It’s the last day of 2020. And we, like many others, won’t be sad to see the back of it.
Usually at this time of year we look back over the many weddings, conferences and events held at Escot House & Estate. But of course, there is very little to report. The weddings were postponed, conferences cancelled, and events put on ice. It was heartbreaking when Beautiful Days was cancelled, as this family festival is always such a wonderful celebration of live music, fun and friendship. The current plan is to run it next year, but of course, watch this space.
With the first lockdown, many more people have come to enjoy the outdoors, appreciating the beautiful area of Devon that we live in. If only there was a calculator to show the additional miles the nation walked in 2020! Everyone in the South West has been grateful for the relative freedom we have had, with forests, beaches and the moors to enjoy.
We battened down the hatches and undertook some essential maintenance, especially cleaning and rejuvenating the covers of all the books in the Library. There were quite a few!
Our neighbours at Wildwood Trust released the news that in 2021 two rescued bears will be arriving here in Devon. You may know already that the bears have been christened Mish and Lucy – our own Mish and Lucy are very much looking forward to meeting them.
Escot Estate has experienced many ups and downs in its long history but even so, this year has been a real shocker. However, we are determined to stay positive. We continue to put time and effort into looking after the Estate, its natural beauty, and the flora and fauna.
We sincerely hope to welcome weddings, conferences and events of all kinds back to Escot at some point in the new year. With the vaccines rolling out we are hopeful that some form of normality will be reached, but in the meantime we have to be patient and caring of each other. At the time of writing Devon has just moved into Tier 3 with the added restrictions this brings. For many of our local pubs and restaurants this is another blow, so if you can support those offering delivery and take away, please do. As we’ve all seen, supporting small independent businesses of all types is vital at this time.
So farewell to 2020 and hello to 2021, with fingers crossed for a better one for us all.
PS our gallery shows aspects of the Estate during each month over the year. We hope you enjoy it.
