Castleman Hotel & Restaurant

25/04/2024

Great idea... raise money for the homeless and sleep under the stars

Bed down for one night at a stargazing sleepout to help save lives. A once-in-a-lifetime, never been done before event that will change the lives of homeless and vulnerable people in our area needing our care.

12/10/2023

Look at this beautiful interpretation of Chettle Lodge, painted sometime in the late 80s / early 90s, before it was turned into The Castleman. Thank you to Henry who sent us a picture of his late mother's painting.

To continue following Chettle Lodge, go to our new page Chettle Lodge.

10/10/2023

Very glad we are not in catering now... Really feel for those still in business and struggling with all the price increases.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/oct/08/its-soul-destroying-to-have-one-customer-on-a-saturday-is-the-party-over-for-the-uks-pubs-and-clubs

“Even those that seem to be thriving are hiding personal costs. Kirstin Reynolds and her husband run the Ilchester Arms in Symondsbury, a popular gastropub in a pretty west Dorset village that has a regular stream of visitors, often for weddings.

The Ilchester was in the top 8% of pubs tied to the local brewer in terms of growth and performance, she said, but the couple were working 80-hour weeks even though they shut from 5pm on Sunday until Wednesday afternoons. Opening longer would mean more hours and they would lose money.

“We’re burnt out,” she said. “When we took on the pub [in April 2021] we thought the business would grow and we could fully staff and it and run seven days a week.”

They are nominally open until 10pm but often start putting chairs on tables at 9pm, an hour after the kitchen shuts. Occasionally wedding guests arrive on a Friday night, intending to have a grand evening the night before the big day. “They expect to see a bar full of locals. ‘Where are they?’ Yeah – they’re staying in all their houses.”

The few villagers that have not been priced out by holiday homes do value the pub, but most turn up at 5pm or 6pm and go home for dinner. “They’re very supportive but I’m not sure anyone has a full enough understanding of what it takes to run a pub at the moment.”

For one thing, it takes an ability to pay eye-watering energy bills, which, unlike domestic supplies, are not capped. Reynolds was lucky enough to get a deal before the crisis hit, but still had a 45% price increase this year. They turn off all the fridges at night and tried to install solar panels on the roof of a south-facing barn that would have covered a third of their energy costs. But a promised grant to cover some of the £18,000 cost never materialised because the scheme relied on EU’s European regional development fund, and that was not replaced by the government after Brexit, she said.

At least they serve food. Pubs that only serve drinks are struggling harder: “We charge £6.50 for a pint and we don’t make anywhere near our margin. They’d probably have to charge £9.50.”

Other licensees have grim tales of price rises. Boxes of cod jumped from £50 to £90 overnight, according to Jo Loring of the Cosy Dove in Newcastle. A lamb shank meal that would have cost £15.30 in 2019 would now need to be £28.80 to make the same profit margin. Cooking oil is up. Alcohol duty cuts to beer had not been passed on, while wine and spirit costs had risen, she said. If business rates go up, “for many pubs this will be the last straw”.”

Reeling from Brexit, Covid and soaring energy costs, UK pubs and clubs are calling time on opening all week. Can they survive?

12/09/2023

The World’s First Car Powered Village Fete is coming to Chettle on Saturday 30th September 2023!

Powered entirely by Hyundai’s fleet of electric vehicles, come and enjoy an afternoon of live music, local food and traditional games. The fete will be hosted by TV chef and broadcaster, Matt Tebbutt, who will be flexing his culinary skills.

This is a free event and tickets are for two sessions throughout the day: 12:00 – 15:00 and 16:00 – 19:00. For more information visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-worlds-first-car-powered-village-fete-tickets-713859903187?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

Hope to see you all there!

06/04/2023

We have a new FB page!
https://www.facebook.com/ChettleLodge1
If you want to still hear about all things Chettle - community, nature, events and more - pop on over to the new page and give it a like / follow. 🥰

Countryside holiday rental and event/conference space with 8 ensuite bedrooms and large garden.

06/04/2023

We have a new FB page!
If you are still interested in hearing about what we are up to then pop on over to like / follow us here https://www.facebook.com/ChettleLodge1
You will get insights into Chettle life, what's on in the community and in our beautiful building and some beautiful nature updates!

Countryside holiday rental and event/conference space with 8 ensuite bedrooms and large garden.

22/03/2023

Chettle Lodge (formerly The Castleman) has a new website.

www.chettlelodge.co.uk 🥰

Nestled in the Dorset countryside, Chettle Lodge offers dog and children friendly holiday rental for up to 22 people as well as 3 downstairs rooms and a large garden for day events, parties, and conferences.

13/02/2023

Chettle Village Store is looking for a Shop Manager!

We are looking for a passionate, self-motivated, friendly, outgoing, and environmentally minded person to help the current Business Development Manager (David).

