Holidaymakers love the relaxing rural scenery of Devon, one of Britain’s prettiest counties, and Devon Farms & Country Stays offers the most fantastic pick of places from which to enjoy it. The accommodation includes farmhouse bed & breakfasts, self-catering cottages, lodges, glampsites and other options, all in peaceful, private settings with nature on the doorstep and wonderful attractions within easy reach. Many are pet-friendly.
Devon Farms & Country Stays is a co-operative of more than 50 country dwellers offering holidays in countryside settings, many of them on farms or smallholdings, often barn or outbuilding conversions. Others stand in their own gardens or grounds, sometimes large country estates. Between them they cater for everyone from single explorers to large families and offer an authentic experience of rural life, sometimes even an education, if wanted, about farming and food production.
Locations cover the entire county, including Dartmoor, Exmoor, the sunny English Riviera and Jurassic coast of the south, the surfing seas and resorts of the north and fabulously scenic walking and cycle routes such as the Tarka Trail and South West Coast Path.
There are properties near rushing rivers and nature reserves, awesome castles and ancient monuments, national parks, stately homes, gardens and family theme parks. There are two amazing cities, Exeter and Plymouth, and many welcoming towns with their own special mix of shops, places to eat and drink and entertainments. Beautiful beaches about and quaint harbour villages are never far away. Enchanting views are everywhere.
Devon Farms & Country Stays members pool resources for marketing, share a website and support one another to ensure great experiences for their guests, who book directly with their chosen providers.
Spokeswoman Karen Shaw, says: “The co-operative is entirely run by its member families, ensuring its integrity. We all live on site, so guests aren’t dealing with some big faceless bureaucracy but with real people who care about what they do and want their guests to have an enjoyable experience.”
Holidaymakers are invariably offered locally produced food, drink and other products, whether in catered or self-catered accommodation. The landowners are all working hard to ensure their land provides great habitat not only for farm animals but for wildlife, too, so guests invariably see a great variety of birds and other species during their stay.
Co-operative member, Georgina Dennis, says: “We are all passionate about sustainability. We try to run our farms, our land and our accommodation in as eco-friendly way as possible and keep our food miles low.”
To browse your own best holiday opportunities, visit www.devonfarms.co.uk
