South Downs farmstay cottages near Beachy Head, England

Planet

Both the cottages were old buildings that we have restored in the style in which they were built. The Farm Cottage was an old tithe cottage lived in by farm workers back in the early days of the farm. Over time as fewer people lived on the farm we took the chance to see if, when restored, it would work as a self catering cottage. We used local suppliers and local materials in order to maintain the integrity of the buildings.

In an unusual scheme to utilise the land around you and conserve energy we have under floor heating in the Old Parlour that actually comes from the land itself, this is called Geothermal Heating and it uses the heat given off a few feet under the soil. The temperature is fairly constant at this depth and gives off heat even in winter.

On the farm itself we try to encourage wildlife where we can with lots of hedgerows across the large site. As a result we have lots of animals that our guests often spot on their stay. This ranges from badgers and foxes through to kestrels and kites on a good day for the birdwatchers amongst you.

The youngest generation in my son is also involved as he keeps ducks and chickens which roam with lots of room and we get lovely eggs from them which are always available if wanted.

It is also possible to travel around on foot or with public transport the local station being about 1.5 miles away. We have one regular German guest who comes each time and walks everywhere never setting foot in a car if he can help it. We encourage this with all of our guests as this is not an area to drive through- you would miss all of the good stuff!

People

We employ a full time worker who is a local and who lives in the cottage on the farm itself. We have a further two part time workers on the farm also from the local region. We try where possible to employ from the villages surrounding the farm. This is in the hope of keeping the community thriving around us. We provide accommodation for the farm workers on site where we can as it makes it easier for us to find the right people.

We promote the local businesses and though we don't have a farm shop ourselves we always direct people to the local farmers shops for fresh food. There are many good local pubs around that we try to promote as much as possible.

There are also some crafts that come from the area that some of our guests like to do given the chance. A good example is the Sussex Trugs which are made locally and which guests can buy from a few local craftsmen. One in particular at Herstmonceux has provided great trugs in the past and we can always point people in the right direction if they are interested in these things.