Hooked on this Bohemian rhapsody down on the farm
As I write it is 7.20am and I am sitting in my car in a field on the hills east of Weymouth. It’s overcast and there is a slight drizzle in the air. Out at sea are three cruise ships. One of them is the Ventura, a ship we are booked to cruise on next summer. Why am I sitting in my car in a field on the hills near Weymouth?
Well, I am on holiday and I am loving every single second of it.
The great British staycation sees us on holiday with a group of families.
We are camping on a working farm, with bleating sheep, mooing cows and barking sheep-dog.
Ewelease Farm only opens for a month each year – there are no pitches, no electric hook-ups and most of the toilets are just a hole in the ground.
The showers are heated but are wooden huts or converted containers. The facilities are primitive but that’s the appeal.
There is a central ‘village’ with a bakery, patisserie, ice cream parlour, pizzeria, hog roasts and coffee shops.
The car next to me is a Range Rover and on the other side, a beaten up Ford Focus.
The mix of people here is very interesting, from very middle class to Bohemian!
With no rules, campfires blaze, groups of tents are formed in awkward shapes to suit the campers, but there is much respect for each other’s space.
This place really works.
At night families sit around their fires and children play freely on hay bales.
They hang out with their parents and none is banished to kids’ clubs.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m looking forward to a pampering on a cruise ship as much as the next person.
However, the festival feel of this campsite means I’m more than happy to wear the same clothes for a couple of days rather than a tuxedo.
I’d always been a bit wary of camping, but I’ve tried it and I love it.
The feel of being closer to nature, the sounds and smells of the countryside are so appealing and full of nostalgia.
Eating al fresco each night under the stars while huddled around a campfire exchanging stories – now that is a holiday.