Glamping with Hot Tubs in SomersetIf you're thinking about a glamping break this month, we have availability from 11th July. It's gorgeous and hot here during the current heatwave, the hot tubs don't have to be lit if you want to cool down, they are great to plunge into cold as well as steaming in the evening! For the weekend of 15th July, we have lots of availability in a choice of accommodation. If there are two of you, the cabin and cottage are the best value, £240 for a weekend in either with our current couple's offer. We have also reduced our prices and have some couple discounts in safari tents too. There's usually a bit of a breeze in the Somerset Hills, with Exmoor just above us, we think it's the perfect place to stay during a heatwave! Tarr Steps is gorgeous for a walk in the woods and you can wild swim in the river. Landacre and Withypool are also perfect on a hot day. There's never a dull day on the farm. If you're staying with children a farm stay is a good option, we have lots of animals, farm tours, tractor rides and two children's play areas where they can let off steam too. Our covered play barn space has sofas and table tennis, it's another shady spot if the heatwave continues. Exmoor HolidaysSouth West Glamping and Holiday Cottages near Taunton, Exeter & BristolWe're 25 minutes from Taunton, and just over an hour to Bristol and Exeter so easily reachable if you're looking for a glamping stay in the South West. Our corner of Somerset is relatively unknown, so unlike the popular spots in Devon and Cornwall, it's not too busy here in West Somerset and you'll often find you can have stretches of beach entirely to yourselves. Our local town Wiveliscombe is friendly, with two pubs, a couple of independent cafes and small farmter's market, it has a lovely atmosphere - and it has a outdoor swimming pool! Exmoor is beautiful and gorgeous in the summer for quality walks and picnics by the river or up on the hills above Minehead where there are amazing views. We love North Hill, it's beautiful up there with so many footpaths, views over to Wales and along the coast to North Devon. You can grab some Cornish pasties, or make hot dogs with items from our shop, or all the big supermarkets are Minehead where you can gather supplies for a picnic. Our Glamping ShopOur farmshop is only open to guests staying here, when we're busy we open it at set times during the morning and afternoon, and when it's quiet you can just call us and we'll nip over and open it for you. We sell lots of products from our farm which we think will be useful, and delicious during your holiday with us. Freshly laid eggs from our hens, and blue eggs from our neighbours hens. Sausages, bacon and hearty pork chops from our pigs, and we have lamb joints which we can butterfly for you ready for the BBQ. We have plenty of options for vegetarians and a few vegan dishes, plant based milks etc too.
Luxury Safari Lodge Glamping with Hot Tubs in the South WestWe still have lots of availability this summer with a few short breaks available if you can only get a way for a couple of nights, and some week stays too if you're planning a UK holiday this year. It's unusual for us to have quite so much availability at this time of year, I imagine it's a combination of guests taking those oversees holidays they missed when Covid was around, or perhaps the cost of living. We do have couple deals running if there are only two of you, a weekend stay in our cabin for example is £255 for the weekend of 8th July. If you've been to stay with us before, you'll spot upgrades and improvements around the farm as we always try and improve things over the winter. All our safari tents have solid paved firepit areas this year, we have new much lighter lids on the hot tubs, new deck fences and gates on Bossington, Porlock and Kilve Lodges, and we've opened a space up for group dining as well if you're taking a field of lodges Family Glamping Holidays with Comfy Beds & Private BathroomsWe have eight different accommodations on our farm, so there's lots of choice! Three safari tents are dog friendly and close to a children's play area. Three safari lodges are in a separate field, not overlooking the play areas, but only a couple of minutes walk away, perfect for anyone with older children. These ones are also larger, including Bossington Lodge which is really quite huge! These large lodges are named after our three favourite local beaches. Bossington is stunning, a huge mile sweep of stones with incredible views and National Trust footpaths, Porlock is next door, a pretty little harbour with nice independent places to eat, and Kilve is completely different - an unusual stone beach with huge fossils scattered around the beach and in the cliff walls. The other three safari tents here are named after local birds of prey, Buzzard, Hawk and Kestrel, you can spot all of these around Exmoor, and we have Buzzards nesting in the trees along our drive. Family Friendly Holiday Cottages on a Working FarmIf you'd like to stay on our farm, but prefer something more solid than a safari tent, we have The Stable Cottage and Deckhouse Cabin (above). Both of these are in a separate location to the rest of our glamping, the cottage has all you'd expect in a holiday cottage, WiFi, dishwasher, TV/DVD