Our Take the Family Featherdown experience - May 2007

I was pretty nervous at the prospect of my short break at a Feather Down Farm. The brochure looked fantastic and the stories inside seemed really appealing, but what if it rained all week or my son Archie (almost 18mths) spent the whole time running off out of the tent? Plus my husband couldn't get away from work so he was going to be commuting back and forth in the evenings - was this really going to be feasible?

I really needn't have worried at all, we had a fantastic relaxing holiday and what's more are planning to go back with a group of friends.

We were met at the Hollings Hill farm house by the lovely Faye Knowles and her brood of children, she showed us to our tent and pointed out the honesty shop, hot showers and the hen house where we could collect fresh eggs every morning.


There were wheelbarrows on hand to take all our luggage up to our tent which soon became a very handy mode of transportation for the kids - who needs pushchairs! The tent was exactly the same as in the brochure - down to the small tins on the kitchen unit and was well equipped with everything from crockery and pans to whisks and corkskrews. There were 5 tents in total arranged around a large field with another hen house (albeit no hens as they had been caught by the fox some days before), some rabbits and a large sand pit.

It took a while to get sorted, taking all the luggage up to the tent (i was prepared for 5 days of rain so had boxes and boxes of toys and books), picking up the bed linen and making the beds. Then going back to get the wood (probably one of the first things we should have done) to light the stove to make the tea!

We brought our own travel cot for Archie and one of those booster type seats that goes on a normal chair rather than a high chair, but they did have both to rent. I also managed to borrow a fireguard from Faye to go in front of the stove as it is rather tempting for small hands.

Tallulah, who is 3.5 years, insisted on sleeping in the cupboard bed and managed to fall out of it on the first night (after that we pushed the double bed under the opening so at least if it happened again it would be a soft landing - needless to say it didn't).

Every morning that we were there Tallulah woke up giggling with excitement as she remembered where she was. The kids soon adapted to this way of outdoor life and loved the freedom. The front of the tent can be completely open and you can even roll up the sides if you want although there are windows all the way round so it is perfect for keeping an eye on the kids. We were lucky that the tent next to us was occupied by a family with kids the same age, so by the end of the week the kids were going from one tent to the other.

It was amazing how the long evenings with no television and no laptop soon became filled up. There still seemed to be the continuous tidying and cooking and cleaning, but it all happened in a far more relaxed way. There was also always something going on which we could watch intently from the tent, the vet looking at the horses, the sheep being rounded up and taken down to the farm (by Faye with one child on her back, carrying another and holding the other's hand whilst guiding the sheep dog!), the pet rabbits escaping and being brought back by Austin, the farmer, holding the poor things by the legs. (It looked like they were toast, or shortly to be on toast, at the time, but in fact it was more of a pet rescue!)

We also enjoyed a great tour around the farm and helped to bring the cows in for milking and then drank warm milk. Had a lovely dinner cooked in the bread oven - definitely something to plan before you go - we had an incredible joint of beef, but pizzas or even stews would work really well.

All in all it was a fantastic experience and one I would definitely repeat. There were a few teething problems as the tents had only been open since early April, but nothing that really affected our holiday. We stayed for a mid week break and I can imagine a weekend also being fantastic. We were very lucky with the weather and not sure if I would be quite so happy staying for a week in the rain, but that's the same as any camping holiday. I would highly recommend Hollings Hill Farm and the lovely Knowles family, and am 100% sure that the other 8 farms are also just as welcoming.

- Lucy Ace (& family)

PS: Find out more on Take the Family's Feather Down Farm holiday page.