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Farm glamping company on hunt for new sites in the north and north-east

Inside a Feather Down tent
Inside a Feather Down tent

The company behind a travel concept which blends camping with rural life is proving hugely popular on farms down south.

Now, Feather Down Farm Stays, which hails from the Netherlands and has been in the UK for seven years, is looking to expand further into the north.

The company has 33 sites in the UK, including one in Scotland.

It also operates in locations in Belgium, France, Germany, the USA while new sites in South Africa are currently being looked at.

Its UK operations manager Rain O’Brien said it is on the hunt for new host farms within a two-hours’ drive from Aberdeen or Inverness.

“It’s a real chance to share the farming lifestyle and the love of what you do with people,” said Miss O’Brien.

“From a business perspective there’s a chance to do some diversification and get a substantial income stream.”

She said the holiday experience was designed to give people a taste of a “vintage lifestyle”.

“It’s really an opportunity for families to get away from it all,” she explained.

“We deliberately don’t have any electricity in the tents. They [the guests] are out collecting their own food and wood for the stove. It’s also a chance for children to play in the outdoors.”

In the first instance, farmers interested in getting involved are asked to complete a questionnaire before someone from the company goes out to visit them, explain more about the concept and assess the farm.

Miss O’Brien said: “We provide the tents and all the furniture that goes in them; a crew comes to install it. We also provide all of the equipment and do all of the marketing and bookings.

“All the farmer has to do is to have the site prepared for the tents to be installed.”

The tents have a flushing toilet and water supply so host farmers must ensure there are water and sewerage facilities on the site.

They are then paid a fee for every night in which the tent is occupied; the season runs between Easter and Halloween.

“They [the farmer] do the turnover in between guests with two arrivals scheduled per week. They do the hosting of the guests and they are very much the smiling face of Feather Down Farm Stays,” added Miss O’Brien.

“Part of the Feather Down concept is that the guests have a farm tour and that they have a pizza evening [with the host farmer] which is a chance for them to chat about farming life.”

In terms of time commitment, Miss O’Brien said guests must be able to contact the host farmer at any time and during the two turnover days – Monday and Friday – the host farmer must clean and prepare the tents and carry out check-out and check-in duties.

Sites can host between two and 10 tents, which equates to a block of land up to one hectare in size.

There is also a preference for farms with livestock as guests like to see animals during their stay.

Miss O’Brien said: “What we are looking for is a working farm, ideally with livestock, because that tends to be of interest to people with younger children.

“It’s a chance for children to really see where their food comes from so it can be both an enjoyable and an educational experience.”

She urged anyone interested in getting involved to get in touch by phoning 01420 80804 or by emailing joinus@featherdown.co.uk.