You’re not, strictly speaking, ‘camping’ at a Feather Down Farm. You’re staying in ‘tented accommodation’. It’s a small distinction, but it acts as a good indication of what you can expect at this mini-chain of boutique campsites. This is Luxury Camping in roomy three-bedroom pre-erected tents, perfect for the ‘not sure about this camping lark’ section of the community, who might baulk at the idea of trying to put up a tent in the rain. Or for families looking for a good-value alternative to renting a holiday home. Or, indeed, for just about anyone, really – these tented palaces are cool, comfortable and fun.
Feather Down Farms recruit farmers with excess, redundant land, then they transport and erect their high-spec, custom-designed tents at the farm, organise the marketing and reservations, and let the farmers take care of the day-to-day management. The Feather Down team and the farmers share the proceeds appropriately; and everyone’s happy.
Being Feather Down’s first farm on Exmoor, Lower Rodhuish Farm is uniquely in a national park and close to the coast – it’s a three-mile, 10-minute drive down country lanes to Blue Anchor Bay’s pebble beach. It is also the perfect base for reliving childhood memories of North Somerset holidays, with Porlock Bay, Dunster Castle, Watchet Harbour, Tarr Steps and the West Somerset Railway all on our doorstep. The location can also make your holiday an active adventure, as vigorous walking routes are a short drive away; serious mountain bikers can plan to bring their steeds; and water sports galore are to be enjoyed at Wimbleball Lake.
Lower Rodhuish is a mixed farm that is half in the Crown Estate and half family owned. The 700 acres are part arable and part livestock, with 150 lambing sheep – North Country Mules and Suffolk Crosses – and 50 Devon Cross cattle. The owners also keep pigs, chickens, turkeys and beehives. The six Feather Down tents are spread across two paddocks behind the 17th-century farmhouse and a short climb up the slope reveals a child’s paradise, with kite-flying, stream-damming, and pond-dipping on your tent’s doorstep.