Self catering farmhouse and barn conversion in Devon
| country: | England |
| location: | Near Clawton, Devon |
| price: | From £250 - £1290 for the farmhouse per week, £500 - £1590 for the barn per week (sleeps up to 10). Prices depend on season and include utilities and basic provisions. Short break prices also available |
description
Self catering farmhouse and barn conversion in Devon
The farmhouse is a turn of the century, Victorian farmhouse situated on the upper slope of the Claw Valley, a solid building typical of the period with many original features. South Beer sleeps up to 10 people (plus cot) and guests have the freedom to explore the owners 45 acres of mixed ancient woodland and pasture.
The barn sleeps 2 - 10 and is a no smoking property. Our latest property, the barn is a luxurious conversion from an original old farmyard building over 100 years old. The barn retains all its character and integrity with ragslate roof, slate floors, original timbers, bespoke doors and windows and high quality master craftsmanship and attention to detail of our local workforce evident everywhere you look.
Located at the heart of our mill nature trails it was crucial that the barn reflected the importance of the environment to us and we have used every opportunity throughout the project, to minimise any impact on the environment.
Our nature trails are a network of routes throughout the land for the use of all our holiday guests and local interest/school groups. We have created a private wildlife reserve where we are gradually rebuilding the traditional Devon banks and hedgerows, restoring and creating wildlife habitat including culme grassland, for such creatures as owls, bats, badgers, foxes, rabbits, deer and we hope to encourage the return of other wildlife such as otters, hare and dormice and the marsh fritillary butterfly.
The farmhouse is a turn of the century, Victorian farmhouse situated on the upper slope of the Claw Valley, a solid building typical of the period with many original features. South Beer sleeps up to 10 people (plus cot) and guests have the freedom to explore the owners 45 acres of mixed ancient woodland and pasture.
The barn sleeps 2 - 10 and is a no smoking property. Our latest property, the barn is a luxurious conversion from an original old farmyard building over 100 years old. The barn retains all its character and integrity with ragslate roof, slate floors, original timbers, bespoke doors and windows and high quality master craftsmanship and attention to detail of our local workforce evident everywhere you look.
Located at the heart of our mill nature trails it was crucial that the barn reflected the importance of the environment to us and we have used every opportunity throughout the project, to minimise any impact on the environment.
special things to do and see here
The accommodation is a private nature reserve owned by Dick and Elaine Green. It lies east of the A388 in the village of Clawton, mainly on the side of a valley sloping down to the Claw river, a tributary of the Tamar. The land covers 45 acres of varied habitat including pasture, scrub, broad-leaved woodland, areas of new woodland planting, quarry and wetland habitats including ponds and stream.Our nature trails are a network of routes throughout the land for the use of all our holiday guests and local interest/school groups. We have created a private wildlife reserve where we are gradually rebuilding the traditional Devon banks and hedgerows, restoring and creating wildlife habitat including culme grassland, for such creatures as owls, bats, badgers, foxes, rabbits, deer and we hope to encourage the return of other wildlife such as otters, hare and dormice and the marsh fritillary butterfly.
rooms, food and facilities
The farmhouse: The property includes a fully equipped, fitted kitchen with dishwasher, microwave, separate electric hob and fitted grill/oven, fridge and freezer. Washing machine and tumble drier in downstairs shower room with toilet and wash basin. Dining room with bread oven, farmhouse furniture and oak laminate wooden floor. Main sitting room with original slate fireplace housing log/multifuel burner, large sofas and armchairs, modern tv/dvd and video, cd/cassette/radio, books and games. Second sitting room with large sofa and comfortable, quality, sprung-mattress sofabed for 2 guests.
Tiled hallway with staircase to upper landing leading to 4 large bedrooms (2 doubles with cast iron beds and kingsize quilts and 2 twin rooms with pine single beds) all with wooden floors and uninterrupted views of the surrounding countryside, furnished where possible with period furniture in keeping with the house. Spacious airy bathroom with bath, overbath shower, toilet, sink and shaver point, and full central heating. Outside the farmhouse is separated from the farmyard by its own garden with mature shrubs, lawns, garden furniture, BBQ, outdoor hose and an array of local wildlife visitors. The farmhouse is situated up an unmade track and has ample under cover parking and an outdoor store area. The garden does have ponds and a well which are covered but children must be supervised.
