5 Tips to Make the Most of Your Glamping Stay at Blackdown Yurts

I have already written about our (press trip) long weekend at Blackdown Yurts but it turns out I always have too much to say and I always take too many photos so I wanted to do a second post with my top tips for making the most of your family stay.  We have glamped many time before and lots of these apply to any glamping trip but these are some of the things that made our stay smoother and easier as well as more fun for everyone!

1) Embrace the wildlife. 

The beauty of glamping or camping is that you are surrounded by nature. The sounds, sights and smells and Cora especially loved discovering the wildlife around her.  In the fields in front of us were sheep that we could walk through to see the ponies.  The nearby farmer's cat loved to come and join us as we sat around the campfire and we crept down to the barn at night to see the owl that lives above it.  We found a little frog in the showers and the chickens roamed free.  For young wildlife lovers it was a fantastic place to get close to them naturally.  Katie offers guided bat walks in the evenings too which we didn't manage to fit in - maybe next time!

2) Do a shop on the way

Blackdown Yurts is around a 15 minute drive from the nearest shop so the best thing to do is either bring food with you or do a big shop on the way.  Each yurt has its own fridge in the barn as well as storage space in the camp kitchens so we could stock up on everything we needed for a bbq, different meals and all the breakfast milks (we drink three different milk varieties between us!).  It was so easy to be able to keep everything fresh and cool and to avoid the shops for a few days once we were settled in.

3) Bring some good games

We were sent Shake Off from Smyths before we left and it was a perfect campsite game.  Each player has a counter attached either to their wrist, ankle or waistband and they earn more points the more they move.  It was great for getting out any lingering energy before putting them to bed and didn't require any fiddly parts (do remember to put batteries in the timer before you leave though!).  This is definitely a game we will be taking on all family trips.  We also played lots of card games both with the kids and once they were in bed.

4) Watch the Stars

Being so far from the street lights and cities means on a clear night you can see everything.  Part of the joy of glamping is to get away from every day stress and nothing is more relaxing or humbling that spreading a blanket on the ground, grabbing a warm blanket and watching the sky.  We saw thousands of stars including a couple of shooting stars and the kids were all amazed at how clear the night sky was.  It is one of those activities that just completely relaxes you and I would recommend doing it whenever you can.

5) Check out Katie and Mark's recommendations.

I made a big list before we arrived full of local attractions and ideas based purely on the list of recommendations and we loved every places we explored.  Katie and Mark know the area well and they have reviewed lots of local places on the Blackdown Yurts website.  They were also more than happy to offer any more recommendations whilst at the site.  I will be writing up everything we did so come back to see a post on Haldon Forest, The Bear Trail and Canonteign Falls!  If you have already booked a stay then check out the website for local restaurants, attractions and landmarks.  

Some of the Yurts are open until October and you can grab a discount with the code MUMMY10