Comfort and charm down on the farm
YES, of course taking your own tent, pitching it yourself and remembering all your supplies is character building. But it’s a bit too gung-ho for some of us.
Instead, my husband Dan and two sons, Noah, six and Hector, three, opt for Berridon Farm, near Bradworthy in North Devon.
As soon as we arrive we’re given a tour of the proper loos (phew) and proper showers (phew again) by Jenny Hill, while her husband David loads our bags into the trailer on his quad bike.
Roger, his dog, jumps in beside him and off we ride to the farm’s five tents, spaced in a neat row at the back of the field. Noah thinks Roger is the coolest dog on the planet.
Home for the next few nights is a cabin tent in a beautiful tree-backed meadow. The tents have an American frontier shack feel, with front porch, outdoor wooden table and fire pit. The inside is rustic cosy — wooden floors, large kitchen table and toasty wood burning stove. There’s even a coffee bean grinder. The only gripe is that the showers are a brisk walk across the field by the farmhouse.
Our boys can’t decide whether to sleep in the little spare room with bunk beds or the specially built cabin bed, which is inside a cupboard with small doors opening on either side.
There’s space enough for a family not to tread on each other’s toes.
Dan gets to work on the campfire and the boys and I go exploring. They run, arms oustretched with joy, to the tree house. Tyre swings hang from an oak tree.
Next stop is the chicken coop to collect eggs for next morning’s breakfast. There are donkeys, pigs and two pygmy goats, Rick and Nancy, who happily finish off the leftovers from our pizza-oven baked supper. As evening falls, we light paraffin lamps and candles and hunker down.
The farm is seven miles from the beaches of the North Devon Coast. And cyclists can pedal the popular Tarka and Camel trails.
It’s no surprise to learn the same families return to Berridon, often hiring all five tents with a group of friends. It’s a chance to get back to nature without the stress of living like a hunter-gatherer.
And that suits us perfectly.
TRAVEL FACTS
CABIN Tents at Berridon Farm ( berridonfarm.co.uk, 01409 241552) cost from £300 for a three-night stay.