News

We’re pleased to announce that our on-site two bedroom self catering property, The Long Barn, has received 5 Stars from national regulatory body, VisitEngland.

“Long Barn is an attractive single storey property offering an excellent standard of accommodation in a peaceful countryside location. On this initial assessment visit Long Barn achieves a Five Star SelfCatering Rating.” VisitEngland Assessor May 2023

Of course we’ve been welcoming guests to The Long Barn for a couple of years now and have been thrilled to receive the following reviews:

“AMAZING !!!!! Highly recommen. We stayed in the Long Barn for 5 nights. The Barn has excellent facilities and is decorated to a very high standard throughout. It is equipped with everything you’d possibly need and more. The location is literally perfect and we had a wonderfully relaxing break. Longlands is very close to incredible beaches. The Larder is very well stocked with high quality goods. We loved the ability to be able to order breakfast and other items which were then hand delivered in a basket daily. Lovely touch. Tammy and Jeremy were super hosts and we have already booked to go back.”

L Joeres

“We had such a lovely week here. The Long Barn is absolutely beautiful, comfortable and cosy too.  We were fortunate to have two days of sunshine and blue skies even in December and we enjoyed some wonderful walks with our dog. Children loved getting treats from the Larder and roaming around. We enjoyed the views and tranquility. Cannot recommend highly enough.”

A Link

“We stayed at Longlands in Sept 2020. Jez and Tammy are so welcoming, very kind and make sure their home feels like your home. Every touch is so well thought out. We stayed in the Long Barn which was perfect for us with kids aged 2 and 6 months – good bathroom facilities, washing machine, well equipped kitchen, high chair, travel cot etc…….The grounds are beautiful and our 2 year old loved the football net, boules court, rowing on the rowing lake and fishing in the stream. We booked two nights in the hot tub, which is SUCH luxury for tired parents. The larder is stocked with lovely food (Cook products to save us having to cook anything) and wine (Jez knows his stuff). There is so much to do in the region and we want to go back time and time again. Looking forward to staying in a Lodge!”

E Price

We always welcome guests personally and make sure that they feel at home on arrival at Longlands.

Introductions over, conversation often turns to how the journey was and if traffic was heavy… Increasingly, as cars are upgraded, another topic comes to the fore… ‘So where’s the nearest charging point to Longlands?’

We’re a certified Green Tourism holiday provider so we like to help guests that are going that extra mile for the environment.

We don’t have EV charging points at Longlands but we can certainly charge your car for you should you need. There is an external plug socket outside of our house that you’re welcome to use. Just ask us to show you where it is…

The nearest public EV charging point to us is at the Pack O’Cards pub in Combe Martin. It’s 4 miles away from Longlands. The pub has an Electric Vehicle Charging Station (rolec2 car 7.2kw 32A0) which is open to private or business users during your visit to the pub. A one hour charge is approx £2.50.

Slightly further away, 5 miles from Longlands travelling North East, is the National Trust Heddon Valley charging station. This is a lovely spot to visit with beautiful walks and a restaurant to stop for lunch or drinks. The charging station is just before the left hand entrance to the National Trust car park. It’s free of charge but the Trust do ask for a £5 donation if possible.

For a wider selection of charging points for your car, and to get up to date information on whether the stations are working, we’d advise checking out Zap Map. Zap Map is a website which lets you plot your car journey, showing charging points along the way.

West Country Buzz (WCB) is a Bumblebee conservation Trust project focusing on the rare and scarce bumblebees of North Devon. The primary target species are the nationally declining Section 41 Priority species: the Brown-banded carder bee (Bombus humilis), Moss carder bee (Bombus muscorum) and, with its rediscovery in the area thanks to the project, the Large Garden bumblebee (Bombus ruderatus).

The WCB team started working with Jez and Tammy (Longlands’ owners) back in 2020. We managed to squeeze in meetings between lockdowns and worked together to devise a plan for the site, looking at areas that could provide forage for pollinators with particular reference to later flowering for our rarer bumbles. Tammy and Jez mentioned that they would like to create an orchard and had identified the old raised beds as a suitable place. An orchard whilst being a traditional feature of farms in the area would also provide a great first source of pollen and nectar for pollinators.