player, double oven and so on, and the cabin is slightly quirkier and more bijou with a mini kitchen, bespoke bunk room and its own little private fenced garden with apple trees. Our farm shop and children's play areas are just a minutes walk from the cabin and cottage, so you're not far from other families staying here. The parking is right next to each of these accommodations, so perfect for families with young children. Both the cabin and cottage sleep 2 adults and 2 children under the age of 12, as the second bedroom is designed for young children. Local Somerset Beaches & South West National TrustsNo visit to South West England is complete without a trip to the beach! We're 25 minutes from the Somerset coast and not too far from the North and South Devon beaches either. As a family we tend to stick to the local beaches, as they are quiet even on a Sunday in the middle of August. Our beaches are a combination of stone and sand, this beach in the photo above is Porlock Weir, if you want a sandy beach then Dunster Beach is better for buckets and spades!
Hoping for some nice hot weather this summer so we can do some wild swimming, Exmoor National Park has plenty of rivers for safe paddling, Tarr Steps has lots of safe shallow water as well as deeper pools to immerse in. Landacre Bridge and Withypool have gorgeous grassy spots for a picnic and safe spots for children's paddling too. Glamping Availability this July & AugustWe still have lots of July and August availability if you're thinking about a UK holiday in the South West this summer. Our safari lodges are perfect for families, each lodge sleeps up to six guests and we have a couple of children's play areas on the farm, as well as lots of animals. We'll be doing farm tours once or twice a week and if you like pigs you'll enjoy it here as we have lots of them this year, after some accidental reproduction over the winter! Dog Friendly Holidays, ExmoorWe're 25 minutes from the coast, but when it's hot we tend to take our dogs (and children) to the gorgeous rivers on Exmoor instead. This photo above is Withypool, the water is safe and shallow, perfect for paddling and catching small fish. There's a footpath from Withypool to Landacre Bridge and plenty of gorgeous places to stop with a picnic between the two. Tarr Steps is also gorgeous, it is quite well known so sometimes busy around the bridge, but if you take the easy footpath into the woods you'll find long stretches of shady river to yourselves. Our dogs love it there! Food from the Farm and our CateringGlamping Over May Half Term & The Jubilee Bank HolidayMay Half Term is a lovely time of year for a glamping holiday, the countryside is lush with wildflowers along the hedgerows, lots of bouncing fat lambs, birdsong and the trees full of fresh green leaves. English weather is of course unpredictable but late May/early June tend to be gorgeous! We have options for both short stays and one lodge available for a week. Bossington Safari Tent is also available for a five night stay over the Royal Jubilee Bank Holiday Weekend. If you're looking for glamping with a dog, we have one dog friendly safari lodge left, it's Kestrel Lodge and there are a couple of different length stay options available in this one. We'll be running several farm tours over Half Term, we still have two fat lambs on a bottle and five fat piglets who tend to run around the farm as they slip under the fence which should be keeping them in! Glamping near the Somerset CoastOur local beaches are never busy and there are gorgeous coastal walks within a half an hour drive from the farm. We tend to avoid Minehead but if you want rides and candyfloss that's the place to go, it's not far away. This photo above is Porlock Weir, our favourite beach with lots of lovely independent places to eat and drink. The flowers in early summer are so pretty. Exmoor has river walks too, we can recommend a few places for some wild swimming and safe places for toddlers to paddle. Tarr Steps is lovely, it can be busy near the steps, but once you're on the footpath you'll have stretches of beautiful river to yourselves. Half Term Holidays on a Working Somerset FarmMiddle Stone Farm offers authentic farm holidays, we are a working farm with lots of animals. We have about 100 sheep at the moment, rather too many for the amount of grass, but it's hard to part with them! They're a mixture of Jacob, Norfolk and Exmoor Horn (photo below) and very characterful. We have two paddocks of pigs including escapee piglets. We're avoiding the geese at the moment, as they're broody and don't want visitors, once the female has laid her eggs they'll hopefully be friendly again! The chickens are finally out after a winter shut away to prevent them catching avian flu. They're happy to be out in their sandbaths and enjoying worms and weeds again! And the alpaca are also enjoying meeting guests on our farm tours. Our Farm ShopOur shop is well stocked with the kinds of things for your glamping holiday. We open it for guests staying here twice a day. Homemade dishes can be pre ordered and collected from here, along with cakes, croissants, pain au chocolates and meat for the BBQ. We have a list of guide prices and the kinds of things under the Food heading of our website.
