Wheatland Farm offers fantastic eco lodge family holidays in Devon. Try our low impact accommodation surrounded by nature. Our bikes, boats on the pond and fishing are eternally popular. In the school summer holidays we aim to fire up the pizza oven every week at the covered social area. Of if you want exclusive use, we can arrange that too for a small charge. Enjoy BBQs at your lodge, campfires, the badminton lawn and outdoor draughts/chess table. Two lodges have conventional hot tubs, and one has an outside bath sunk into the deck. All the eco lodges have creature comforts. Dogs are welcome, and there’s WiFi . So with everyone happy, you can relax too!
Preschool kids | Young children | Older kids | Eco Holidays | Grandparents in charge
‘Green’ holidays with toddlers and preschoolers
Looking for an eco friendly holiday that entertains the children and lets you really relax and properly recharge too? Pre school children love Wheatland Farm’s:
- Wildlife
- Swings and slide
- Ride on tractor (and a gentle hill to rattle down!)
- Big selection of books to borrow from the farmhouse
- Outside space to take you exploring!
To make your Devon holiday a bit easier on the packing, we can provide on request:
- A travel cot
- High chair
- Hand-held blender
- Baby carrier (some of Wheatland Farm’s fields are rough walking)
- Additional nappy bin (or you can use washables, but few do on holiday)
- Shared washing machine (£2 per load, + £3 if you want it tumble dried)
- There are no stairs for under fives to fall down in the wooden eco lodges – and we can fit a stair gate to Otter Cottage and to Balebarn Lodge’s loft stairs stairs to keep very young children safe.
Preschool kids | Young children | Older kids | Eco Holidays | Grandparents in charge
Devon farm holidays for children
Slightly older children just adore Wheatland Farm’s:
- Funky cross over bunk beds in Honeysuckle and Nuthatch Eco Lodges
- Bikes and scohttps://www.wheatlandfarm.co.uk/devon-lodges-with-things-to-do/borrow-a-bike/oters for riding about the farm
- Outdoor chess table
- Wire dragonfly making with Ian
- Paddle boards and the boat on the wildlife pond
- Friendly atmosphere – many young visitors make new friends…. for example at the weekly pizza night we usually run during the school summer holidays.
Wheatland Farm’s Nuthatch and Honeysuckle Eco Lodges are great for families with children. They sleep 4 (one double room, one bunk room) and we can add bed bars to the bunks. Nuthatch Eco Lodge has a short bath – good for kids who don’t like showers yet. Or if you want something more traditional try Otter Cottage with its wood burner, patio and enclosed garden – but note the stairs and a nearby pond (gated from the cottage, of course).
Lots of parents comment that it’s great that the eco lodges front onto the meadow and are away from the farm drive. Kids can play and you’ll be able to keep a relaxed eye on them. And because Wheatland Farm isn’t agricultural (well, apart from the summer cows) there’s no heavy machinery to worry about either.
Preschool kids | Young children | Older kids | Eco Holidays | Grandparents in charge
Holidays for older kids!
Pre teens and teenagers are catered for too:
- Wheatland Farm’s bikes go all the way up to adult sizes. The boats and boards are popular too.
- Anyone over about 8 years old is likely big enough to have a go with the pole lathe
- Wheatland Farm’s fishing pond is well stocked and even beginners are pretty much guaranteed a catch (and immediate release please).
- Making camp fire bread can be fun too
- Have they beaten you at chess yet? Find out how good they are on at the outdoor chess table.
- Some Duke of Edinburgh Award candidates have done conservation tasks with us. If anyone is studying environmental science we’ll happily take a case study approach to our guided walk
- Cycling teens can have independent adventures on the Tarka Trail – anything from a gentle 5 mile solo stretch to a 40 mile bike adventure with you.
- Or set them off on the train and challenge them to do the Exe Trail as an adventurous day out.
- You can book surf lessons on North Devon’s beaches, and the beach at Westward Ho! is about 40 mins drive away.
- Or try canoeing or kayaking on the Exe or the Exeter Canal (hire on the quay) – or even further afield with a guided day out on the south Devon coast.
- Horse riding at nearby Bold Try stables is popular (4 miles from the eco lodges).
- Near Bideford (20 miles) you’ll find The Ultimate High adventure park, and a wake park.
- We make a great base for families with kids in the Ten Tors Dartmoor challenge each May – maybe they’ll challenge you to an overnight Dartmoor bivvy adventure if you’re at Wheatland Farm in the summer.