WCB applied to the Sustainable Development Fund from the AONB, which provides small grants for local projects that contribute to the AONB including contributing (positively) to its environment. We were delighted to receive the news that our application was successful and so to order the trees! This proved a little trickier than first anticipated with many stockists having sold out (plus a little mix up with the varieties) but finally all the trees and associated items were delivered ready for planting.

On the 15th March Cathy Horsley, Senior Project officer and Jamie Buxton-Gould, Project officer along with volunteers Aggi and Paul brought their digging skills to Longland’s and planted nine fruit trees: 4 apple, 2 pear, 2 plum and a cherry. To ensure lots of pollination and therefore fruit, we chose varieties that were either in the same or neighbouring flowering groups and of course had to be suited to the conditions at Longlands such as Court of wick or Exeter cross (both apple tree varieties). It was a successful day and even Tess the dog wanted to get involved!

To further enhance the newly planted orchard, our funding from the AONB also allowed us to purchase some wildflower seed that was scattered on the bare soil around the trees. The seeds will begin to germinate this year and once established, in a few years’ time, provide a later food source throughout summer for pollinators once the blossom has finished. Species included Common knapweed, Birds-foot trefoil, Betony and Tufted vetch – all bumblebee favourites!

A big thank you to the AONB for generously supplying the funding to allow this project to happen, the volunteers for their time and commitment (we couldn’t do it without you!) and of course to Jez and Tammy for being such wonderful hosts and custodians of Longlands, its flora and fauna.

Well we said that we weren’t going to blow our own trumpet again.. but then this happened…

We won Glamping Business of the Year at the South West Tourism Awards (different to our win at the recent Devon Tourism Awards!).

The Judges summed us up rather well:

“Longlands was already a national winner but with new owners has somehow become better still! It is a beacon of imagination, vision, excellence and passion. Well done!”

Visit soon to see what all this fuss is about!

Jez & Tammy

We’re extremely proud to announce that we won Gold in the Glamping Business category at the Devon Tourism Awards last week!

It’s wonderful that our sustainability efforts have been recognised, as well as our continued relationships with our outstanding local business suppliers who never fail to bring the best of the South West to our guests.

We’re also Finalists in the Glamping category at the South West Tourism Awards which will be held in April. Watch this space to find out how we do!

We’re pleased to announce that we’re Finalists in the Glamping category of the Devon Tourism Awards 2021-2022.

Being one of three Finalists means that we’re assured of either a Bronze, Silver or Gold (fingers crossed!) Award.

The Winner will be announced on March 10th.

Last month we were pleased to feature in The Times online round up of the 25 most luxurious tents and treehouses! You can read the piece here…

 

 

We’re pleased to be able to let you know that we’ve teamed up with The Kids Adventure Company to offer our guests some amazing family activities whilst staying with us in North Devon.

Jo & Mike, the owners, have worked in Outdoor Centres for the last 20 years and are experts in working with families and providing an unrivalled experience of the Great Outdoors. Adventures include Forest Adventure, Coasteering, Climbing, Beach Scramble and Exmoor Explore. They’ll even host a birthday party if you’ve booked one of their Adventure packages – at no extra charge.

Bookings can be made via phone or email directly with Jo & Mike. More from them below…

E: [email protected]

T: 07837 649 839

Hello! 

We are The Kids Adventure Company, and we are here to make sure you experience the most exciting and fun Adventures that you can possibly have as a family. We started our Company several years ago when we  realised that so many North Devon families were not able to take their kids on adventures in their own ‘backyard’ as they did not have the experience.  

Being teachers and having taught in Outdoor Centres for the last 20 years we believe we have unrivalled  experience of working with children and families in the Great Outdoors and specialise in making sure  everyone no matter age, ability or confidence level can enjoy the thrills and excitement that the North  Devon Coast and moorland have to offer. We have been inspected by The Adventure Activities Licensing  Authority and we will do our utmost to make sure you and your family will have an exciting adventure to  remember, although you may pick up the odd bump and scrape along the way! 

To ensure we can accommodate your adventure, it is advisable to book well in advance, especially if you  would like to book one of our bespoke Family Adventures – if you would like to join one of our group  adventures please visit our website to check out what activities are available. You could also look at our  Facebook page to see all the fab activities we have been up to lately. Our group sizes are small and we do  not take bookings on the website directly, you would need to phone or email us to book. 

