10 reasons to stay with us at our glampsite in Staffordshire
10 reasons to try out glamping in our Staffordshire yurts:
Some people absolutely love camping; the idea of getting back to basics, getting close to nature, going off grid, taking time away from all of the screens that surround us in our daily life, and re-connecting as a family, or with friends.
Picture a roaring campfire with gooey marshmallows on the end of skewers, or sausages sizzling away over the flames, with your closest friends and family all sat around and focusing on each other not the many many worries and distractions we are faced with in everyday life these days: work, finances, household duties, the school run, homework, exams ... the list goes on.
Whilst camping sounds fun, it isn’t for everyone. The airbeds going flat in the middle of the night and waking up on a hard ground with back ache. Stooping in a tent barely tall enough to stand in, clothes getting damp, often shabby shower and toilet blocks, a day of rain with nowhere to go to get really, properly warm and dry again.
Well that’s where glamping comes in and here are 10 reasons to give our beautiful luxurious yurts a try:
- REAL BEDS
We currently have three 6metre yurts on our glampsite in Staffordshire and each one has real beds- enough to sleep six guests per yurt.
Milne’s Corner has a beautiful, chunky, kingsize, fourposter wooden bed from Indigo Furniture. As well as single daybed with extra trundle bed and double leather sofa bed with comfy memory foam mattress topper.
Potter’s lodge has a huge superking size metal bed from ‘And so to bed’ 2 x single daybeds as well as their two trundles which when put up are pushed together to create another superkingsize bed.
Beaumont’s Hideaway also has a ginormous superking size bed beautifully refurbished by the wonder Trae (search for The furniture taylor), a super sturdy double sofa bed, and single daybed and trundle.
So no flat air bed or crick in your neck.
2.THE SHOWER BLOCK
We have been told by many of our guests that we shouldn’t really call it a shower block as this term does it no justice at all, and without wishing to blow our own trumpet I have to agree.
When I was designing the shower and toilet block I was adamant that it would be a practical yet beautiful space.
Having been on many a camping holiday and a few glamping trips, where all I really wanted was a nice warm shower, with a decent amount of water pressure and a space to get dressed where I didn’t have to do a crazy dance all in the name of avoiding putting my feet on the cold, muddy floor.
Also whilst I do try and take it back to basics on camping holidays and don’t fuss with hair and makeup too much, let’s face it us ladies in particular (but gents as well) do often want a nice, well thought out space to maybe dry our hair, where the plug socket for plugging in hair appliances isn’t located on the other side of the room to the mirror so you have no hope of being able to see what is going on while you try and make yourself presentable.
A 5 star shower block was a huge priority for me.
3. GOING OFFGRID
There’s something so refreshing about having no electricity, especially at night. Our cooking cabin has power to it, as does the shower and toilet block, and even the BBQ hut (for fairy lights) however the yurts themselves do not have power to them, and we have absolutely no plans to change this.
There is no TV, nowhere to plug your phone in, no mains powered lights and no plug in heaters.
Therefore you find yourselves reconnecting with the person/people you have come away with, or diving into a book for entertainment. Lighting the campfire at night and just sitting out under the stars. You still have your phone, but to charge it you have to put it in a locker in the shower and toilet block, forcing you to have a break from it. The lighting is soft and magical with just a few fairy lights and candles and with the skylight you find yourself waking up naturally with the sun coming up.
4. BEING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE
This one is for everyone but more important for the city dwellers out there. I haven’t lived in a city since I went to University in Nottingham, but I do know that life in the countryside is very different to that in the city. A much slower pace, more opportunities to just stop and take in the wonder of nature, the clean air and time to find yourself again.
Sometimes if you stand still you can hear nothing, absolutely nothing, such peace is hard to come by in the city. Even if there is noise it could be the relaxing chatter of the birds, or the distant low drone of a tractor ploughing a field. Yes occasionally the donkeys over the road like to remind us they are there and our geese certainly enjoy testing their vocal chords a couple of times a day but the sounds of the countryside are fantastic and so different to that of a city or town. So escape and feel free for a few days.
5. FIRE
What is it about lighting a fire in a woodburner or firepit and spending time with your loved one or friends? It’s cosy, romantic, and there are usually marshmallows. I also love the sound of the fire crackling away in the firepit. I could lie out on a blanket all night and watch the flames dancing around giving off a gentle heat (unless you get too close of course)
There is also cooking over fire, it feels rustic and back to basics, and very satisfying to create a meal in such a primitive way. Cook over the firepits, or use your woodburning stove inside the yurt. The BBQ hut is also a great place to gather friends if the weather is not great. Seating 24 it is the perfect place for groups, which leads to...
