High Weald self catering cottage, England
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
We have been awarded Green Tourism Business Scheme Silver accreditation for the sustainable way in which we run Bardown farm cottages.
At the heart of Bardown farm is an old seventeenth century Sussex barn that is oak framed with a slate roof. It was originally used for storage of small bales of hay and straw and over the years we have kept pigs, sheep, chickens and even our ponies in it! In 2004 we decided to convert it into self catering holiday accommodation and a year later it had become Crow Cottage (after a very persistent Crow that still wanted to get in despite the windows), Ewe cottage (where the sheep lived) and The Roost (the chickens would all fly up and roost on the beams here at night).
We converted the barn as sympathetically as we could using locally sourced oak for the windows, doors, staircases and weatherboard outside and we used reclaimed slates on the roof. The conversion of the barn was a "warm build" which means that the old oak timber frame was wrapped in insulating material Cellotex and then the various layers were added on top. The result is a building that retains its heat very well and is cheap to heat in winter! By converting the barn into holiday cottages we have preserved a very original Sussex barn with all its oak beams as well as adding to the overall income of the farm and enabling other people especially children who perhaps live in a more urban environment to see what its like to live in the country and stay in a really old character building.
At Bardown farm we encourage guests to recycle as much as possible so we have separate bins for glass, plastic, cardboard, paper and tins. We try and use as many recycled products ourselves as possible - for example toilet paper, kitchen roll and stationary.
Community
Our whole family is actively involved in our local community and we want to make sure that the impact our guests have locally is beneficial to our local businesses and neighbours.
The restoration of our farm buildings has involved using locally sourced timber, local suppliers and numerous local workmen. At Bardown farm everyone we employ is local, from Louise and her daughter Emma who clean the cottages, to Pete the handyman and Rachel the farmers wife next door who takes care of the catering and sources many of her ingredients from local farms including beef, lamb and pork from Stonegate, Fuggles or Arena Apple Juice and Stonegate’s Traditional Cheese Dairy.
In a comprehensive guide within the cottages and further supported by a wealth of information in the games room and on our website we actively promote local attractions such as the farmers markets (Stonegate farmers market takes place on the first Saturday of each month), local pubs serving good locally sourced food including The Old Vine in Cousley Wood, the White Horse in Hurst Green or the restaurant at Capel Down Vineyard near Tenterden which produces Award winning English Wine; the nearby attractions such as Bewl Water and Bedgebury Pinetum, and events within the county and local villages such as the Mayfield Carnival. These are updated on the website on a monthly basis.
Landscape
We actively encourage our guests to try our farm walk which takes between 40 minutes and an hour. The trail takes you down through the woods on an ancient part sunken pathway known as Picadilly that was the route by which the iron ore was transported to the River Rother. The farm walk brings you back up through Air Field where Mick Reid who was the largest farmer in Stonegate used to fly his Tiger Moth plane from just after the war. The route is full of Bluebells in the spring and teeming with wildlife - you are almost guaranteed to see the Buzzards and may well also see deer and foxes.
We provide guests with High Weald AONB information packs in encourage their understanding of the beautiful countryside we live in.
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