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157 Lower Beech Hill Road Campton, NH 03223 410-987-2759 |
 A Vacation Rental House near Plymouth, New Hampshire |
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Accommodations
Our Property
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Phoebe's
Story
Guests
Having Fun!
Critters:
Tracks &
Signs
Conservation
Work
Our Property
Our cottage rests on a stone foundation laid in
1840. The original farmhouse burned in 1939
and was rebuilt in 1940.
All that remains of the lovely old barn is its granite
foundation (shown at left). Be sure to take time to appreciate
the craftsmanship and imagine the massive stones
being cut by hand, hauled, and put into place
using draft animals. The granite was locally quaried only a
few miles away from the house.
Extensive rennovation of the front yard began in the fall of 2006. Paula and her mom designed a winding garden that extends across the entire front of the house. Quaried stone discovered lying loose around the property was used in the construction, as well as cobblestones disposed of during Boston's "Big Dig." As a special feature of the new garden area, Paula had a large piece of stone set at the end of the house as a place upon which to sit and watch the fields.
The property stretches back more than 2,500 feet up to the top of a ridgeline and then wraps back around another. It is surrounded by more than 1,000 acres of privately owned, undeveloped forest. We have built over 7 miles of hiking trails on our property, and they are simply wonderful!
Hiking the trails allows you to see a variety of
New Hampshire woodland habitats - young and old forest, sensitive wetlands such as vernal pools,
babbling brooks, and the effects of glacial action on granite.
The photo at right looks downhill along a section of the Velvet Rocks trail
near our largest vernal pool.
The photo to the left shows the little brook that runs behind the house.
The property is blessed with a variety of forest types;
open areas, transitional woodlands, and deep forest.
We are actively managing our
property to support diverse wildlife. Approximately
eight acres immediately around the house was cleared to support animals that
depend upon open grassland in which to browse and raise their young.
You will experience nature's amazing presence no matter what time of the year you visit, if you observe with all of your senses. Smell sweet apple blossoms in the old orchard, listen to birds call, wade in the brooks, and see tracks and signs of an enormous variety of wildlife. Deer frequently feed in the open areas around the house in the early morning and late evening. Moose travel back and forth by the brook, and black bear occasionally wander by. Wildflowers such as Lady’s Slippers, Jack in the Pulpit, Painted Trillium, Starflowers, Indian Cucumber Root and others are a delight when in bloom!
2011 Critter Watch--
July 2011. This has been a banner year for birding. We have had multiple successful bluebird and tree swallow nests. A hen turkey raised a successful brood of youngsters. Ruffed grouse chicks were spotted with their mother. The phoebes raised four babies under the front porch eave. They all fledged on June 19th. Numerous hermit thrush nests were spotted along the trails up in the woods. A chipping sparrow raised four babies in the weeping larch in front of the house. A renter said that they were lucky enough to see a black bear crossing in the field behind the house.
On a related note, we had peaches and cherries this year on the young fruit trees, and the blueberries are coming on strong! We built two experimental grape arbors during the winter. The wild concord grapes seemed to really appreciate being held up out of the brush and put on lots of grapes. A violent wind storm knocked one of the arbors down in June and all of the grapes were gone when we visited in July. The remaining arbor has tons of grapes that are rapidly developing.
The wildflower "meadow" was quite spectacular this year. Not as many lupines developed as last year, but there was a huge show of ox-eyed daisies coreopsis.
To see "Critter Watch" from previous years, click here.
| Guests Having Fun! | Critters - Tracks & Signs | Conservation Work |
© 2005 Paula Woodward & David Peeler
