A Long Weekend at Blackdown Yurts

Press Trip

We first visited Devon as a family two years ago and it has been somewhere we have been looking to come back to ever since.  The beautiful countryside seems so much more green than at home, the beaches so much more dramatic, the people so friendly and we have spent months looking forward to visiting Blackdown Yurts this summer.  It was meant to be part of a bigger trip but due to the current climate, everything else got cancelled, so there was even more riding on our stay there.

Blackdown Yurts are in Cullompton, set properly in the countryside where you can feel like you have truly escaped from real life.  There are four yurts in total as well as some cottages but each one comes with so much outdoor space that it was easy to live in a little bubble of the six of us.  

The drive there took so much longer than expected thanks to traffic and by the time we arrived, the children were desperate to run and move and they couldn't contain their excitement to explore our yurt.  Many glamping sites seem to accomodate smaller families but it isn't often that we find one ideally set up for the six of us.  We stayed in Woodpecker which had one double bed and four singles so everyone had their space.  Outside our yurt we had our own compost toilet, our own table and benches, a campfire and our own camp kitchen with a tap.  Right in front of us was a huge field which we could go exploring in and if we walked past the sheep, we could go to see the two friendly ponies, Felix and Beau.  Everywhere we looked was fresh and green and there was so much space that they could run around to their hearts content.

We met Katie and Mark who showed us round and were happy to supply us with information and recommendations on the local area.  They made us feel immediately welcome and the children couldn't stop talking at them!  Everything was easy to find and understand and everything we needed was provided, from wood for the log burner inside the yurt and campfire outside, to a starter kit for our bbq.  There is also a main barn which would be lovely and cosy to spend an evening in.  At the moment it is used for necessities rather than socialising and there is a full kitchen in there as well as an individual fridge for each yurt.  There are also four flushable toilets and hot shower cubicles, one marked clearly for each yurt and hand sanitising stations all around.  As everything we used was reserved solely for our yurt it was easy to avoid any contamination or closeness with anyone else.  

Often with camping and glamping, I love the experience but look forward to getting home for a hot shower and a proper meal after but Blackdown Yurts is ideal for a longer stay as the equipment means you can sleep close to nature, step out each morning to see the rolling green hills of Devon, but also still have those home comforts like a warm wool duvet and a hot private shower.

I don't know if it was the beautiful surroundings or the knowledge that this long weekend was our whole summer holiday away, but there was something really special about our time there.  The children slept in every morning, we loved exploring the nature all around us and in the evenings after we had toasted marshmallows around the campfire, we lay on blankets and watched the stars in the night sky, amazed at how many were clear when you move away from all the street lights.  The children thrived with the freedom to run around and be wild, they needed the screen time detox which is so much harder to do at home and they all want to come back to Blackdown Yurts again.  It was ideal for us as a young family but during the same weekend there was also a group of six friends in their early twenties and a family with older children and a dog (The site is dog friendly but they must be in leads) so it caters to so many different groups.

If you are looking to experience glamping, or are a seasoned camper looking for some luxury then we can't recommend Blackdown Yurts enough.  If you want to book for the end of this season (Some of the yurts are open until the October Half Term and there are lots of midweek breaks before then too) then use the code MUMMY10 for a discount!

Thank you to Katie and Mark for hosting us, we will definitely be back!

The Yurt

Each bed came with a wool pillow and duvet and the beds were properly protected so everything could be washed well between visitors.  There was space to store things in the chest of drawers and a torch and tea lights provided.  We loved the fairy lights around the inside of the yurt too.

The Barn

I think this would be an amazing area to utilise if you visit as a bigger group as there is plenty of space for everyone to eat together.  At the moment the barn is just used for access to the fridges but one morning we entered to find some freshly grown vegetables available to be taken and they tasted delicious!

The Facilities

We had our own table and benches, fire pit with chairs, bbqq, kitchen and toilet so there was no need to share facilities. Everything was incredibly clean and we loved having a kitchen to make coffee and breakfast in each morning.