Devon self catering holiday cottages terms and conditions

Terms used

In these terms and conditions, 'you / your' refers to the hirer and his/her party, and 'we / us' means Wheatland farm.

Booking and deposit

You are required to pay a 20 percent non-refundable deposit when you book. If you book within 6 weeks of your arrival, the full amount is due immediately.
You can pay by BACS, cheque or online from our website with a card. We encourage you to use BACS and will donate £5 to the Devon Wildlife Trust for everyone paying their balance this way.
If you book by email/phone directly with us we will hold your reservation for a week pending receipt of the deposit.
If you book through an agency we will confirm the availability with that agency as soon as possible, and will then hold your reservation for a week pending receipt of the deposit, or confirmation from the agency that they are holding the deposit.
Your booking is secure only once we have confirmed our acceptance, so please provide a phone number, email or address if you book online.

Paying the balance, and our cancellation policy

You are required to pay the balance of the rental charge six weeks before your holiday, (or immediately if you book within six weeks of your arrival).
If you cancel your booking between 6 and 4 weeks before your arrival date, we will refund half the balance you have paid. If we manage to re-let the accommodation for the same dates, we'll refund the other half of your balance. We do not refund the deposit.
If you need to cancel with less than four weeks notice, we will attempt to re-let the accommodation for the same dates, and if we are successful we will refund your payment, less the deposit. If we cannot re-let the accommodation, all money paid will be forfeited. Therefore, we recommend you take out cancellation insurance because we'd hate for you to have to pay for a holiday you didn't get.

We reserve the right to:

refuse to accept any booking at our sole discretion
obtain the name, age and gender of your party before accepting your booking
enter the accommodation at any reasonable time and for any reasonable cause. We will try to let you know if we need to do this.
terminate the rental agreement immediately and without compensation or refund if you damage the accommodation, are excessively noisy and disturb others, or if we reasonably suspect you are breaking the law.
charge for any non-trivial damage howsoever caused.

Our liability

We shall not be liable for any death or personal injury, or for damage to or loss of your personal property occurring while you rent our accommodation. Please ensure your valuables are covered under your household insurance. Vehicles and their contents are left at your own risk.
In the event of circumstances beyond our reasonable control, eg (but not limited to) fire, flood, exceptional weather conditions, disease outbreaks, industrial disputes etc. We shall not be liable for any resulting costs, losses or damages suffered by you (including the cost of securing alternative accommodation), nor for our failure to undertake our obligations to you. However, in appropriate cases, we will refund your payments to us.
You use our facilities and 21 acres of grounds at your own risk. You should expect to encounter some potential minor hazards, such as uneven ground, mud, barbed wire, livestock etc.

Arriving and leaving

Your accommodation will usually be available from 16:00. If you want to arrive earlier, please let us know in advance and we'll see what can be arranged. When you leave, we ask that you vacate by 10:00am so we can prepare the accommodation for the next guests, who will usually be arriving later the same day. You may leave your bags with us until later in the day, but we cannot accept responsibility for them.

The accommodation is for holiday use only

Neither you, nor any person allowed into the property by you, has a right to remain in the accommodation beyond the agreed departure date. You will be liable for any costs incurred as a result of any delayed departure.

Your responsibilities

Your general responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

ensuring only the number of people for whom the booking is made stay in the accommodation
reporting to us any breakages or missing items (you will not normally be charged for minor damage or breakages)
keeping all furniture, fittings and effects in the same good condition as they were found.

Our 7 acre nature reserve is designated by Natural England as a site of special scientific interest, or SSSI. As such is protected by law, and is wild. You are welcome to explore, or just ask us to show you around. But note that you are bound by law, as we are, not to damage this special area, eg by picking flowers, disturbing nesting birds etc. Please don't take dogs into the nature reserve.

Pets are welcome under the following conditions:

you have arranged with us in advance that you are bringing your pet and we have agreed you can do so
you keep them under control at all times, and do not allow them to disturb wildlife
pets must not be allowed in the bedrooms
you protect the furniture with your own throws if pets will be on it
you provide their bedding
you clean up their waste and dispose of it appropriately (there is a bin in the car park for wrapped dog poo)
pets are never left alone in the accommodation
pets are kept out of Popehouse moor, our 7 acre SSSI nature reserve (they are very welcome elsewhere on the farm).
No cats please.

Smoking

All our accommodation is non-smoking. However, you may smoke on the verandas of the lodges and in the grounds, provided you take care to avoid fires and to dispose of your cigarette ends properly.

Fishing

We have a small fishing pond next to Otter cottage. You can fish here free of charge (catch and immediate release). We have a couple of rods to lend and can often set you off.
Children may only fish here by arrangment with us and under your supervision. Their safety is your responsibility.
Please note that anyone over 12 needs a fishing licence from the environment agency (you can get one at the post office) wherever they fish.
Please bring your own tackle if you can.
No night fishing

Borrowing bikes

We have a fleet of reconditioned bikes from the local recycling centre. You can borrow these, free of charge, for local trips and for kids to ride around the farm. If you want to do long distances, we recommend you hire a bike, giving you the back-up of professional servicing etc. We can help you arrange this with a local company.

By borrowing a bike, you agree to abide by the following simple house rules:

Please return bikes to the bike store each day when you're done, so others can borrow them. If you want a bike all week, we can arrange good value hire for you.
Bring your own helmet if you want to wear one. We have a few to lend out, but not all sizes.
You ride at your own risk. Before you ride off, please check the bike over, including the brakes, the chain and the tyres. We fix problems we know about, but someone else may have forgotten to tell us what went wrong. If something goes wrong when you're out, let Ian know. He can fix most things.
There are a couple of light-weight deterrent padlocks you can borrow, and we're assuming you won't be leaving the bike where it's an obvious target. If your borrowed bike does get stolen, we'll ask you to pay £30 so we can replace it.
Please don't ride the bikes after dark. They don't have lights, so you wouldn't be legal on the road. If you want to ride after dark, please hire a bike or use your own lights and safety equipment.

Cleaning

We want you to enjoy your holiday and do not expect you to spend the morning of your departure scrubbing and cleaning. We will clean the accommodation after you vacate it. However, we ask that you leave the accommodation in a reasonable condition, and we reserve the right to charge extra for cleaning if it is left excessively dirty.

Our booking terms and conditions for the lodges and cottage

Devon self catering cottage and eco lodges

Wheatland Farm