The barn: The barn is situated in the old farmyard of farmhouse, with its own private parking area for up to 6 vehicles, huge gently sloping lawns, securely fenced and surrounded by newly planted indigenous hedgerow and private courtyard and south-facing patio with furniture and bbq. Enter the barn into the kitchen/dining end of the spacious 18 x 5 metre open plan living space, with traditional farmhouse furniture, slate floors and quality fitted kitchen equipped with all you will need to prepare and serve everything from a simple snack to sumptuous, celebratory feast for 10. The sitting area is furnished with quality, comfortable squishy sofas, cushions and Fairly Traded accessories and a super 37 inch plasma flat screen TV and DVD.
Upstairs to master bedroom one with luxury ensuite shower room and kingsize bed. The second kingsize master bedroom upstairs, also with luxury ensuite shower room and all the same quality furnishings and fittings as bedroom one. The lower ground floor houses 3 more bedrooms: a further kingsize double bedroom and two further twin bedrooms. All 3 ground floor bedrooms have environmentally friendly bamboo woodblock floors and rugs, high quality, locally made furniture and fittings and beds all have pocket sprung mattresses and organic bedding. The tiled downstairs bathroom offers a large feature bath or a further separate shower room so there’s no queuing for the bathroom. The utility/boot room keeps the rest of the house free of washing and wellies, swimming costumes and towels depending on the season and weather, with a sink and A rated washing machine, clothes airer and tumble drier.
Wildlife Activity/Games room - the small barn next door is available for most of the time for guests to use as a games/recreation room with portable CD player, table tennis table and wildlife activities, including TV for viewing live pictures from nearby hidden wildlife cameras. There are also separate toilets and handwashing facilities in the activity room.
Family friendly: Families and children are welcome at all our properties and travel cots and high chairs are available upon request (please bring your own linen). As each of our properties sleeps up to 10 guests they are ideal for family gatherings and special celebrations. (Please talk to us about local florists, caterers etc).
Pet friendly: Pets are welcome and purpose built kennel and run is available in the courtyard. We do allow well-behaved pets which must be kept under strict control at all times (livestock) and we can provide DIY livery for 1 horse or pony at our Mill.
By rail: Nearest train station is Gunnislake (17.86 miles).
By road: We are accessible via the A388 by car.
Tiled hallway with staircase to upper landing leading to 4 large bedrooms (2 doubles with cast iron beds and kingsize quilts and 2 twin rooms with pine single beds) all with wooden floors and uninterrupted views of the surrounding countryside, furnished where possible with period furniture in keeping with the house. Spacious airy bathroom with bath, overbath shower, toilet, sink and shaver point, and full central heating. Outside the farmhouse is separated from the farmyard by its own garden with mature shrubs, lawns, garden furniture, BBQ, outdoor hose and an array of local wildlife visitors. The farmhouse is situated up an unmade track and has ample under cover parking and an outdoor store area. The garden does have ponds and a well which are covered but children must be supervised.
The barn: The barn is situated in the old farmyard of farmhouse, with its own private parking area for up to 6 vehicles, huge gently sloping lawns, securely fenced and surrounded by newly planted indigenous hedgerow and private courtyard and south-facing patio with furniture and bbq. Enter the barn into the kitchen/dining end of the spacious 18 x 5 metre open plan living space, with traditional farmhouse furniture, slate floors and quality fitted kitchen equipped with all you will need to prepare and serve everything from a simple snack to sumptuous, celebratory feast for 10. The sitting area is furnished with quality, comfortable squishy sofas, cushions and Fairly Traded accessories and a super 37 inch plasma flat screen TV and DVD.
Upstairs to master bedroom one with luxury ensuite shower room and kingsize bed. The second kingsize master bedroom upstairs, also with luxury ensuite shower room and all the same quality furnishings and fittings as bedroom one. The lower ground floor houses 3 more bedrooms: a further kingsize double bedroom and two further twin bedrooms. All 3 ground floor bedrooms have environmentally friendly bamboo woodblock floors and rugs, high quality, locally made furniture and fittings and beds all have pocket sprung mattresses and organic bedding. The tiled downstairs bathroom offers a large feature bath or a further separate shower room so there’s no queuing for the bathroom. The utility/boot room keeps the rest of the house free of washing and wellies, swimming costumes and towels depending on the season and weather, with a sink and A rated washing machine, clothes airer and tumble drier.
Wildlife Activity/Games room - the small barn next door is available for most of the time for guests to use as a games/recreation room with portable CD player, table tennis table and wildlife activities, including TV for viewing live pictures from nearby hidden wildlife cameras. There are also separate toilets and handwashing facilities in the activity room.
