Glamping at Stanley Hut in Somerset

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We’re always proud to showcase Blackdown Shepherd Huts’ new locations and we’re big supporters of our glamping clients. This one’s close to home (like, right next door to us!), and we wish the best of luck.

Say hello to Jordan’s Estate Glamping!

Hello!

We are Rich and Em. We are two local GPs who met as youngsters at medical school. After qualifying, we worked and travelled around Australia camping until we finally settled down on the family farm in Somerset to have our own family. We now have 2 children, 2 dogs, 2 ponies and one old and opinionated cat.

On our land….

And, we have a shepherd’s hut……! It’s a Turnkey hut from Blackdown Shepherd Huts. We have always loved camping and staying in B&Bs for short breaks. Previously we had talked about offering B&B in our home. However, a Turnkey shepherd hut gives us the ability to offer completely self-contained holiday accommodation similar to B&B but allowing us to continue our family and working lives too. When Blackdown Shepherd Huts moved to the farm, we knew that we could offer the type of holiday that we personally have always loved to others. We live on a beautiful and historic country estate and want others to enjoy it like we do.

Stanley Hut

Stanley Hut is perfect for short stays for two people. It is ideal for a weekend away from the hustle and bustle of city life or for a romantic break/special occasion or as a stopover to or from longer holidays in the southwest.

It has full facilities for two people including an ensuite with shower, sink, heated towel rail and WC. It has a comfortable folding double bed and there is a table and benches and a small kitchen with a work surface, sink (with hot water), fridge and hob. It also has a log burner, DAB radio, plenty of books and a TV. Outside there is a picnic table, barbecue with homemade charcoal and firepit.

Location

Our hut is located in the historic Jordans Estate parkland where the famous explorer John Hanning Speke was born and lived. He discovered the source of the Nile, Lake Victoria in 1862, solving a great mystery of the time. His descendants still live and run the Estate to this day and Rich is one of them. It is because of this that we decided to call our hut Stanley after another famous African explorer from that time.

The area

There is much flora and fauna to be seen around the estate and from the doors of Stanley you may be lucky enough to see deer, pheasants, foxes and hedgehogs to name but a few. There are also some farm animals on the estate. The farm is now mainly arable but Shrubbery (the farm) used to be a dairy farm up until the 1990s, selling milk locally for cheese. Rich still remembers running across the fields with a jug to scoop up some fresh unpasteurised milk for breakfast.
We hope that people from all walks of life will come for a few days and enjoy a slower, more relaxed pace of life. Currently we are aiming at couples of all ages, who want a few days away enjoying the countryside.

Inside the hut

The hut has been tastefully decorated in a country theme. Sue from A Touch of Elegance in Ilminster has assisted with the soft furnishing. We chose pheasants to base the designs around as there is plenty of opportunity for guests to spot them during their stay. With the hut having been made on the farm, we have tried to source top quality products made locally for our guests. The complimentary tea and coffee is Miles tea merchants from Porlock. The bathroom products are made in Somerset by Bramley products. The hairdryer bag was made in Chard by Mrs Zippy. The mugs are from East Devon Dollyhotdogs. The firewood for the log burner and the firepit come from the woods behind the farm. We keep it all local!

A dream come true….

Since Blackdown Shepherd Huts first started making their beautifully and carefully hand crafted huts on the farm, we have loved watching the huts grow. From a few pieces of wood to a complete and unique hut, made with traditional materials, each hut is unique and different from the one before. Our hut is our dream come true, the opportunity to welcome guests to share our beautiful home while giving them the space to appreciate it without our interference. It is the amalgamation of our camping and B&B holidays of the past rolled into a modern short stay holiday.

Guests

We hope that our guests will have a restful and relaxing stay, enjoying the history of the park but with modern conveniences. It is for them to decide if they want to be left in peace and quiet or if they would like to find out more about their surroundings from us. We are happy to take them on guided walks (subject to work commitments) or chat more about the history.

The Blackdown experience

Living so close to Blackdown Shepherd Huts, delivery was never going to be a problem! We have known Will and his team for some years now and feel privileged that they have chosen to base their business here. We have watched our beloved hut grow from its early design stages right through to the complete hut that is now available for guests to rent. For Will and his team, this was a milestone hut – being “hut 100” – the 100th hut that they have built. At all stages we felt fully involved in the process and able to make the little changes that made our hut truly individual for us. We already have our order in for our next hut, Livingstone, which should be coming next year!

Stay at Stanley

Stanley is open all year around – long summer evenings spent spotting the wildlife around the firepit, or cosy winter evenings beside the log burner with a good book. We first opened for business last month, the culmination of nearly a year’s hard work and planning. Our website is www.jordansestate.co.uk/glamping or you can find us on Facebook – Jordans Estate Glamping. You can follow Rich’s blog on recipes made from foraging on the estate or Em’s blog on the flora and fauna she sees day to day on the estate.

Skills

Posted on

June 20, 2017