Cornish Yurt Holidays

A 400-yard track leads you down to Sunnybank Farm where the scene is as wistful as the name. The smallholding is a wholesome 37 acres in total, with young hawthorn trees alongside ancient oaks, sloping down to the River Camel below. Amongst it, pastures and rough heathland open out, semi-wild and wonderfully colourful, and a handful of Hereford cows graze in the sun. In springtime, the shadier spots are awash under a tide of bluebells, with narrow, pathways worn down by the feet of visiting campers. Their destination is the trio of hand-crafted yurts secreted away among the pastures. Each has a private, view-tastic location that’s well worth the wander.

First opened in 2001, Cornish Yurt Holidays was one of the earlier pioneers of what later came to be called ‘glamping’, with proper double beds, wood-burning stoves and cooking facilities all provided for campers who simply turn up. Today they have expanded from their first yurt but still remain notably modest given the vast amount of space the farm provides. Instead, maintaining harmony with the landscape remains founder Tim Hutton’s priority. He describes it as a “low impact but maximum comfort approach”, with the wood for the yurts all sourced on site and an environmental sensitivity to everything they do. Composting toilets are in beautiful wooden 'ig-loos', there’s a solar and immersion shower with views onto a hedgerow of ferns and twisted hawthorn branches, and the bathroom yurt is a real thing of beauty, with a wood-burning stove that provides piping hot water straight into the roll-top tub.

While the comforts inside each yurt are unquestionable, it’s the setting and atmosphere of Cornish Yurt Holidays that really stands out. Each yurt feels utterly in a world of its own, its meadow sheltered by trees, while hammocks and campfires encourage you to stay out and enjoy the starry skies that the edge of Bodmin Moor setting provides. It’s less than a mile to the edge of the moor proper and you can walk from Cornish Yurt Holidays to Brown Willy, Cornwall’s highest tor, in less than two hours. At the same time, the coast doesn’t seem miles away – it’s a 25-minute drive to Port Isaac – and the car-free Camel Trail, which begins about a mile away in Wenford, is a thoroughly pleasant way to get there.

In the evening, return for pint in the local village, a 10-minute walk away, or stay in camp to listen out for the hooting of resident tawny owls. Badgers, foxes and roe deer are occasional visitors too, while, if all else fails, Moose, the farm’s inquisitive shire horse, is sure to make an appearance.