Featherbed

It’s the peace and quiet that most people comment on when they visit Featherbed. There are no cars, no kids and no distractions from the important business of relaxing in the countryside. The occasional neigh of a horse or the sound of a combine harvester in the fields are the rather pleasant soundtrack at this rather pleasant, adults-only glamping site in Northamptonshire.

Featherbed is part of Middle Farm, a 900-acre arable affair that sits in countryside between the Chilterns and the Cotswolds – just 90 minutes from central London. When Isobel, who looks after glamping guests, moved here from the city years ago she used to lie in bed and marvel at how little she could hear. Now, it’s your turn. Isobel has feathered four beds for glamping guests who can choose from a sliding scale of luxury and price.

The best-value stay is the traditional canvas bell tent which sits in its own little paddock with private facilities a hop and a skip away, across the field in a farm outbuilding. Next up it’s the dinky Hat Hut, a unique little cabin which, like the nearby shepherd’s hut, is self-contained with a kitchenette and en-suite shower and loo. Tall people may want to skim straight past and on to the shepherd’s hut as the bed in the Hat Hut, is a small-but-perfectly-formed, 5ft 8ins long. The Luna Bell tent is the top spot; sitting alongside a little copse of trees and a pond with a Swedish hot tub and a horsebox kitchen outside.

The tents are on grass, the cabin and shepherd’s hut on gravel and close to the farm buildings (some of which house offices) but all look out across the flat farm fields towards the setting sun. On warm days, this is the best time here. Activity around the farm slows, the sun goes down and you can get a campfire going. Perhaps you’ll be cooking up local produce from one of the great farm shops nearby, whilst discussing which garden or stately home you’ll visit next. There are several; from Stowe Gardens to magnificent Blenheim Palace. Walking or cycling to nearby pubs and day trips to Oxford and Stratford-upon-Avon are other grown-up ways to spend days. For a more modern outing, head for the designer shops of Bicester Village or home of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Both are near enough for an easy visit but far enough to preserve the peace of this rather pleasant place.