Another of my 'Top 10', yes your right I've been thinking hard about what there is to do and see around us and so I hope this helps and you're tempted to come and see us.

My Top Ten Places to Visit from Castleton House, Mere

Wet or dry days these are where I like to go and I hope, if you decide to try one of them you’ll have a good time too.

1. Stourhead House and Gardens. The fantastic National Trust property just three miles away, take a picnic to enjoy by the lake. See The Pope’s Cabinet in the House, four-storey ''Pope's Cabinet'', which was designed as a miniature church for Pope Sixtus V between 1585 and 1590. Standing 13ft high and clad in bronze, silver and marble and semi-precious stones, it has been described as one of the most remarkable pieces of furniture in the world.

2. Bath, for the Roman Baths, The Therma Spa, and The Royal Crescent.

3. Salisbury, particularly the Tower Tour of the Cathedral and daily Evensong where members of the congregation sit with the choristers in the choir stalls.

4. Maiden Castle in Dorset, the largest and most complex hill fort in Britain

5. The American Museum, Claverton, Near Bath. A wonderful decorative art collection, my favourite is the quilt room, the views are amazing and there is a wonderful garden. The only American Museum outside the United States.

6. Corsham Court, Corsham, Wiltshire. A privately owned Elizabethan House with An Oriental plane the size of a football pitch has been identified as the "most spreading" tree in the UK. Planted by master landscape gardener Lancelot "Capability" Brown in 1760. With an average spread of 210ft (64m) it has been identified in a study by the Tree Register of the British Isles as the country's vastest tree.

7. Wilton House and Gardens, within the House is a fabulous collection of art, including works by Rembrandt, Brueghel and Van Dyck, and a glorious gallery of Roman, Greek and 17th- century sculpture. With guides throughout, stroll through rooms full of treasures

8. Sherborne Abbey and town. A small market town with a gentle pace and the Abbey at it’s centre. Excellent shopping and Oliver’s is a great café.

9. Wells, the Cathedral, the Bishop’s Palace and Vicar’s Close the oldest continuously inhabited medieval street in Europe. Wells is the smallest city in England, market days are Wednesdays and Saturdays.

10. Shaftesbury – Gold Hill and the Abbey ruins. Another charming small town with a wealth of independent quality shops.

Top Ten Cycle Rides around Mere, Wiltshire

If you're thinking of coming away for a short break with your bike and hitting the road without having to carry the weight of your luggage then come and stay here and try some of the rides listed below.

I've trained and completed two overseas charity bike rides in the past two years and I'm now listing some great rides around Mere

1. The Nadder Valley, Tisbury and Teffont. 12 miles – there are two good pubs on this route, The Beckford Arms at Tisbury or The Black Dog and Chilmark. You could also see Phillips House (National Trust) open Monday and Saturdays from April to October, and the partially restored ruins of Old Wardour Castle

2. Stay while cycling some or all of The Wiltshire Cycleway

3. Along the Kennet & Avon canal - 40 miles – Bath, Bradford on Avon, Devizes going alongside the Caen Hill Locks - and back to Bath.

4. Street, Glastonbury and Wells circular route 20 miles. There’s plenty of choice for places to eat in any of these towns, Wells has a wonderful Cathedral and Bishops Palace to visit.

5. The South Somerset Cycleway 80 miles. Suitable for keen cyclists as a day ride and one I want to do myself

6. Maiden Bradley, Shearwater and Longleat – 13 miles. Three good pubs, The Bath Arms at Crockerton, The Bath Arms at Horningsham or The Somerset Arms at Maiden Bradley. This route passes Longleat House and Shearwater Lake.

7. Chiseldon, Avebury and Marlborough – 27 miles. Several pubs and cafes to choose from on this ride. Be sure to stop off at The Stone Circle at Avebury which has free access at ‘all reasonable times’, The Great Barn Museum open from mid March to mid November and Avebury Manor is also open to the public on certain days.

8. Salisbury Plain and the Wylye Valley – 54 miles. This ride has lots of places to stop off including Heale House and Hardens, Woodhenge and Wilton House. Pubs for lunch include The Angel at Heytesbury, the Kings Head in Chitterne and The Royal Oak in Great Wishford.

9. Frome/Wincanton circular route – 51 miles. You could start this ride from Mere as we’re just a few miles off the route. A nice ride on quiet lanes and country roads with a few climbs. Places to stop off at include Nunney Castle and Stourhead House and Gardens, there are good pubs too, Three Horseshoes, Batcombe; The Bell and Crown, Zeals; White Hart Inn, Trudoxhill.

10. Shaftesbury to Salisbury circular route – 48.5 miles. A good circular route on quite roads and lanes with some track surface, lots of nice English villages to cycle through.

Film of a B&B near Stourhead

It's taken some time and thought to finally produce a short film of the centre of Mere and the inside of our home - Castleton House Bed and Breakfast. My husband shot and edited all of it and I hope that now it's on youtube and on the Castleton House website that anyone thinking of coming to visit us will get a better insight of our home. Filming in early February doesn't make for the best light but there we go it's Mere and our house still looking good despite the cold.

I think it gives the viewer a clear picture of a small English town and the how conveniently close The George Inn is to us where guests can walk to for supper. The clock tower situated just in front of the pub was once the village school, it now holds a small collection of old photographs of Mere.

I'm looking forward to the coming season and here in the UK it should be a busy one with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 Olympics. Whilst we're not in Dorset we are just over an hour away from Weymouth so perhaps we'll be lucky enough to share our house with someone lucky enough to have 2012 Olympic tickets for the sailing.

As ever I'm making a few adjustments to ensure my guests are comfortable and have everything they need, I've just bought new i-pod/i-pad docking stations for each bedroom, new hairdriers, robes for the bedrooms and started making my own granola along with the james and marmalades. So here we are all ready to offer accommodation for spring and summer breaks.

Isn't it fantastic, this photograph of the view from the top of Castle Hill. Makes you think of summer again, a quick 12 minute walk from the house to the top of the hill and then you can sit on the bench and soak up the view. This walk is perfect if you've been travelling for a few hours to reach us or if you're feeling rather overwhelmed by the number of Cathedral's you've visited.