Farm stays in Bath ★★

The farmhouse, Toghill House Farm, Bath (Photo courtesy of the property)
The farmhouse, Toghill House Farm, Bath

Stay on a working farm in the Somerset countryside around Bath

Even if you can't afford your own farmhouse in the Somerset countryside, staying on a working farm, or agriturism, gets you up close with the rural heart of a destination.

Reid's list of Bath farm stays

 
Farm stays links

Tips

How much does a farm stay in the U.K. cost?

Many U.K. farms charge between £45 and £120 per night for a B&B arrangement. Fancier places may charge more.

self-catering cottage on a farm starts around £225–£400 per week.

What a British farm stay is like

The concept behind agritourism (or rural tourism, or farm stays, or farmhouse B&Bs, or whatever you want to call it) is simple: you spend the night as a guest on a working farm. From there, though, the concept flies off in many directions.

Sometimes you just hole up for the night in a B&B converted from a farmhouse. Sometimes you actually stick around to do volunteer work for a few days (a week, two months, a year), as with the WWOOF and Helpx networks.

Sometimes, just renting a cottage in a rural area where sheep wander past your window is enough to count.

Ideally, the property's owners live on-site and are farmers who derive the bulk of their income from agriculture, using this newfangled form of tourism merely to help make ends meet.

Many agriturisms require a three-night minimum stay (for some, a week). Roughly half accept credit cards.

Sometimes you get four-star luxury and satellite TV. Sometimes you’re a straw's-width from sleeping in a stall.

Most, though, are just what you'd expect from a farmhouse B&B: simple comforts, solid country furnishings, and rural tranquility—barnyard noises excepted.

The hosts tend to be a sight friendlier than your average hotel desk clerk. Some invite guests to dine with them, family-style, in the farmhouse.

Breakfast is usually awesome: farm-fresh and farmer-hearty.

» More about Farm stays in England

General info about Farm stays in England