For those of you (us) who only consider leaving your comfy home to go on holiday somewhere more luxurious and relaxing than your own home you probably think camping trips are for fools, but I urge you to think again. But my first bit of advice is buy a fleece and a torch.
How does a full size wooden bed, off the ground on a raised hard wood floor with plump, fluffy duvets and white bedding sound? Add to that running water, your own loo and a stove inside your tent and you’ve got the idea of what Glamping is all about. This is what the clever people at Feather Down Farms have rightly discovered will drag us out of hotels and into the great outdoors and camp in a field.
Imagine camping the last week of October, well I spent my Halloween weekend with my sister, niece and nephew at one of the many Feather Down Farms, in Lunsford Farm. We were very lucky to have dry weather and no blustering winds, in fact we took so many clothes to sleep in we were all roasting in our beds, which was a big surprise.
We chose a farm that was near a beach, so not only did we have the peace and tranquillity of the farm and surrounding forest we also had a sea view. Winchelsea beach was just a 10 minute walk from our tent and just across the field were Sophie, Pat and Julie our neighbours, they were cows. (No really they were cows, not a noisy group of girls we bitched about.)
Checking in around 4pm, it’s always best to arrive with some daylight so you can light your candles and make your beds before it gets too dark. If you are brave and doing a trip after the summer then lighting your stove and getting some heat in the tent is a priority. The stove takes firewood, which is neatly stacked and dry in a box outside your tent . There is also a BBQ, wood pizza oven and picnic bench each outside your spot.
Andrew owns Lunsford Farm, it has been in his family for three generations , he gave us a tour of the farm and talked us townies through his farm duties and all year round rituals. What a different life, one of the young boys staying there who was 11 has decided he wants to own a farm but also a band, I asked him if he wanted to be Alex James. He said yes, I hope we have underestimated the youth of today, they don’t all want to be in reality show after all, although a rockstar farmer is still pretty much a MTV generation career.
Cooking can be slow in your tent until you fathom out making fire last, it’s a challenge that a man can only resist for seconds, so as long as you have a man with you there will be heat in your tent everlasting.
There is a well stocked Honesty Shop with free range meats, BREAD, local ice cream and you have your own chickens for eggs in the morning, the kids loved going to collect them.
We only stayed for the weekend, but there were families on either side that had been for the week, and none of them were first timers. You get the feeling that once you’ve sampled the Featherdown Farm life you will be back. I can absolutely see the appeal, especially if you have kids, they absolutely loved it.
You can search the site for a place that appeals to you, we loved our site but there are many to chose from and I know my sister wants to go back again for a family holiday, she’s converted.
www.featherdown.co.uk
You can request a brochure at www.featherdown.co.uk/brochure