Countax on the lawns at Le Manoir

Oxfordshire’s Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons is one of Britain’s finest hotels and restaurants. It was created by celebrated chef Raymond Blanc OBE who has held two Michelin stars since opening in 1984. Raymond expects only the highest standard throughout the business, be it in the hotel, restaurant or gardens and the latter are in the capable hands of Anne Marie Owens, Head Gardener, who has worked with Raymond for over thirty years.

Belmond Le Manoir grows its own organic produce for the kitchens and it follows the demand for only the finest ingredients extends to selecting the best garden machinery and tools to maintain the gardens and grounds. Regular weddings and events, afternoon teas and garden tours require the lawns to be kept immaculate and Anne Marie’s choice of garden tractor for maintaining them is the British manufactured Countax. Having had one for eight years she knew, when she came to celebrate her 30th anniversary with an upgrade, she would again choose a Countax. This was very much on the grounds of not only keeping the lawns looking flawless with professional striping but also to help keep the hotel and restaurant free of grass clippings.

The Countax has the ability to cut and collect, even in the wet, with contra-rotating blades throwing the grass clippings to the rear of the cutting deck, where spinning brushes sweep them into the collector. A versatile machine, the Countax also drives accessories such as a powered scarifier and can be fitted with a snow plough for winter clearance.  Anne Marie chose a Countax C80 and, with the factory near to Belmond Le Manoir, she was shown over the controls and dashboard features by Iain Lane from the company’s Research and Development team. She was very excited try it out and, with its superior cut and collect, proclaimed it a worthy successor to her previous Countax. Find your nearest dealer at www.countax.co.uk and see what a Countax garden tractor offers for your garden or grounds.

‘No Limits’ Idris Elba drives project Runningblade

Award-winning British screen actor Idris Elba takes to the track in the exciting four-part TV series aired by Discovery UK ‘Idris Elba: No Limits.’ In preparation for taking on some of the toughest speed disciplines, with mentors including Ari Vatanen and Jimmy McRae, the Golden Globe winner and star, who played Nelson Mandela in Long Walk to Freedom, gets to drive Runningblade, the Countax-built British lawnmower that set the world record at 87.833mph on Pendine Sands in 2010. Originally the setting for Sir Malcolm Campbell’s land speed record of 150mph in 1925, Pendine once again provided the opportunity to break a world record when his grandson, Don Wales, took Runningblade into the Guiness Book of Records. Countax prepared the machine using 90% lawnmower parts, with the other ten percent being the safety roll cage and road-going tyres. Before the record attempt Don had to show the Countax could mow grass, to comply with the rules.

Essex Farmer Strikes it Lucky with a Countax

Countax congratulate Christopher Hawkins of Southminster, Essex on winning a brand new Countax C60 garden tractor.

Christopher had previously owned a Countax and had been very happy with its performance. But, he finally had to retire his machine after 15 years of service. He entered the free prize draw in the hope of winning a new one and was amazed when he succeeded!

Mr Hawkins recollects the phone call he received from Countax notifying him that he had won the garden tractor. “I was ecstatic when I found out I had won the Countax C60. I enter competitions all the time but I have never won anything before. I’m hoping this is just the start of my winning streak!”

Christopher’s wife, Wendy also attended the prize giving. She said, “I’ll be using the Countax around our farm to cut paths along the edges of the fields. I’ll also use it for cutting the lawn and collecting the clippings. Although, by the look on my husband’s face, I’ll be lucky to get behind the wheel when it arrives home!’

The prize was presented by David Sturges, Managing Director of Countax and Gavin Bingham-Wallis, Managing Director of Grasshopper (Horticultural) Ltd.

New Face at Countax

Mike Parslow joins the Countax field sales team as Area Sales Manager for the South West of England.

Due to the continued expansion of the Countax, Westwood, ECHO and Ariens brands, Mike Parslow has been appointed Area Sales Manager for the South West of England. Mike’s area also includes Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Hampshire, covering all manufactured and distributed brands for Countax Limited.

Mike previously worked for Oregon Cutting Systems, Husqvarna and Claymore and brings with him more than 30 years’ worth of experience in the garden machinery industry. He has a wealth of sales and marketing knowledge within this sector.

Please contact Mike at MParslow@ariens.com or call 07887 505052.

Introducing the ALL NEW Countax C Series

The new C Series is a garden tractor built to professional standards that provides the best quality of cut without compromising your weekend.

Time is precious. Mowing the lawn, especially in a large garden can be more than just a chore. Your hard-earned weekend can quickly disappear into an endless trek around the garden, interrupted by the occasional pit stop to unclog wet clippings stuck inside the collector and cutter deck. Try to mow faster and the

problem gets worse.

The C Series works differently. It has a powered cut and collect system which allows you to mow your lawn faster but without compromising the quality of cut. The newly designed ‘XRD’ cutter deck uses contra-rotating blades which cut the grass before throwing the clippings into the path of a powered grass collector. Driven by the tractor’s engine, the collector brushes the clippings from the lawn into a large 300 litre hopper. An integrated lawn roller neatly stripes the lawn at the same time. A C Series cuts shorter, collects fully and won’t clog – even when the grass is wet.

Top Gear from Countax

Countax tractors feature in Top Gear’s ‘Britain is Great’ episode – a celebration of the very best of British engineering.

On the 4^th of August, BBC 2’s Top Gear aired the final episode of the 20^th season. The main section of the show was a piece entitled ‘Britain is great’ – a feature that showcased the very best of British engineering.

As the UK’s leading manufacturer of garden tractors, Countax was approached by Top Gear to appear in the show. Three Countax tractors (a C600H, C600-4WD and A230D) were shown making their way from the Countax factory to central London. Segments of the journey saw the tractors driving straight through Hyde Park – much to the annoyance of the tourists and sunbathers on the banks of the Serpentine.

The segment concludes with Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond driving their red, white and blue F-Type Jaguars down the centre of The Mall.  On either side of them are examples of the very best of Britain including F1 cars, Bentleys, Aston Martins and the three Countax tractors.

Since 1984, Countax has been manufacturing garden machinery from its base in Oxford, England. Over these 29 years, the company has won countless awards for innovation and engineering excellence. Now, as a part of Ariens Company, Countax enters a new era of product design and engineering.

Find out more about Countax tractors at www.countax.co.uk

Can I cut wet grass?

Should you mow wet grass? In an ideal world it would be avoided. However, many people are just too busy to mow their lawn only when the weather is good. If the grass needs mowing, the weekend may be the only opportunity you get - even if it means cutting wet grass.

March and April pose the biggest problem. These two months, in the UK at least, see the greatest grass growth and can often be wet. The wetter it gets, the longer the grass grows. So is it OK to mow wet grass? With the correct equipment... yes it can be.