Bank Holiday Weekend in SomersetWe have last minute availability in both The Stable Cottage and The Deckhouse Cabin for the weekend of 29th April - the first May Bank Holiday Weekend. It's gorgeous on the farm at the moment with spring in the air, apple blossom in the orchard and all the trees in fresh green bud. Our lambs are a month old now and happily skipping around the fields, we have two orphan lambs on bottles who are delighted to see guests on our farm tours! Family Friendly Holidays on a Working South West FarmThe Deckhouse Cabin is lovely for couples or families with two young children, it's slightly quirky, we describe it as half glamping/half holiday cottage. It's a separate location to our safari tents overlooking open farmland and our herd of alpaca. There's a wood fired hot tub outside along with a hammock, picnic table and firepit area. The children's play area is less than a minute's walk away. The cabin doesn't have WiFi but there is a decent 4G signal around the farm. Lambs, Piglets and Animals around the FarmEveryone on the farm is feeling broody this month, we have had a few entertaining farm tours recently! The Mangalitsa produced a gorgeous litter (if that's the word) of piglets in March, they are super sweet and adventurous. We have an electric wire around the pig pen, but they are brilliant at escaping and running up and down the drive! The lambs are getting quite big now, we have about 50 and a couple of orphans on a bottle, so children can help with that if they like on our farm tour. Half Term Glamping & The Jubilee Bank HolidayMay Half Term and the next Bank Holiday isn't far around the corner, we still have a bit of availability left including Kestrel a dog friendly safari tent which is available at the start of the half term holidays.
Places to Eat Out, West Somerset & DevonEating out at Porlock WeirWe miss Ziangs in Porlock Weir when it closes for the winter, so we were delighted to see on their Facebook page they re-opened again last week. We recommend going on a fine day so you can sit at one of the wooden tables along the harbour walls and eat freshly made spring rolls or our favourite noodle soup. The Porlock Weir Hotel serves good wood fired pizzas and seafood and has seating indoors and out. The lovely Harbour Gallery and Cafe next door offers delicious cakes and cream teas, sandwich and seafood platters too. Further along near the car park is The Bottom Ship, a pretty white washed thatched pub serving traditional pub fare. Porlock Bay Oysters is based here too. WiveliscombeKnown to the locals as Wivey, this large village/little town, is just 10 minutes drive from us and has a couple of pubs as well as delis and a small Saturday farmer's market. The Bear Inn serves good food all day, they make their own beers and it has a cheery atmosphere! On Thursdays it's 2 for the price of one for wood fired pizzas, either to eat there, or they can box them up for you if you want to bring them home. Award winning Duende Restaurant offers fine dining, follow them on Facebook for details about their pop up evenings. The newly opened Phoenix Kitchen is open every day except Sunday, best in the morning as things sometimes sell out. They bake great food to take away such as homity pie, tarts, quiches and cakes. There's a small bit of seating if you want to have a good cup of coffee there too. Our FavouritesWe highly recommend The Lost Kitchen outside Tiverton, it's about 40 minutes from us, next to Knightshayes Court, a really good National Trust. If you're thinking of eating there, do book a table in advance as it's very popular and gets booked up especially on the weekend or in the school holidays. Their wood fired pizzas are delicious!
