It was bound to happen sooner or later. First came farmers’ markets, designer
wellies and restaurants where the waiters will tell you the name of the pig
you’re eating. Now you can pay £500 a week to stay in a luxury tent on a
real working farm.
Last weekend saw the opening of Feather Down Farm, described by its creator,
Luite Moraal, as “the most unique holiday experience in Britain”. Camping in
a field might not sound like a groundbreaking concept, but Moraal, who was
responsible for bringing Center Parcs to the UK in the 1980s, believes he
has hit on a tonic for our stressed-out, hyperactive age.
Aimed squarely at affluent urbanites with young children, Feather Down Farm
promises cuddly animals, an honesty shop stocked with locally produced
organic food and — very important, this last bit — flushing loos and proper
beds.
By next spring, Moraal plans to have 10 Feather Down Farms running across the
country, including two on Prince Charles’s Duchy of Cornwall estate. Each
will be based on small traditional farms owned and managed by a
husband-and-wife team. There will be hen houses where children can collect
eggs in the morning, animal paddocks, and bicycles for hire, so families can
explore the local area.
“I want to give people a real experience,” Moraal told me on a recent visit to
Holland, where the farms have been operating successfully for three years.
“Most holidays now are really boring. You can visit Greece, Spain or
wherever, but the experience is much the same. I think people are looking
for something else. They want to get back to basics.”
Moraal said he came up with the concept after learning of the difficulties
faced by farmers trying to make a living using traditional methods. He also
felt that city-dwellers were looking for “ethical, ecofriendly” holidays
close to home.
“You could say this is the opposite of Center Parcs,” he said. “It’s
small-scale and low-key. There are no fake smiles. If the farmer has a bad
day, you experience it.”
What makes Feather Down Farm unique is the accommodation, which is comfortable
yet defiantly low-tech. Each tent has a solid wood floor, a large dining
table, a kitchen area and a separate lavatory. There is a double bedroom, a
twin bunk room and a traditional Dutch box bed — a bedstee — concealed in a
wooden cupboard. The whole thing sleeps five in comfort, six at a push.
Moraal says he considered installing electricity, but decided the
back-to-basics vibe would be better achieved with a wood-burning stove for
heating and cooking, and hurricane lamps and candles for light.
In Holland, I found both farmers and visitors enthusiastic about the concept.
“This is our third year, and it’s working well,” said Thea Rozendaal, who
runs a small mixed farm with her husband, Wouter. The campers are mostly
affluent families from Amsterdam — in the car park, I spotted a Mercedes, a
Jaguar and a brace of Saabs. Lena and Jeroen Coops were staying for a
fortnight with their three children. Jeroen admitted that the experience had
been a culture shock at first. “It takes an hour just to make a coffee,” he
said, “but after a few days you adjust to the pace. It’s beautiful, and the
food has more flavour than at home.”
HOW WILL the concept go down in Britain? Last weekend, I took my family to
stay at the UK’s first Feather Down Farm, in West Worldham, Hampshire. The
host is Will Brock, whose great-grandfather started Manor Farm here more
than 100 years ago. The family grows arable crops, rears a flock of sheep
and keeps a suckler herd of 35 cows. When Moraal approached him with the
idea, Brock jumped at the chance.
“It was perfect for us,” he said as he loaded our bags onto a wheelbarrow. “We
needed to diversify, but we wanted something low-impact and small-scale.”
Our tent — one of five at the farm — was pitched beneath a sprawling oak tree,
with uninterrupted views over a newly shorn wheat field towards the
undulating hills surrounding the market town of Alton.
The children were in hog heaven. Callum, 10, ran yelping across fields and
flung himself off rope swings. Two-year-old Helena, who has been brought up
on a daily diet of farmyard stories, could barely contain herself when
confronted with real chickens and sheep. Both were fascinated by the bedstee
and spent large chunks of the weekend in there with a torch. PS2 and
CBeebies weren’t even mentioned.
The tent was delightful: cosy and watertight when the inevitable rain
descended, and dark enough at night to ensure a long sleep under thick
duvets. In the morning, Callum fetched eggs from the coop while I stoked the
fire. (My wife was willing, but it’s a man thing. At one point, I had to
elbow her out of the way.)
The shop was packed with award-winning local produce, including chilli apple
chutney, watercress and walnut pâté and Tunworth, a gorgeous soft cheese
made in the village of Herriard. Anna, who runs a small business supplying
ready-made meals to local farm shops, does a mean lemon cheesecake. And the
Brocks promise to add much-needed treats for children. (We had to drive to a
nearby village for sweets and chocolate biscuits.)
Will Feather Down Farms prove a hit? Judging by its success in Holland — where
Moraal is getting four inquiries a week from farmers who want to join up —
it can hardly fail. And though it will take more than a few posh tents to
save the English countryside, this is not a bad way to start.
Details: tents at Feather Down Farms (01420 86922,
www.featherdownfarms.co.uk) can be booked for three periods - a full week,
Friday to Monday, or Monday to Friday. Prices per tent range from £185
midweek in early October to £565 for a week in high season. Weekends cost
between £195 and £345. Add £5.75pp for bed linen and a £15 booking fee.
