Take a break in a shepherd’s hut in Lancashire
Don’t follow the flock, says CLAIRE DEVINE, sleep in a shepherd’s hut
I’M NOT a fan of camping: give me a plush hotel bed any day. But wait – there’s a compromise – and you don’t have to be sheepish about it.
A half-timbered black and white medieval house built in 1325 as a family home, Samlesbury Hall is one of the stunning stately homes of Lancashire.
Not that we were staying in the hall itself. Our home for two nights was one of a collection of huts in the grounds.
Samlesbury Hall Shepherd’s Hut Hamlet is described as ‘a rustic and carefree alternative to your traditional hotel room’.
Much to the excitement of our two boys, aged six and two, the hut was compact but comfortable with doublesized bunk beds.
There were two chairs, a small table, hanging space for clothes and a bathroom with toilet, shower and towels. No tent pegs needed. And, as a bonus, enough room for our travel cot.
We set off to explore the grounds and find some much-needed refreshments.
Our first stop was to say hello to the animals that live in the hall grounds including Elvis the pig, goats, alpacas and rescued battery hens now enjoying a better quality of life.
We made a pit-stop at Dottie’s Wafflery, in the courtyard. It’s England’s first wafflery and serves up decadent desserts and local ice cream.
The courtyard pond and fountain was a hive of activity and, much to the children’s delight, it was filled with plastic ducks, with sticks to hook them out.
We returned to our hut to freshen up before dinner and to open some windows in a vain attempt to generate a through draught ahead of going to bed.
There was a mobile pizza oven in the courtyard, where you could get a freshly made meal, half a Peroni or a glass of prosecco delivered to your table for £10.
We kept the boys up as long as we could, waiting for the temperature to drop (it didn’t), visiting the animals again and checking out the large wooden adventure playground.
After a sticky night we were relieved to wake up to a welcome breeze and a slight drop in temperature. Breakfast is served in the hall’s historic billiard room with a wide choice including fresh eggs from the rescued hens and the hall’s very own lemon curd. My husband and I enjoyed a hearty full English with the boys, who had a children’s mini full English and sausage on toast.
If you prefer to cook your own breakfast, you can buy a disposable barbecue for £5 from reception.
The hall, restaurant, shop and wafflery were closed for a wedding so we decided to head to nearby Lytham St Anne’s for a day at the beach, about a 30-minute drive away.
Tired from a busy day building sandcastles, we returned to our hut late in the afternoon to freshen up ahead of dinner. Luckily the hut had an en-suite with shower, sink and toilet.
I was very impressed by the shower, which was much more powerful than ours at home!
Shower gel and shampoo were handily provided in dispensers in the shower cubicle, although we could’ve done with a more accessible hand soap dispenser by the sink.
Tired from the previous late night and heat, we went to nearby Italian restaurant Mezzo for our evening meal and both boys went to bed after an evening stroll to say goodnight to the animals.
We fancied a drink before bed so my husband then set up the fire pit that you can book with the hut for £5 – only for it to start raining. You can’t beat the British weather!
Luckily, as there’s not much room to sit in the hut with both boys sleeping, the rain shower was short-lived and we were able to carry on sitting out.
Saturday morning was much cooler and we did our usual visit to the animals en route to another delicious breakfast at the hall.
We had planned to do the bee experience at the hall’s bee centre (£40) but due to the hives being moved around we weren’t able to.
The hall is closed on Saturdays so we headed home after breakfast, but we ‘wool’ be back to explore some more.