Family friendly: Families and children are welcome at all our properties and travel cots and high chairs are available upon request (please bring your own linen). As each of our properties sleeps up to 10 guests they are ideal for family gatherings and special celebrations. (Please talk to us about local florists, caterers etc).
Pet friendly: Pets are welcome and purpose built kennel and run is available in the courtyard. We do allow well-behaved pets which must be kept under strict control at all times (livestock) and we can provide DIY livery for 1 horse or pony at our Mill.
how to find our self catering farmhouse and barn conversion in Devon
By air: The nearest airport is Roborough (25.59 miles). By rail: Nearest train station is Gunnislake (17.86 miles).
By road: We are accessible via the A388 by car.
how this holiday makes a difference
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Dick and Elaine encourage guests to shop locally by offering to order local goods, offering to share homegrown produce, informing guests of locally available produce via links on the website and by emailing customers who book and offering to provide basic local shopping ready for their arrival. Elaine and Dick privately support several charities on a regular basis. Dick and Elaine are happy to share their work and ambitions with all guests who are invited to accept a guided walk and talk around our nature walks. Elaine has been the chairperson of the local youth club for the last 6 years, secretary of Holsworthy Community College PTFA for the last 3 years, organizer of women’s sport group for the last 10 years. Dick has assisted and supported all the above. Elaine and Dick are now in the process of setting up a wildlife activity/interest group for members of the local community.
Elaine and Dick also offer the use of the wildlife activity room to local interest groups for wildlife activity events and lead guided walks and open days for the local community to get involved in the countryside and wildlife. Elaine and Dick have close links with the local primary school and playgroup who regularly visit the nature walks and will now benefit from the increased facilities with the wildlife activity centre. They are developing links with North Devon College at Barnstaple and students of sustainable tourism will be visiting the nature walks as part of their studies. There are no charges raised for any of the above activities, it is a crucial part of the business that we can engage the community and take them with us. We buy energy from Scottish Power Green energy hydro-electric scheme, we also in invest in wind power companies. Our home has solar powered hot water system which has been in place for about 4 years. Another cottage has solar panels and ground source heat pump. Planning application for wind turbine was turned down in 2007, we are considering reapplying. We use energy efficient light bulbs throughout all properties. We supply sava plugs for use on fridge and freezers. Carbon offsetting was done before we started – planting of approx 6 acres of indigenous woodland across the land in 2000, ongoing planting is carried out as appropriate in restoring hedgerows and habitat creation. Water is collected by well system and 4 large water butts and by rainwater harvesting system. All properties have showers and toilets have water hippos or half flush options. Our barn uses rainwater for toilet flushing and laundry and wildlife activity room toilets. Guests are encouraged to turn down beds which have been used to avoid unnecessary laundry. Towels are provided if requested at extra charge. All laundry is washed by Ecover, Bio D or laundry balls. Laundry balls or Ecover laundry tabs are provided at all properties to encourage use by customers. Bedlinen is changed after every guest or if requested during a 2 week holiday. Spare laundry is provided at all properties. We use Ecover cleaning products or Bio D or natural lemon juice, vinegar or warm water! There are no pesticides or artificial fertilizers or chemicals used at any properties either on land or in the garden. Our own horse and chicken manure is used on fields and in the garden. We control garden ‘pests’ by use of nematodes, indigenous ladybird lavae, encourage toads and frogs, leave our ducks to graze the veg plot throughout the winter to control slugs and snails. We have 3 different wildlife ponds, we have bat, owl, many different bird and insect boxes, maintain natural, ancient and newly planted woodland, rough pasture, hedgerows, we leave areas of land wild and uncut, we trim hedgerows on a 3 to 4 year rotation, we harvest hay late in order to let wild flowers set seed. This is the tip of the iceberg to the wildlife work. All garden and organic waste is composted. Guests have facilities to compost via our cornstarch and compost buckets (very popular and efficient) then used on the garden. We recycle and provide guests with facilities to recycle glass, plastic bottles, cans and drink tins, foil, paper and cardboard. We encourage guests to reduce, reuse and recycle. We are also able to recycle stamps, toiletries containers from Body Shop, greetings cards, printer cartridges, glasses, clothing. If it is obvious that guests have recyclable rubbish left in bin bags we get the rubber gloves on and sort rubbish for them, we send thanks to all our guests (nearly everyone) who does sort and recycle. Our office is almost paper free: most bookings and payments are via email and telephone. All paper is reused if only one side is printed. Envelopes are reused with new address labels. All paper products are from recycled sources. We work from home and have a small low emissions vehicle for most transport use. We encourage lift sharing among friends and co-workers. |
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