Farm stays in 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
- Farmstay.co.uk - A not-for-profit, farmer-owned umbrella group for local farmstay and agritourism associations that lists nearly 1,000 rural accommodation options—farmhouse B&Bs, self-catering rural cottages, campgrounds, caravans, and rural hostels—across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
- Organicholidays.com - B&Bs, rental cottages, camping slites, or homestays all on working organic farms—including about 200 in England, 47 in Scotland, 73 in Wales, and 1 in Northern Ireland.
- Booking.com - The general booking site lists around 90 farm stays, the luxury tents, and more than 520 "Country House" lodgings across the United Kingdom.Partner
- Featherdown.co.uk - An intriguing glamping ("glamourous camping") experience in wood-floored, cottage-like, multi-room "tents"—think of a higher-end safari tent, only with a rustic-ramshackle British decor—that sleep up to six with all the comforts of a (modest) country home. There around 33 across around England, Scotland, and Wales. Very hobbity. From around £100 per night for three-night midweek stays (higher on weekends).
- Wwoof.net - If you really want to get your hands dirty, sign up to become a temporary farmhand through this volunteer organization. Gigs last from a few weeks to a few months, and while you pay (a mdoest sum) to join, room and board is free in exchange for your work.
- Helpx.net - Similar to Wwoof, but with more varied opportuniites, Helpx is another place where you can volunteer your services—as a farmhand, handyman, or other skill—in exchange for room and (sometimes) board on farms, B&Bs, hostels, and boats. Gigs can last from a few weeks to a few months.
- Devonfarms.co.uk - Local association of farmstay B&Bs and self-catering cottages (rentals) in Devon (on the southwest peninsula of England, between Somerset and Cornwall).
Tips
Many U.K. farms charge between £45 and £120 per night for a B&B arrangement. Fancier places may charge more.
A self-catering cottage on a farm starts around £225–£400 per week.
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.
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