The White Post Cafe is outside Langford Budville, about 20 minutes from us, just on the Devon border. Lovely for breakfast, brunch or tea, there's a pretty garden to eat outside, they serve good coffee too. Dog Friendly Glamping in SomersetWe understand dogs are part of the family and for those of us who are dog lovers, the thought of leaving such a valuable member of the family in kennels is unthinkable! Our three dog friendly accommodations are Buzzard, Hawk and Kestrel Lodges, these three safari tents are in a field together. The front decks are gated with sturdy fences, we provide a couple of dog bowls, dog friendly fleece, a tether which clips to a loop at the front of the lodge so you can have your dog outside with you, and a few treats and biodegradable bags too. We do have a few dog rules, particularly as we're a working farm with animals, do please read these first if you're thinking of staying. Dog Friendly BeachesMiddle Stone Farm is 25 minutes drive from the coast, all the beaches near us are dog friendly, this one is Blue Anchor Bay, a good mile wide beach and a combination of stones and sand. If you're visiting at high tide, go next door to sandier Dunster Beach which is also gorgeous. The Driftwood Cafe at Blue Anchor is a simple dog friendly cafe close to the beach, you don't need to book, you can just turn up for all day breakfast, fish and chips or a cream tea. In fact most of the cafes and pubs around West Somerset are dog friendly, some of them even serve delicious dog ice cream too!
On a hot summer's day the rivers on Exmoor are perfect for dogs, we recommend Tarr Steps, Lanacre Bridge or Simonsbath, these are the well known ones, you'll find many more rivers on Exmoor if you want to have the river to yourself for a spot of wild swimming. Glamping over The Easter HolidaysStorm Eunice has blown through and fortunately she hasn't done too much damage, this week we're tidying up behind her, straightening trees, a few safari tent roof repairs and retrieving items which blew into hedges! If you've stayed here before you'll see lots of upgrades and changes this season. Buzzard, Hawk and Kestrel Safari lodges all have new instant hot water systems, there's no need to light the wood stove to have a shower any more. The other three lodges, Porlock, Bossington and Kilve have gates and smart new fencing around the decks making them a bit safer for families with young children. We've had new paths laid around the safari tents too. Glamping on the FarmWe begin farm tours again at the beginning of April, these Mangalitsa pigs are quite large now, and after the winter pretty caked in mud too! They're very enthusiastic when anyone appears with a bucket, we have 7 of them, plus 2 Devon black pigs. We're expecting about 60 lambs from the third week of March, we don't scan the ewes so we don't know exactly how many we'll have. Our flock are a combination of Exmoor Horn, Jacob and Norfolk Horn, so lots of different coloured lambs. I expect we'll have a few orphan lambs for bottle feeding too. If we have any triplets the mother doesn't usually have enough milk for three, so we'll take the smallest and hand feed her. Watch us on Facebook for more news about that. Exploring West Somerset & ExmoorThe photos above are the lovely Lost Kitchen near Tiverton - highly recommended with delicious food and wood fired pizzas, you need to book ahead as it's popular. It's a really nice space, child friendly and their own IPA is also delicious. Knightshayes National Trust is right next door for a walk around the park afterwards. Tarr Steps is gorgeous on a dry day, about 30 minutes drive from us - an easy circular walk through ancient trees, the famous clapper bridge and traditional pub in the heart of Exmoor National Park. And the third photograph is of the harbour at Porlock Weir, another of our favourite places, about 40 minutes from us along the Exmoor coast. Porlock has lots of independent shops, several good places to eat and plenty of beach to explore. Glamping over May Half Term & the Bank HolidayIf you'd like to stay over May Half Term or the Jubilee Weekend, we do have a little bit of availability left, but not very much. We think May is the most gorgeous month on the farm, the grass is green and lush, one glamping field is a sea of buttercups, the lambs will be a couple of months old and start skipping and Exmoor is also looking beautiful. I expect we'll be doing several farm tours that week and a couple of tractor rides too.
