photo’s of our progress, is to ensure you and we have an accurate record of the works we are doing over the next five years. Hopefully it will be of interest to you, as someone on our database of enquirers and past visitors. Each newsletter will also carry news on offers and events over the next one to two months. If you would prefer not to receive this newsletter, simply send back the mailing marked “return to sender—unwanted mail”, and we will take you off our mailing list.

Sauna / Jacuzzi and Health Spa opens Summer 2006The sauna and exercise equipment will be located in the old ‘aviary’ where the c19th opera singer Adelina Patti once kept various exotic birds. This has been re-roofed and the stone wall at the back (which was falling down in places) rebuilt and re-pointed.

A new glass conservatory will stand in front of the old aviary. It will replace an earlier long since derelict extension built in the 1940’s when the castle was a hospital and will house the Jacuzzi and exercise bikes. We hope to be finished by Summer 2006 but the firm contracted to erect the steel frame has backed out, saying the project is beyond them. We are now seeking alternative contractors for the steel frame, glass roof and sides.

The 120 year old iron railings at the back of the castle were originally built on inadequate foundations and have since sagged and become crooked. We are now jacking up, straightening and under-pinning the railings (right).

We had planned to install showers and loos in the Aviary, along with the Sauna, but there was not enough space. So the loos for the Health Spa will now be in an area which already has plumbing from the hospital days, behind the conservatory (once the Children’s ward). Shown (left) is an old bed pan washing sink, with upward pointing water spout. This works, as I found out when I turned on the tap and got a soaking. 2. New Reception opened & Front Hall redecoratedFor many years we had no proper reception as the space was occupied by a redundant ‘condemned’ hospital lift.

During 2005 the lift was dismantled and removed, revealing some very nice stonework and twin arches at the back of what is now the reception area. Some of the stone walls needed rebuilding and re-pointing. We employ a stone mason (Oliver) full time and even then the amount of stone work is more than he can cope with. Jack (above and right) can often be found behind reception, ready to welcome B&B guests. The castle is a pet-friendly hotel, so if you have pets yourself, they are able to stay as well. 3. Old 14 ft high Stone Wall collapsesWhile preparing an area beside the Nurses Block Accommodation block for extra car parking spaces, we were somewhat disappointed to wake up one morning (after a particularly windy night) to find a substantial part of our 14 ft high stone wall between us and the main road that runs alongside the castle had blown over. Over the years the lime rendering had turned to mud and the wall became little more than a precariously balanced pile of old stones.

Two weeks later and new foundations have been dug and concrete footings are already in place. However it will not be until we have better weather in the summer months that the wall will be re-built by our stonemason.

First the large pile of stones, lime and mud from the wall (left) needs to be cleaned and sorted out ready for the stonemason. This time-consuming manual work will be given to a couple of Slovakian boys who are very good workers. 4. New Carvery & Function Room redecorationIn 2005 we redecorated the main function room which houses the old Billiard room and Music room. The colour scheme has changed from cream and green to shades of pale blue and white. The radiators have had many layers of decades old paint stripped off and have been repainted in gold. A new carvery has been installed in one corner. This has improved our food service enormously as guests are able to help themselves to as much or as little freshly cooked hot food as they wish. Our Sunday Carvery is well regarded and definitely worth experiencing. Events Diary for January and FebruaryNo restoration grants have ever been made available to Craig y Nos. This means all our restoration efforts have had to be funded by events at the castle and by contributions from our other business - a domestic cleaning agency franchise. The two most popular events at Craig y Nos are weddings and ghost hunts!

Saturday 14th January: Paranormal Investigation. Dinner, Bed and Breakfast in an en-suite plus in-depth investigation, £99 per person assuming two sharing.

Sunday 15th January: Brides Day and Carvery. Meet our weddings suppliers, sample the Sunday Carvery, and discuss your plans and ideas with our Wedding Planner, Alison Davies, or with Steve Campisi and Kelly Burnell who will be offering free tours of the castle and accommodation.

Valentines Events in February:Saturday 11th February: Valentines Party and Carvery Dinner - tickets £16.95.Sunday 12th February: Valentines Carvery Luncheon - tickets £11.95 + Free mini tour of castle roomsTuesday 14th February: Valentines Carvery Dinner £11.95.

24th - 26th February: Spiritual Weekend. Loads of stalls and ghost tours, hypnosis, readings etc.

See www.craigynoscastle.com for more details.