The Feather Down Farm tent...
... is incredibly spacious and comfortable. The interior is a reminder of the honest country-life of times gone by.
The Feather Down tent is equipped for up to 6 people (maximum 5 adults and 1 child up to 12 years). You will find: glasses, cups, mugs, plates, cutlery, kitchen knives, chopping-boards, scissors, a coffee grinder, pans, cooking and baking equipment and serving spoons. You do not have to take anything from home - it's all there.
Your sleeping quarters are:
- a double bed of 2.0 x 1.8 metres in the master bedroom.
- a bunk bed of 2.0 x 0.9 metres in the bunk bedroom
- a cupboard bed of 2.0 x 1.3 metres for two children or one adult.
A rural retreat
Made of thick, protective canvas, our tents keep the warmth in without shutting the sounds of nature out, so you can wake up with everything around you. After a comfortable, curative sleep, you greet the day feeling refreshed and relaxed.
Our tents are cosy, calm places to start the day. From the moment you begin to stir, you’ll be struck with a sense of time and space – time to take it slow, space to let the day unfold. This is just the beginning of your rural retreat.
Soon you’ll be witnessing the passion our farmers have for tending to their livestock and produce. And as all our guests find they do, you’ll slow your pace, as you become familiar with their gentler way of life.
Rise and shine
Jumping out of bed to fire up the stove; unzipping and rolling up the front of the tent to let the view in; laying the table for your family feast; collecting eggs from the Chicken Coop; a trip to the Farm Larder for bacon and milk… No gears to get into, no buses to catch, no school gate to be at. The day’s start is simply about the gathering, the cooking and the eating of breakfast, together.
The toilet in the Feather Down Farm tent looks exactly the same as a vintage loo in olden days but is actually a mains flushing toilet in disguise! Such a toilet then stood in an out-house. Running hot water can be found in the showers, not far from your tent, usually in a converted stable block or barn – convenient for you and your family. Your children may not be bothered but if you would rather stay yummy not slummy then fear not, help is close at hand.
Using the stove
In the wood box there is a bag containing firelighters. Light two or three of these blocks and half-fill the stove with wood. Then nip outside and take a look at how beautiful the smoke looks coming out of the chimney.
The stove and the pipe can get very hot... so be careful. Immediately after lighting, it is already possible to start cooking but to really cook well you have to wait a little while. During cooking, the stove must be topped up regularly. There is no way to adjust the temperature on the stove. The cooking temperature can be regulated through the location of the pan on the cooking ring. The middle of the cooking ring is piping hot and at the sides you get a ‘simmer temperature’. If something does not need to cook too rapidly, you don't turn up knobs but simply slide the pan a little more to one side.
A Vintage Loo
The last place with running water is in the vintage loo in the Feather Down tent. The toilet in the Feather Down farm tent, looks exactly the same as in former days. Such a toilet then stood in an out-house, not far from the main house, usually in the backyard (in front of the farm, near the road). Now you can use a normal flushing toilet in the Feather Down Farm tent. That is also different from in the old days; back then, such vintage toilets needed to be emptied at the back a couple of times each year ...!
Running water is also to be found in the shower - and it's hot! Not too far from your tent, usually in a converted stable block or barn, you'll find a communal shower block for use by you and the family. Of course your children may not be that bothered but if you want to remain yummy rather than slummy then fear not, help is at close at hand.
Outdoor Living
Each tent has a picnic table, enabling everybody to sit outside. It gives a great feeling of solidarity, of being together again and especially doing things together. Even if it is just laying the table, cooking together or doing the dishes by hand.
Woodland walks, beautiful bike rides, places to paddle and castles to conquer... The options are plentiful at all our farms, so predetermined action plans can be replaced with frequent family powwows to decide not only how you’ll explore, but also what you’ll discover.
Experience the Seasons
The seasons are lived in high definition at Feather Down Farms, and each has its own special something. Spring is synonymous with renewal, awakening and birth, and after a winter of making preparations for the farming year, our farmers and their families give it a warm welcome. Lambing season begins, the bluebells bloom, the birds return from the south and the natural world is fresh and pretty.
Later, as autumn’s leaves blush to russet and the air becomes crisp, expeditions are mounted that call for squelching through mud, splashing through puddles, and stomping through crunchy leaves. As a season symbolised by visible breath, bright cheeks, beautiful light and rich colours, autumn is a very special time to stay at our farms.
Night falls, the stars come out
Whatever the season, when the day draws to a close and the candles are lit, a warm, fireside feeling fills our tents. The stove is stoked, and its soft radiance creates long shadows and a cosy glow.
At home, switching off at the day’s end isn’t easy. But with us the long evenings are spent lingering over supper, having good conversation, gathering together to play games, or relaxing with a book. Without the distractions of recordable TV and late night emails, the focus can be on time spent together.
An evening amble is the last of the day’s simple pleasures and many of our farms are set so deep in the countryside that the sky is extra inky, meaning the stars are extra twinkly.
Ambiance
The evenings with Feather Down Farms are just like the old days, without distractions, meant for night-time stories and conversations.
You can also take the tent light with you outside to enjoy a glass of wine, each other and the most fantastic starry sky that you can imagine (you had forgotten how dark nighttime could be)
Cooking
At Feather Down Farms the evening meal is an event. It may take longer to bring to the table, but everyone has a hand in getting it there, whether collecting the wood, peeling the potatoes, lighting the candles or counting out the cutlery. Stews warmed on the stove, pizza from the wood-fired oven, meats grilled on the barbecue, marshmallows toasted around a campfire… Whether you spend a weekend or a week with us, no two meals need be the same. We offer variety not only in the delicious home-cooked meals we can prepare for you, but in all the ingredients stocked in the Farm Larder, and the ways in which you can cook them.
Freedom to Play
Staying close to home by the tent is just as much fun as wandering far and wide. We like to think of the areas that all our farms' tents are set in as nature's own adventure playground. In all, children can scamper freely, while their parents indulge in worry-free downtime. Just as ramblers have their 'right to roam', so children have a 'right to play'.
The Great Outdoors
For activities on site and adventures beyond their farm’s boundaries, our farmers and their families are the local knowledge. With no catchall ‘info packs’, some give their guests homemade maps, while others suggest treasure hunts, and share their secret nature trails.
Woodland walks, beautiful bike rides, places to paddle and castles to conquer… The options are plentiful, so set action plans can be replaced with frequent family powwows to decide where you’ll explore and what you’ll discover.