The reason for this is we pride ourselves on quality and we aim to put together groups where children and  adults feel safe and happy with similar aspirations. We feel this is the best way to encourage people to  achieve personal challenges and do things they never dreamed they would have the confidence to do. (We  also have a sneaky home-made cake and hot chocolate on a lot of our activities to celebrate everyone’s  achievements!) 

These are the special times – just do it! 

Prices  

Bespoke session Half day (3 hour session) for a family of 4 £150.00 

Bespoke session Full day (6 hour session) for a family of 4 £290.00 (this could be 2 activities) Additional family members half day £30.00 each  

Additional family members full day £50.00 each 

A family of 4 can be any combination of adults/children 

Timings of sessions may vary due to tides and weather – we can do many things, but we can’t stop the tide!

Coasteering (half day activity) 

Remember that day when we went coasteering together Mum – I had the best time ever! 

Some of the most exciting fun to be had as a family. Laughing as your Mum and Dad throw themselves into  the water and wait for you to do the same, jumping scrambling and swimming together across zawns. This  has got to be one of the best experiences to share and remember forever!  

We always finish with a hot chocolate and brownie as everyone shares their proudest moment! Must be able to swim 25 m and be a confident swimmer and happy to be in the sea.

Minimum age 8  

Climbing (half day activity) 

Climbing together at Baggy Point ending with a hot chocolate as the sun sets. Laughing as your Dad tries to  scramble up that climb you just aced! It’s sure to be a holiday highlight.  

We use a sheltered zawn at Baggy Point which is great fun, especially when it’s a race against the tide to  climb out! Ideal for first time climbers but lots of routes to stretch those who have climbed before. 

Valley of the Rocks is another fab venue and would make a great half day activity if you would like to explore  Lynmouth and the cliff railway and enjoy an ice cream. 

Minimum age 5  

If you are experienced climbers, we can also take you on the exhilarating climbs at the end of Baggy  Promontory called Ben, Marion and Freddie. These are very exposed and dramatic climbs, and you would  need to be a regular climber as it’s a long lower in and climb out! Well worth it though! 

Minimum age by discussion  

Forest Adventure (full or half day activity) 

We are really lucky in that we have access to some amazing local woodlands where we often go to mess  about and have fun exploring, problem solving, shelter building, making whimsical crowns, bow and arrows,  target practice (!), bashing flags, den building, slack lining, fire-lighting, cooking and anything else we decide  to try out! All seems to go down well with everyone we take! Just enjoy the vibe of hanging out together in  the forest! 

Minimum age 3 (but you are welcome to bring along a younger child under your own supervision at no  additional charge) 

Beach Scramble Adventure (full or half day activity) 

Our beach scramble days are becoming legendary in the local area. We base ourselves at Baggy Point and  basically spend the session climbing, scrambling, squeezing through caves, exploring, rock pooling, fire  lighting, marshmallow toasting and getting wet if the tide comes in!! Whatever takes our fancy, whenever  we like – you will get to explore parts of the coastline not many visitors see. 

A fantastic way to spend a day or half day as a family just having fun together. 

Minimum age 5 (as long as they are adventurous!)    

Exmoor Explore (full or half day activity) 

Living on the Moor for several years we really appreciate Exmoor’s raw beauty and hopefully you will feel  the same way after a walk on the Moor with us. So many lovely places to explore and streams to paddle in with activities along the way to keep the kids entertained. We can also focus on navigation techniques if you  fancy learning to use a compass. These sessions will always include a homemade cake and drink to keep  energy levels up! 

If you don’t get to explore Exmoor with us, we really advise taking a drive up there yourselves. It’s a really  magical National Park, truly rugged and remote. In fact, it is so unpopulated it is designated as a Dark Skies  Park and if you go on a clear night you can sometimes see the Milky Way.  

Minimum age 4 (but you are welcome to bring along a younger child under your own supervision at no  additional charge)  

Birthday Parties 

We run fantastic outdoor parties for local children, so why not consider making your child’s birthday special  if it’s whilst you are on holiday and have an adventure party together as a family? We can make any birthday  special with one of our famous brownie cakes with a sparkler in (well famous in North Devon anyway!). Just  contact us and we can make your Birthday Adventure special at no extra charge. 

Minimum age 3-99! (depending on the activity as specified above)