LUCKY 13 - OR JUST HARD WORK?

February 2005

Thirteen years ago, in April 1992, BBC Radio presenter Tony Barnfield said goodbye to colleagues at Broadcasting House in London and opened his recently-purchased New Forest home as a traditional B&B “with optional evening meal”.

It was not long before Tony won the first of the many awards (Beaulieu/2CR Sunshine Award for outstanding hospitality and service to tourism) which have been heaped upon The Nurse’s Cottage over the years that followed. The AA’s top award, five red diamonds, was coupled with the title Best Breakfast in Britain 2000/01, the local tourist board named it B&B of the Year 1998, and the RAC “Best Small Hotel in Southern England” in 1998, followed by the supreme Little Gem award every year since.

Guide books soon “discovered” the tiny Sway cottage, which is routinely listed as one of the best places to stay in the New Forest. From the “Good Hotel Guide” to “Time Out Guide to Eating & Drinking in Great Britain & Ireland”, “Which? Guide to Good Hotels” to Thomas Cook and DK Eyewitness Guides, The Nurse’s Cottage is typically to be found among the handful of recommendations in the area.

Originally offering three bedrooms for overnight accommodation, the restaurant was extended at the end of 2002 and the past year has seen the former restaurant converted into a new guest bedroom. With the final stage of the Disability Discrimination Act coming into force in October 2004, Tony took the opportunity during both developments to take account of the varying needs of disabled people, especially those mobility and hearing impaired. The efforts proved worthwhile: at the recent Business and Community Awards presented by the Southampton Centre for Independent Living, The Nurse’s Cottage not only won in its category as Best Small Retailer, it went on to beat all other winners as recipient of the Judges’ Award for Excellence for continuing commitment to the interests of disabled people.

The catering side of the business continues to be praised from near and far: Tony has won numerous plaudits for matching food and wine at international wine fairs, the Wine List was named one of the 19 best in the country in a major survey conducted in 2001 by Hotel & Restaurant magazine – and, to show that early mornings have not been forgotten, The Nurse’s Cottage has just been named HGCA Best Breakfast in the South 2005.
For self-taught chef and hotelier Tony Barnfield, is it a lucky thirteenth anniversary or just hard work? “A bit of both,” he says, “plus a lifetime’s experience as a rather particular customer – no training can replace that!”

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