Wiltshire farmers set up luxury campsite on edge of Marlborough Downs

Katie and James Allen moved their family to Great Cotmarsh Farm, in walking distance of Broad Town near Royal Wootton Bassett, at the start of the year and began planning ways to make the most of their new home.

While looking after 250 sheep and nearly 50 grass-fed cows which live outdoors all year round, the couple began getting the certificates and planning approval necessary for the campsite and ensured everything was ready to welcome their first visitors.

The site includes two fully-furnished tipis and four tent pitches, along with off-grid washhouses and eco-luxury compost toilets, all connected by paths mown through the fields.

The tipis have solar-powered lighting, handmade textiles crafted on the farm, a wood-fired pizza oven, and a grill with sustainable lump wood charcoal for lamb and beef.

Katie said: “It’s important that we have different things on the farm and come up with innovative uses for the land to support what we are doing, because it’s not a conventional way of farming and the support subsidies have stopped.

“We want to connect people with their food and how it’s produced, so it made sense for us to have a space where people could come and engage in what's going on on the farm with us while enjoying the views of the Marlborough Downs.

"We've had some good feedback already. A couple from London who had never been camping before loved it, and they couldn't believe how quiet and peaceful it is here.

"We want our small campsite to offer the kind of holiday where you can have fun in the outdoors, nourish yourself with delicious food, and discover your connection to nature."

The washing facilities at Great Cotmarsh Farm's luxury campsite (Image: Katie Allen)

Dogs are not allowed on-site because of the livestock, and, out of consideration for neighbours on the no-through road that leads to the farm, no camper vans can be set up on site.

The Allens, originally from Cirencester, spent 10 years working as grazers who help landowners by taking animals to parts of farms and wildlife sites that can't be maintained by tractors or need to sustain a high level of biodiversity.

Katie said: "It was hard work and there was no security, so when we saw the opportunity to move here, we jumped at the chance. It's a very special place."

Great Cotmarsh Farm (Image: Katie Allen)

The campsite is open until the start of October and then reopens next May.

Email hello@greatcotmarshfarm.co.uk or visit greatcotmarshfarm.co.uk

Inside the tipi (Image: Katie Allen)