Family glamping at New Barn Farm, a Feather Down Farm in Bedfordshire
A perfectly rustic, back-to-nature, wholesome family weekend.
A few weeks ago, we headed straight from school on a Friday afternoon to New Barn Farm, a Feather Down Farm, in Bedfordshire for two nights of idyllic family glamping.
For context – we’re not a camping family. My husband and I once camped for one night at the Isle of Wight festival. It was one of the best nights ever… apart from the tent and toilets. I’ve never dared take the kids camping. I love the outdoors but my husband less so. He’s not exactly at home in nature. But glamping? We like.
And Feather Down Farms are definitely glamping.
The Accommodation
The tents are beautifully rustic but well equipped. Real, super comfortable beds, a bathroom with flushing toilet and hot shower, and a kitchen area. Yes, the kitchen has only cold running water, but you can heat water on the wood-burning stove. There’s also an outdoor cooking stove, BBQ and campfire area – ideal for toasting marshmallows.
I actually loved cooking on the wood-burning stove – it’s weirdly relaxing. And very photogenic.
We were incredibly lucky with the weather too – sunshine the entire weekend.
We arrived around 6pm and were checked in by the friendly owners, Hannah & Will. Will drove all our luggage down to our tent in a mini tractor with his dog by his side. Calling it a tent feels like an insult – they’re more of a rustic, off-grid apartment under canvas, with views across fields of sheep.
Inside, there was plenty of space for our family of five. We had a comfy double bed; the older two children (8 and 10) shared a bunk bedroom. and our youngest had the coolest cupboard bed which she was delighted with.
Highlights for the Kids
We’d also booked a guinea pig for the weekend (yes, you can hire one!) which was waiting in its little hutch outside. The kids were responsible for feeding, watering and looking after it. A major highlight for them as they’ve been begging for guinea pigs for years.
We’d packed a picnic-style dinner for the Friday night since we weren’t sure what time we’d arrive. But you can also pre-order homecooked meals and cakes from Hannah which sounded delicious. After dinner we lit a small campfire for a s’mores dessert, and the kids took turns having a go in the hammock.
Living Off-Grid
There’s no electricity in the tents at all, so you’re given a supply of oil lamps and candles. It creates the most calming, magical atmosphere at night. We all pretty much went to bed when the sun went down, which felt right.
There’s no fridge, but each tent has a ‘cool chest’, and you can collect ice packs from the farm. It’s not fridge-cold but fine for a weekend, so basically, don’t bother bringing anything too perishable – pick them up from the honesty shop instead.
As usual all our children woke up around 6am. It’s much more pleasant being woken by birdsong and natural light though, we put on our Toastie dry robes (essential for cool mornings), lit the stove to boil water for coffee and popped out to the chicken coop in the next field where you could collect fresh eggs. A highlight for myself and the children.
Breakfast & the Farm Shop
The on-site honesty shop has everything you need – from loo roll to homemade brownies. We picked up our pre-ordered breakfast box: fresh croissants and baguettes, homemade jam, sausages, eggs, bacon, coffee, milk and juice. We ate the bakery bits for breakfast sitting at our outdoor picnic table in peace and saved the cooked stuff for a late brunch, everything was completely wonderful. Especially the meat and eggs. Even with my very basic cooking skills. The downside is the washing up. It’s still camping in that regard…
Things to Do
There’s so much to do at New Barn Farm without doing anything.
New Barn Farm has go karts which were fun to drive around, a small animal petting barn, wheelbarrows which seemed to provide a few hours of fun, bikes to hire – we enjoyed out first ever family-of-five bike ride. There were goats, horses, pigs and peacocks around, plus the best rope swing I’ve seen. Not to mention an entire forest to explore.
Our kids fast made friends with families in nearby tents – there was a lot of gymnastics going down. I’d also taken a few colouring books and board games.
Pizza Night & BBQs
Every Saturday (and Wednesday if you go mid-week) night, Hannah and Will host a pizza night – they make fresh pizzas on the huge outdoor over you can pre order, so we took part – everyone did. It was lovely to sit outside and eat while the kids played. And to not have to cook ourselves.
On Sunday, I’d pre-ordered a BBQ box for lunch – you can opt for a lazy checkout on a Sunday which gives you until 6pm, great as you can enjoy the whole day – the meat was the highest quality. Really, really good. And there was so much of it we ended up taking some home and eating for the next two nights!
Pony Grooming
We booked the kids into a pony grooming session on the Sunday morning which was very sweet. The youngest had a small pony to brush and the older two took care of a larger one. My eldest adores horse riding so she loved the opportunity to ask lots of questions and ended up plaiting the horse’s mane.
Final Thoughts
Life with three kids, clubs, work, and general chaos means we sometimes go days without really connecting. When we’re away, I’m not constantly saying “just a minute” or “let me finish this”—we just get to be together. Obviously, they still squabble (we’re not the Waltons), but that’s family life.
With no electricity, the kids had zero screen time. My husband and I barely touched our phones (apart from when taking photos for this press review). We all made some pretty sweet memories.
What to Pack
A few things I’d recommend packing for a Feather Down Farm trip:
- Bug spray
- A torch
- Extra loo rolls
- Kitchen roll or wipes
- Toastie dry robes or warm layers for the early morning
- Sliders or crocs + wellies
- Suncream and hats (or waterproof gear depending on the weather)
- A power bank (or you can leave your phone in the honesty shop to charge)
- Marshmallows, biscuits & skewers for s’mores
- Oil or butter for cooking
- An extra bin bag for dirty washing
