Location
Venton Hills Copse, is set in the midst of 15 acres of ancient woodland with the babbling Bidwell Brook, it’s in the heart of the South Hams. It is 5 minutes drive (1hrs walk) from the edge of Dartmoor National Park and 30 mins drive from the beautiful South Devon coast.
The village of Rattery is 15 minutes walk through woods and fields, where there’s the amazing Church House Inn. There are numerous other attractions nearby, including the beautiful Dartington Hall Estate.
Bookings for Summer 2022
If you are interested in booking a stay during summer 2022 please contact us by email: tfairlove@hotmail.com
Accommodation
A large and beautiful wooden cabin.
Upstairs (reached by loft ladder) has a comfy double bed (with a couple of single mattresses if small children want to sleep there) and a sofa for relaxing outside on the veranda.
Downstairs is the living area, there’s a wood burner, a sofa bed, a big dining table and plenty of chairs, and loads of books and games. There are several power points throughout the cabin.
On the front veranda downstairs is the kitchen area with a double ring gas cooker, a small fridge, a sink and wash-up area and a pizza oven and a bbq if you fancy it.
There is a beautiful FairloveYurts 14ft yurt with two single beds, some lovely carpets, solar lights, bedside table, a small chest of drawers and low level yurt chairs. The yurt is sited approximately twenty yards away from the cabin.
There’s a compost loo and a simple gas operated shower a few paces away from the cabin.
There’s a large grassy area with room to run around, a fire pit and outside sitting area.
We supply clean linen and bedding but ask if you can bring your own towels.
There are a few basic food supplies, salt pepper, oils etc… in the kitchen, but it’s self-catering so you’ll need to bring your own. Bens Farm shop (ex Riverford) is just around the corner with amazing organic produce, you can make an order online in advance and we’ll collect it for you.
Getting here and parking
Venton House, Dartington, Devon , TQ9 6DP
You’ll need to park (one car only please) at Venton House, we’ll then transfer your gear (and you if you like) into a 4×4 pick-up and drive you up to the cabin, and then bring everything back down again when you leave. Otherwise it’s a 10-15 min walk up and down from the parking place to the cabin and yurt, when you do it yourself. If you come by train (which we’d much rather), Totnes station is ten minutes drive, we’re happy to collect you and there are of-course plenty of taxis.
Here are a few instructions on how to live enjoyably, safely and lightly in your off-grid yurt stay accommodation.
Please read and follow.
All the electricity comes from the sun! There will be plenty of 240v power for your lighting and charging phones and laptops. There isn’t enough for heating appliances, so don’t bring hair dryers and straighteners, and you boil the kettle on the gas ring or wood burner. If you overload the electrical system it can blow the charge controller.
All the water is either from rainwater catchment or has to be brought in on a trailer. So when showering keep them super brief please, military style, ie get wet, turn off, then soap (only eco products please, as the run off goes into a soakaway and will kill the unique bio diverse ecology in the woods if you don’t) and then rinse. Save your long soaks for when you get home. Similarly when washing up, soap (we supply eco washing up liquid) and clean and then rinse off in a bowl not under a running tap. There’s plenty of drinking water but don’t leave taps running, use a cup of water for brushing your teeth.
We have a recycling system for the rubbish, please follow.
MAKE A BOOKING ENQUIRYThere’s plenty of firewood for your fires and wood burners, but don’t be excessive with the use, only use the wood in the fire wood piles and be safe. Read the instructions as to how to use the stoves and be aware of where the fire extinguishers etc are.
Please be aware and tell your kids, of the dangers of slips, trips and falls, you’re in a rural environment, adventures and hazards are everywhere. There is a first aid kit on site.
We obviously will clean after you, but we request that the place is left clean and tidy and let us know about any losses or breakages please.
We hope you have a fantastic stay and love it here as much as we do. This is the first time we’ve opened our doors to paying guests in over 25 years.
We warmly welcome anyone from LGBTQ+ and BAME communities. Disabled access is tricky as our cabin is 1/2 mile into the woods, but if you have a disability, please contact us and we’ll do as much as we can to make it possible for you to stay.
