Perect bed, perfect breakfast (From The Oxford Times)

Perect bed, perfect breakfast

3:30pm Friday 21st July 2006 in Oxfordshire Homes and Interiors By Katherine MacAlister

It is Wednesday morning and Lucy Halliday is sitting radiant in her recently scrubbed kitchen, a fresh lemon cake cooling on a rack, her 15 month-old son Ben humming merrily in his high chair, her guests fed and her oldest son already at playgroup. And it is only 9.30am.

But then Lucy makes everything look like a breeze, including running a business as successful as Lower Farm in Beckley.

Last year it won B&B of the year in Country Living magazine, and Lucy only takes full weekend bookings as demand is so high. But take one look around her four rooms and you'll see why. No expense has been spared converting the former piggery into the height of luxury with all the home comforts thrown in.

Guests who aren't blown away by the staggering views over Otmoor or the homely furnishings, are soon won over by their hostess' charm and cooking, returning time and time again or just extending their stay by an extra couple of nights.

But it hasn't always been so. Five years ago Lower Farm was a run down 200-acre arable farm, desperately in need of major renovation and modernisation.

"We had been looking for a long time for a property to renovate and kept getting caught up in bidding wars with city boys who'd got their bonuses and wanted a place in the country," Lucy said.

Amazingly, when the Hallidays bought the farm, they didn't have bed and breakfast in mind. It was only when friends suggested that the farm's courtyard lent itself to guest rooms, that they considered it.

"So when the spec came through on Lower Farm, my partner Andrew came and had a look, saw its potential and talked me into it," Lucy remembered, "because it was a much bigger project than we had been planning to take on."

The farm deeds go back to 1706 when it was built by the Earl Of Abingdon for his stockmen, with the last livestock being farmed in 1985.

But doing it up was a mammoth project by anyone's standards and one that the Hallidays thought long and hard about.

Had they known that five years of hard slog would be required to get things up to scratch, they might have thought twice.

Work started in 2001 and for the first year Lucy commuted to the building site from their home near Newbury and Archie was born in 2002.

"Yes it was very stressful and a challenge to get it done. But I have really enjoyed doing all the interior design, I think I have a natural flair for it and that was the enjoyable part for me. I know our guests like the decor as much as the location," Lucy said.

She decorated using Farrow & Ball colours, Andrew Martin fabrics and had very clear ideas on how each room should look, having spent "a small fortune" on interior design magazines.

"By the time it came to the rest of the house the budget had run out, so all the luxury stuff is through there," the 36-year-old laughed.

Planning was one of the biggest challenges, as well as living alongside builders 24/7. "I think the planners were worried we'd just come in, do it up and sell it on, rather than making it our family home. And as for the builders, it took me a while to learn that when I opened the curtains in my bra and knickers in the morning they were always there in their van waiting to start work," she said blushing.

"What was hard was living in an all-male environment, having people around constantly and the complete lack of privacy."

Although the B&B side of the business was finished first, the family home was only completed earlier this year. And of course the hard work didn't end when the builders packed up and left. Looking after a full house and a family everyday can only be achieved by multi-tasking naturals like Lucy.

Amazingly, when the Hallidays bought the farm, they didn't have bed and breakfast in mind. It was only when friends suggested that the farm's courtyard lent itself to guest rooms, that they considered it. And as their home was always full of weekend guests anyway, they felt they might as well make a living out of it.

"I was desperate to get back to work and it seemed like the prefect job to fit around the family," Lucy explained.

Country Living spurred them into action when they entered the magazine's 'so you thought you could run a B&B' challenge and emerged the victors with a five diamond rating to boot from the AA, its highest accolade.

Since then the couple haven't looked back, although there have been some changes along the way. When Lucy first kicked off the B&B she was preparing all sorts of goodies for the guests breakfasts, slaving over the mixing bowl at midnight to make blueberry muffins and maple soaked muesli for the morning.

But she soon discovered when discussing different breakfast menus with guests, that they were happier with the traditional full English breakfast of bacon, sausages, tomatoes, potatoes rosti, mushrooms and eggs with chives, as well as fresh coffee, teas, cereals, muesli, fresh fruit salad, Greek yogurt, and local jams and marmalades with toast.

"I basically keep things simple with high quality local produce and everyone is happy, although I was once asked for seven poached eggs which certainly made my hand shake.

"And while it may be mayhem in here, it's always serene in there," Lucy said, pointing at the adjoining door which separates work and play. "And of course there are the comedy moments such as finding a Chinese guest wandering about my house with a camcorder or Archie throwing the keys out of a guest bedroom window. But I've learned just to get on with it.

"I mean yes, it can get pretty manic and eats into my family time at weekends, but you learn to really value your spare time. Physically it's also much harder work than I imagined, but we get such good feedback that it makes it all worthwhile.

"Generally I think people just come here to unwind, because it's so peaceful, but we had no idea it would be so successful. It's come as a bit of a shock actually."

Lucy should have just read the visitors book. One guest wrote "perfect bed, perfect breakfast." Says it all really.

For further information on Lower Farm B&B call 01865 358546. The four ensuite rooms cost £80-£95 a night.