South West Holiday Cottage over February Half TermIf you're thinking about a last minute self catering holiday over February Half Term, and Valentines, we still have some availability in The Stable Cottage and Deckhouse Cabin. We had hoped for a full week booking, but they've not come through so they're now available as short stays which I think guests prefer at this time of year! Both are perfectly warm and cosy, with wood burning stoves and warm furnishings. The cottage has WiFi, central heating and all the mod cons and the cabin is more quirky but equally warm as we put so much celotex insulation into the walls, with the stove lit, you won't be cold. Both are family friendly, there are trugs for toys for younger children, board games and the bathroom has non slip mats and basin steps etc. And both are couple friendly when'll I tuck all this kind of thing away if there aren't children staying! Somerset Farm Stay HolidayWe don't normally run farm tours outside the glamping season, but as it's the school holidays I'm very happy to show anyone the animals if you'd like to come into the fields with me. We have 9 very muddy pigs on the farm this month, and 60 mostly pregnant sheep! If you're looking for family days out, for National Trusts try Dunster Castle, Knightshayes Court, both very family friendly and with enough to see to fill most of the day. We love Porlock Weir, Lynton & Lynmouth are worth a day trip too. If it rains, we like Scott Cinema in Bridgwater, bargain prices with all the family films. There's Odeon in Taunton too, bit more expensive though! Exeter's RAM Museum is brilliant (and free), the museum in Taunton is smaller but worth popping in too. And if you like art, definitely go and check out the brand new and beautifully designed gallery in Watchet. If there's good weather and you like walking, head over to Tarr Steps, Dunkery Beacon, the Quantock Hills (drop in at the Foxy Bean Cafe), Lorna Doone Valley, Selworthy or one of the many beach walks. Holiday Cottages and Glamping with Hot TubsThis is the hot tub by The Deckhouse Cabin, perfect for winter glamping, the hot tub view looks over open fields with some of our animals pottering around. We have just put in a second patio by the cabin so the outdoor table now sits on a solid surface, the cabin also has new fencing which looks rather smart! As soon as the sun comes out and the grass starts appearing, I shall re photograph it. If you use Instagram, you'll find work in progress photos here on our stories. And for any bookings over the next fortnight, I'm including a complimentary cream tea if you'd like one! Complimentary Cream Tea!Glamping with Hot Tubs in SomersetI think we're all glad to wave goodbye to 2021, and we're excited about the new year ahead of us! At this time of year we are working around the farm fixing things and planning new additions and improvements, if you'd like to see what we are up to, just follow us on Instagram or Facebook as we regularly post photos on our stories. If you're thinking of staying here as a group, now is the time to get in touch when we still have whole fields of lodges available which you can book with other families so you have a field to yourselves. We open the safari tents for the start of the glamping season on 1st April and still have some availability for the Easter holidays. Animals around the farmWe're expecting around 60 lambs in late March, the ewes have their lambs naturally out in the fields, they've had lots of practice so we try not to intervene unless they need help. We usually have a few orphans (when one of the mothers has triplets as she won't have enough milk for 3) so I'm sure there will be bottle feeding for any children who'd like to help. Our farm tours start running from 1st April when our safari tents open, our farm shop opens for the glamping season on this date too. We aim to plant 150 new trees around the farm every winter, last year's new trees have done so well, they're a good metre high now and the glamping fields will look very different in a few years time when they are all established. The apple trees between Buzzard, Hawk and Kestrel Lodges gave good crops this year and we have an apple orchard next to the Deckhouse Cabin too with more established trees. Our polytunnel will be finished this month and we'll start growing vegetables in there as soon as the temperatures are right. We very much hope to have homegrown tomatoes in the shop this year! The polytunnel will feature in the farm tour in the summer for anyone who is interested and fingers crossed we'll have a bumper crop of tomatoes! Dog friendly beaches, Somerset and DevonWe love the beaches all year round, this one is Blue Anchor Bay, our nearest - it's 25 minutes drive from the farm and dog friendly all year round. It's a couple of miles long so there's plenty of space for dogs to run free. The beach is a combination of sand and stones, it has free parking and a simple cafe called The Driftwood. Dunster Beach is next door, sandier and also dog friendly.
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