Role type - Permanent / Full Time.

Apply by emailing [email protected] for a job description and more information.

🥧🍰☕️🍯🍫🍪🥩🥓🧀🍞🥐🥔🥕🫒🧄🧅🫑🌶️🥒🥬🥦🍅🍆🥑🫐🍏🍋🍌🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓

28/01/2023

I wrote a newsletter, it’s got some pretty pictures in, some news, and some last minute offers on dates in February, March and April.

https://mailchi.mp/05f2e56c33e6/the-big-chettle-giveaway

Also… sorry this page is still called Castleman Hotel & Restaurant. Facebook won’t let me change it to Chettle Lodge as it has a place name in it 🙄 Trying to get hold of someone at FB to help. But of course you can’t and you just go round and round in circles in the ‘help’ section, which of course is no help at all….!

27/01/2023

Look what the talented Wilded Design has just done for us.

She drew the building from memory and it’s perfect and cute! She also wrote the logo font herself and we have chosen a new type font too, which is called Alice, and fits perfectly with the brand.

Give her a follow on Instagram and if you need a rebrand (or any colour consultancy / basic interior design) then she’s your lady. She’s also a Chettle resident 🥰 What a talented bunch we have here in Chettle.

26/01/2023

The Oak Room is up next to show you… amazingly the panelling from this room came from another house, bought and fitted in the 19th C by my ancestors.

This room also has a freshly tuned upright piano in. I spent a very pleasant New Year’s Day evening with some friends in here, in front of the fire, playing dice games whilst a talented friend took song requests that we could sing along too. Heaven.

I had a bookshelf clear out the other day and it’s now a mix of modern fact and fiction amongst leather bound old books. It’s an interesting browse…

And the final bonus to this room (aside from the plethora of comfy furniture and the sun streaming in the south facing windows) is the raft of second hand board games I bought from eBay just before Christmas.

Ooooh… makes me want to spend a cosy night in there now!

24/01/2023

The ‘Blue Room’, or sitting room, or lounge, or drawing room… there are all manner of words that people use to describe the room they use in the evenings to relax in. And this is a fine specimen. With lots of comfy sofas and chairs, a big woodburner (the burns with a slow, lilting flame and gives off the most wonderfully perfect amount of heat). To make it even more cosy you can shut the doors between it and the Oak Room. During the day it’s light and airy and at night it’s cosy and comforting.

It’s also funny we still call it The Blue Room, considering it’s not longer blue, but after 26 years with one name it’s hard to shift to something else. You can see the remnants of the blue in the top border, above the dado rail. I helped paint that when I was 16 with my mother, Susan.

18/01/2023

Scenes from a frosty morning Chettle… No filter needed ❤️

14/12/2022

You get such a beautiful view and mix of colours from the window looking out from the kitchen sink….

11/12/2022

Frosty scenes and a home made wreath…

13/11/2022

Knowlton Church at sunset.

This amazing ruined church, surrounded by earthworks and several yew trees is only 10 mins drive from Chettle Lodge.

‘Surrounded by a Neolithic earthwork, the hollow shell of Knowlton church is one of the most atmospheric places in Dorset and is also said to be one of its most haunted.

The ruins are imbued with a mystical, almost enchanting, aura and the church’s location at the centre of a pagan circle stands as a testimony to a long ago clash of religious creeds.

The church was built in the 12th century and was added to over succeeding centuries.

The way in which it was deliberately sited in the middle of a pagan place of worship demonstrates how those who were charged with converting the local populace to Christianity did so by adapting older pagan sites and assimilating them into their religion.

Standing stones that had been held sacred for thousands of years, were broken up and used in the construction of the church, or else they were toppled and buried in the ground.’

08/11/2022

We’ve finally got some pictures of the new (old / second hand / refurbished) kitchen….!! We are so in love with it 🥰❤️

04/11/2022

One of our bedrooms glinting in the morning light….

The weather is so changeable at the moment, from torrential (almost tropical) rain storms to beautiful sunny mornings ❤️

17/10/2022

The medlar tree is looking stunning in today’s light with the leaves changing colour….

13/10/2022

More sneaky peeks at how things are progressing this week. I love how gorgeous our beautiful lamp looks on the bar and we have fired up the brand new wood burner in the Blue Room… It is going to very cosy in there on chilly winters evenings

11/10/2022

And here are some more tantalising progress pics of the new kitchen as it takes shape…

10/10/2022

And the sink is in… once we have moved all the tools this will be a lovely ‘wash up’ with a view.

05/10/2022

Found it!! This amazing cooker space was hiding behind a tiled false wall. And it will now be uncovered and the main feature in the kitchen. We chose the paint for our ‘new’ kitchen doors on the colours we guessed the tiles were 😂 bloody hope they match!!