Holiday Advice

We hope to make your holiday with us as comfortable as possible. Dress around the farm is to be both practical and informal. Riding attire can be whatever you feel most comfortable in and what you are used to at home so long as it poses no risk to your safety. Whilst in the saddle though we do have to insist that you wear a safety standard approved hard hat. The current standards recognised in the UK are EN1384, PAS015, and ASTMF116395. If you can bring your own hat you will be most comfortable and the hat will have moulded to your head to give you the safest head wear available, however if you are not able to bring your own, we do have a small selection of most sizes of both hats and riding boots available to borrow.

Whilst out on the rides you will be exposed to all types of weather. Sun tan lotion and lip balm should accompany you on the holiday and if you can find a handy pocket size example of each then they can also accompany you on the longer rides for your comfort. As well as bringing good quality waterproofs (coat and leggings if possible) there are also some handy “pack a mac” type lightweight waterproofs that can roll up into a small bag that can clip onto the front of the saddle which is no hardship to carry then, and yet you’ll be prepared for that “sneaky” shower that the English weather can sometimes produce!

For the long rides or for those of you who are not regular riders, think about how you can limit the “sore bottom.”  Here are some suggestions; horse rider underwear, cycling shorts for underneath your trousers/jodhpurs, anti chaffing cream/gel. Breathable materials tend to work better against “rash type” marks on the skin that can develop from a long time in the saddle.

You may want to carry your personal possessions with you on some of the rides, and so a small lightweight “bum bag” or belt type bag may be useful for carrying a small camera, lunch money, lip balm etc.

If you don’t ride too regularly then you may want a pair of gloves, also handy to have in a pocket if the temperatures drop.

Boots and shoes will invariably get dirty or muddy as you are staying on a working farm and so they get left in the main hall to limit the mess spreading around the house. Although the bedrooms are carpeted, the bathrooms and main rooms in the house are stone flagged, so a handy pair of slippers will enhance your comfort in the evenings and whilst pottering about the house.

A note on food and drink. We hope that you won’t go hungry whilst on your holiday with us. Never be shy to ask for an in between meal snack or second helpings, it will delight us that you have a healthy “farm” appetite. Whilst staying with us you’ll be able to make a cup of tea whenever you want and help yourself to other beverages. We’ll provide water bottles that clip to your saddle for during the rides. We do not have a licence to sell alcohol, so if you like a glass of wine/beer in the evening then do feel free to bring your own with you, or we can drop you down to the local off licence to stock up for your stay. We can store it in our fridge if it needs to keep cool. You’ll tend to find that a “sharing” and “pooling” system tends to develop so that everyone has a social drink together appreciating each other’s tastes. So if you want to keep yours all to yourself then ask for a label and clearly mark – hands off!

Hopefully this list is useful for helping you with your packing. If you find that you’re missing something that will make your stay more enjoyable, then do please ask your hosts. We will try to find whatever it is and it will also help us realise what people need whilst on holiday. We’ve compiled the list from our experiences to date, but the more people we meet, the longer the list will get!