- Then there’s the fabulous South West coast path – wind them up, set them off on a stretch and retire to a cafe at the other end to await their arrival!
- In July and in early September there are usually a couple of Devon Sportives – 100km or 100 mile bike rides (depending on your level). But if that’s way too sporty, try mountain biking at Halsdon Forest Park near Exeter.
- If it’s wet, try Barnstaple’s Air Extreme trampoline centre. Or heading in the other direction, explore Clip’nClimb and the Exeter Quay Climbing Centre (both about 25 miles).
- Back at Wheatland Farm they’ll love the hot tubs in Beech Lodge and Balebarn Lodge
- Don’t forget to bring pizza’s to the weekly ‘pizza oven night’ during the school summer holidays.
- We have WiFi in the lodges. Is that a good thing? It can help keep the peace at least.
Here at Wheatland Farm
Near Wheatland farm
Preschool kids | Young children | Older kids | Eco Holidays | Grandparents in charge
Green Family Holidays in Devon
Wheatland Farm’s eco lodges are about greener family holidays – however you’re making your contribution. For a start, it’s relaxing to know that all your power is 100% green and renewable, most of it from our own turbine. If you’re planning on driving less there’s lots to do locally and we can give you plenty of tips and ideas (try the bikes – we have all sizes). You can have a completely car free holiday if you like. Maybe you’re driving electric? Yes, you can recharge your electric car at the eco lodges with our PodPoint connection. Or are you eating plant-based or just eating local? We’ll bring you something just as good as the welcome scones (let us know in advance) and you can order in groceries. Concerned about plastics and waste? So are we, and we’ll help you recycle.
But most importantly, we’ve been rewilding Wheatland Farm since 2006, and your holiday helps us manage the land around the eco lodges for wildlife. So your stay has a positive impact.
Rest assured we put the environment first in all our business decisions – see our environmental policies and our buzz blog pages for our ethos. And you don’t have to take our word that this is a green Devon holiday – Wheatland Farm has won numerous awards for sustainable holidays.
Preschool kids | Young children | Older kids | Eco Holidays | Grandparents in charge
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“Where can I holiday with the grandchildren in Devon?”
Wheatland Farm of course! It’s a wonderful place for spending time with the grandchildren – there’s loads for them to do right here, so you can do as much or as little as you like and still enjoy their company. Will it be a badminton tournament or a game of outdoor chess and draughts? Our 21 acres means you can give the kids the freedom childhood is supposed to be about.
Balebarn Eco Lodge, is the ultimate place for a three generations holiday:
- It has an optional hot tub
- It’s largely open plan, but has 4 bedrooms (2 doubles, a twin and a bunk)
- Gives fabulous views out over the field and wildlife pond (helping you keep an eye on things without leaving the veranda
- Two bathrooms (one has a wet room type shower)
- It’s the most accessible of our lodges with parking at the door and no steps.
Or maybe you’d prefer a little more separation? In which case, try a combination of accommodation! Honeysuckle Eco Lodge works well combined with Nuthatch Eco Lodge:
- Each sleeps 4 and has a single internal level (but external steps).
- Both lodges have a porch swing and lovely views.
- Both have well equipped modern kitchens.
- The main difference between these two lodges is the bathroom – Honeysuckle Lodge has a good sized shower cubicle in the bathroom, whereas Nuthatch Lodge has a shower over a short bath (perfect for families with children who don’t like to shower yet).
- Bring a baby-listener and you’ll be able to go ‘next door’ with full peace of mind
Alternatively, if there are up to 6 of you, Beech Eco Lodge could be perfect:
- Optional private hot tub
- Larger bedrooms than Nuthatch and Honeysuckle (double with private veranda, twin, bunk) and generally more space.
- Two loos
- Dishwasher
- Bigger TV
- WiFi
- Note Beech Lodge has one internal change in level
But if you really want to retreat at times, maybe go for two different styles – mix a lodge with charming and more traditional Otter Cottage, by the fishing pond:
- Woodburner
- Well equipped kitchen with dish washer
- Stable door to the private garden
- Bathroom with shower over bath
- Easy parking at the door
- Right by the kids bikes and ride on toys
- Next to the fishing pond (behind a toddler deterrent gate)
Elsewhere around the farm there’s lots of wildlife, from butterflies to owls, and we’d be delighted to take you and your family on a guided nature walk while you’re staying at Wheatland Farm. We can almost always arrange this at a mutually convenient time, and there’s no charge for guests booking direct with Wheatland Farm.