6. GETTING EVERYONE TOGETHER
Our site currently sleeps a total of 20 guests, with up to 6 guests in each of our three yurts and 2 guests in The Loft. When you consider our central location in Staffordshire, the Midlands, we are the perfect spot to gather a group together.
Whether you are a group of friends who went to school/university together and now live all over the country. Or if you are meeting up with brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, cousins, aunties, uncles; you name it you can all meet up here.
The great thing about our site is that if any of your group prefer to have a ‘real roof’ over their heads The Loft is an option. A part of the main farm building with it’s own private entrance and bathroom The Loft sleeps 2 people (with the option of a travel cot as well) in a super comfy super-king size bed over looking the glamping field, so you can join in the shenanigans around the fire or BBQ, have a soak in the hot tub and then retreat to your own private hideaway for the night.
7. HOT TUB
Yes I did say hot tub in point number 6. The hot tub is located centrally in the glamping field, and is a shared facility amongst the four accommodations. Seating 8 it is again ideal for slightly larger groups. We have had many a hen party and birthday party that have spent an enjoyable relaxing evening in the hot tub.
Take a walk around the Staffordshire countryside, or pop over to the Peak District during the day and then sink into the hot tub and let the jets ease your aches and pains and melt away any stress as you gaze at the stars and enjoy some peace and quiet.
We work the hot tub on a booking system to allow everyone private use, and to ensure the peaceful atmosphere onsite we ask that guests do not use the hot tub after 10pm or before 7am.
8. LOCATION AND THINGS TO DO
As we mentioned in point number 6, we are the perfect central location for easy access to get groups together, but our location offers much more than this. We are just 12 miles from the quaint market town of Ashbourne which is also known as the gateway to the Peak District. It is just the other side of Ashbourne where you can find the famous Dovedale stepping stones and Thorpe Cloud. The Tissington Trail can also be accessed form here; a great traffic free place for cyclists. You don’t even need to bring your bike as you can hire bikes and trailers there.
The Peak District is beautiful but even closer to us there are an abundance of nice walks set in picturesque countryside. Our local pub, The Bell Inn, is just a 1.2 mile walk and this can be reached by going either straight down the country lane or there are several different marked public footpaths you can follow over the fields. Enjoy a pizza in their beer garden, or one of their beautiful Sunday roasts, The Bell are very popular with our guests, and like us are dog friendly (in the bar and garden).
Also just 3 miles up the road is the site of the 1944 Fauld explosion. The explosion was the worlds largest accidental blast at the time and could be seen and felt 60km away and heard in London, it left behind a large crater measuring around 270m x 233m and 100ft deep. Today whilst it is still fenced off you can walk around it following one of 3 different routes of various lengths all starting from The Cock Inn at Hanbury.
Another popular activity amongst our guests is Alton Towers which is just a 30 minute drive away.
For families with younger children we have the Adventure farm a 3-4 minute drive away with loads to do and animals to feed and pet, check out our little vlog of an afternoon spent there here.
9. DOG FRIENDLY
That’s right! We welcome all well-behaved dogs to our site in all of the accommodations. We know that a dog is part of the family and a lot of people like to take their furry friend on holiday with them when possible, and being in the location that we are with lots of gorgeous walks close to hand where better to take your entire family including your dog(s).
10. SMALL FAMILY BUSINESS
We are a small family run business and making you have a perfect stay with us is our passion. We will go above and beyond to ensure you have a comfortable and enjoyable stay, whether that’s sourcing your BBQ food from our favourite award winning farm shop Denstone, to booking you a table at a recommended restaurant (along with a taxi if you fancy a few drinks), to decorating your yurt for that special occasion (hen party, birthday, honeymoon, anniversary) you just let us know how we can help and we will do our very best.
Not only are we here to ensure you have an amazing stay, but as we are a small family business we also try to support other local businesses too. We have teamed up with The Mug Tug to offer pot painting from the comfort of your yurt, Local massage therapist, Helen from the Holistic hideaway offers a range of treatments to be enjoyed in onsite, our local Florist, The Florist Gate offer a range of wreath making and flower arranging days for our guests, perfect for hen parties, Mother’s Day, Easter and Christmas activities. We sponsor a local children’s football team and try and donate prizes for charity raffles and auctions, so you can feel good about the fact that staying with us is contributing back to the local economy and well-deserving charities.
We could go on with so many more reasons to stay with us, this is just a taster and if you would like to find out more information or have a top reason of your own for staying with us we would love to hear from you.
