The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Old train carriage got glamping farm on the right track
When it comes to recycling there’s nothing off limits for owners of Rosehearty-based glamping business Down on the Farm.
Matthew and Carole Short are well-known for their love of reusing and repurposing.
One of the first projects was converting an old railway carriage, bought for £50, into a three-bedroom glamping pod.
Guests can also use a toilet in a whisky barrel.
Since starting the business on their 200-acre farm it has grown and now has four glamping units, a holiday cottage and offers farm tours.
Carole, 45, said: “We are massive fans of recycling. We would always choose to reuse something or repurpose something than buy something new. It’s just who we are.
“One of the first things we had to do was create a toilet for a hideaway. So we got an old whisky barrel and made it into a toilet.
“We got a bit of a reputation for making quirky things out of items that have had their day and are finished.”
The couple, who have two children, also transformed an old railway carriage bought from a neighbour, and a hut.
Carole said: “People had inherited the property after someone had died and it was full of railway carriages.
“The couple thought it was untidy and wanted to smarten the place up before they put it on the market, so we bought it for £50.
“Matthew is very good at joinery, plumbing and electrics, so he did it himself.
“It took a few months and went from being a hen feed store to something that sleeps three people.
“You get your heat from a wood burning stove, there’s light with solar panels on the roof and there’s cold water, but if you want hot water you’ve got to heat it up with a gas ring.
“Everything about it is recycled.
“It’s got my granda’s old chair and granny’s kitchen table. It’s just our style.”
Carole and Matthew, 51, started the business in 2012 with just one unit and since then it has continued to grow.
Carole said: “We’ve got a very good reputation and are very well-known. Over that 11 years, lots of people have introduced glamping to their farms and we’ve always got to be looking at what makes us different.
“I think what makes us unique is we’ve got the railway carriage and the harvest hut.
“We haven’t gone to a shop and bought a pod that you can find all over Scotland. We’ve made our own accommodation.
“It was important to do that because there is competition and you need to stand out from the crowd.
“When we started the glamping business it really wasn’t very well known.
“We started off with one unit and expanded a lot over the last 10 years.”
As well as the accommodation, the couple have just introduced spaces for four motorhomes.
Visitors can also take part in a farm experience and take a trailer-ride to meet the animals and learn about sheep and cattle-farming in the north-east.
Carole said: “You have to work hard to get people to come, and rightly so, because these days people have to spend their money wisely.
“We need to make sure we are giving them a quality product and quality experience when they get here.”
Their hard work and dedication has been recognised by tourism body VisitScotland.
Chief executive Malcolm Roughead said: “There’s a great demand for eye-catching and unique holiday experiences from visitors, keen to properly immerse themselves in Scottish history and culture.
“It is wonderful to see how our resourceful and creative tourism entrepreneurs and operators as a force for good; investing time, money, love and effort into old buildings, vehicles and machinery to create priceless holiday memories, while also helping to create jobs, sustaining community assets and contributing significantly to the economy.”