Thas A Fact?

We made the choice a while back that this year we’d take our Family holiday locally and for a shorter length of time. Having enjoyed a mammoth stay abroad last summer we figured that it would be a) cheaper, b) slightly less hassle and c) easier on the business if we weren’t out of the office for an extended period.

We’d already considered the idea of camping, preferably on a working farm (great experience for the Little Man thought us), so it didn’t take us long to be persuaded by the images of family bonding and ultra-serenity on the website to settle for a Feather Down Farm (FDF) holiday.

Feather Down Farm Sign.

FDFs have already received extensive coverage in the media and on family-orientated websites and forums. Dubbed ‘camping for yummy mummies’, or simply ‘glamping’, they promise ‘the most unique holiday you can experience in Britain today’. Conveniently for us, a FDF opened in Norfolk just above the Suffolk border only this April. What luck!

We arrived, travelling light as families do (ahem…), and the very first impression was of the farm itself (College Farm). While there is a sign to the fact that it is a FDF (wooden, nothing elaborate), it was nice to see that this was indeed, a proper bona-fide working farm, not some Disney-ed up version for the benefit of City-dwellers looking for rural adventure. We were met by FDF co-operator Lucy Daniels and greeted as if we were old friends. Lovely.

Transportation via wheelbarrow!

Transporting our baggage from the car via wheelbarrow, the second impression was the field and the ‘tents’ themselves. I say ‘tents’ because these are more like semi-permanent structures of canvas, wood and metal – spacious in size and solid to touch. Best of all, they’re already errected. Hooray. Inside is a wooden floor and furnishings including a proper wooden family-sized dining table, wooden beds and a kitchen area kitted out with pretty much every bowl, saucepan and item of cutlery you’ll ever need on your stay.

Inside the FDF tent.

The tents, inside and out, reflected exactly what we’d seen on the website and after settling in, OH commented that the accommodation had ‘exceeded his expectations’.

Other things you’ll find in the tent are a wood burning stove on which you cook, boil water for tea and so on, cold running water (but no hot) and a flush toilet (but not of a modern style – it is a hole in a large rectangular wooden seat with a wooden lid that you replace afterwards). There is no electricity, no fridge, no freezer, no TV and no heating.

Outside view of the tent.

Light after dark is courtesy of candles and food items are kept cold in a large thick-walled ‘chest’ in which you place frozen hot water bottles (available free from the on-site farmshop). Ironically we found that stuff kept colder under this treatment than it did in our fridge at home.

View inside the tent.

To my mind, the FDF accommodation was less ‘camping’ and more ‘frontier chic’. We felt very much like settlers in the American Old West. Devoid of the technology of modern life, everything is stripped back to be naturally slower and simpler. Initial concerns about a two year old and the central wood-burning stove soon subsided. Yes, supervision is required, but with application of good common sense (as you’d have to apply in any cooking situation outside the home), there’s no need to worry.

Inside the tent, by candlelight.

Our FDF days began with a guided tour of the farm by Lucy and Partner Marcus, where we were introduced to Peppa and George the pigs (excitable and very cute), the cows, the dogs and the chickens. We held some recently hatched duckings and goslings. We were also looking after a couple of chickens, themselves on holiday from the main coop, which provided us with at least one fresh egg everyday.

Little Man explores the farm.

After settling in, we made the most of being close to numerous visitor attractions nearby.

Framlingham Castle.

On the second day we drove into Suffolk to visit Framlingham Castle (never been before – nice castle. Framlingham itself also a lovely place), followed by Somerleyton Hall & Gardens on the third day (fabulous gardens & lovely tearooms with delicious homemade cake, but hall tour quite formal so largely unsuitable for all but the very best behaved littluns, i.e. not ours).

Somerleyton Gardens.

After successfully navigating tea, cake and the maze at Somerleyton, we visited the Oasis Camel Centre near Metfield. Initial impressions of this attraction were sceptical, but after spending some time there and talking with the owners, I can recommend it as a good-value, interesting day out. The animals (camels, alpacas, goats, ponies) are clearly well-loved and there is plenty to amuse young children. The operators are extremely friendly and were more than accommodating, going so far as to turn the bouncy castle on just for our Little Man and letting me stroke a camel. Interestingly, despite the fact that a real life camel was there to be petted, Little Man saw this as no competition for the miniature tractors and Cosy Coupes available to ride on. Exotic ungulate? Pah – if you can’t drive it, we’re not interested…

At the Oasis Camel Centre.

Each evening we returned to the ‘tent’ (usually to homemade cake from the on-site honesty farm shop and a nice cup of tea) and when bedtime came, Little Man went fairly painlessly down on the lower bunk of bunkbeds in one room (partitioned with a curtain). Some time (and wine) later, we retired to a further room where a solid double bed and extremely cosy bedding awaited our tired limbs. At no point were we ever cold throughout the night – in fact, the opposite was true, despite the fact that the climate was far from summery.

Lighting by candlelight.

For washing, you could boil a kettle and use a bowl and flannel, or there were rather good on-site hot showers in a block nearby.

On our last night, Lucy and Marcus fired up a large wood-fired traditional oven where one could make pizzas, bread etc. We didn’t actually do this, having had a cheeky pizza meal at Prezzo in Beccles earlier in the evening, but the other campers did, and it looked pretty good.

Little Man with wood-fired oven in background.

Our mid-week break was over predictably quickly and after packing up the car we maximised every minute of our break by crossing on the Reedham Ferry to visit Pettitts (which Little Man loved).

At Pettitts.

Back home, it was nice to have the option of watching tele, and boiling the kettle at the press of a button, but it was also a little sad. We rapidly dispersed into different rooms and occupied ourselves with different activities, the closeness we’d felt as a family at FDF became all the clearer. Restricted to one main ‘living area’, and no modern luxuries or distractions like the sofa, Cbeebies, Twitter, several bathrooms and a plethora of books, toys, papers etc etc., we spent more time truly together as a family unit than we often get the privilege to do. It was slow of pace, and quiet compared to our ‘usual’ life. It was fairly active (though there were rather inviting large deckchairs in the tent which begged you to recline) and there was plenty of fresh air (and fresh eggs, milk, sausages…). At night you fell into bed truly spent after watching the sun slowly set behind an amazing vista. It is also the best ‘rest’ for my mind that I’ve experienced in ages. The detachment from modern life, the simple, honest-to-goodness fun, and the possibility to reconnect as family make FDF an ideal family holiday and one I wholeheartedly recommend. We are already planning our next retreat…

View of a sunset from the tent.