Ethos

My wife Anthea and I lived and worked at Croxteth Hall and Country Park in Liverpool for nine years. In 1988 we moved to Groves Bank (next door to Groves Dyke) and became self-employed Countryside Rangers, trading as 'RENTaRANGER'.

By 1994 we also started to publish a newsletter called the 'Countryside Jobs Service' for other Countryside Rangers and over the next few years this gradually took over from RENTaRANGER.

As all this was going on, Anthea was developing Groves Dyke Holiday Cottage, incorporating as many of our conservation principles as possible, including our interest in energy conservation and solar panels, birdwatching and wildlife gardening.

In 1997 Anthea's leukaemia was diagnosed and treated with several courses of chemotherapy in Leeds General Infirmary, giving us four extra years together - years which we spent enjoying the wildlife at home and abroad. Sadly, Anthea passed away on 22/9/01.

We were so grateful for the extra years they gave us together that I decided to donate 10% of Groves Dyke Holiday Cottage net income to the Friends of the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Unit at Leeds General Infirmary. May they continue their excellent work in helping families stay together longer...

Groves Dyke has been adapted to make it more suitable for less mobile guests, with all essential facilities on the ground floor and with just 3 steps up to the front door (see Accessibility).