Review: Fat Pheasant Shepherd Huts Glamping

By Rebecca Cox

2 years ago

Your next glamping getaway just got a serious upgrade


Over the last few years, shepherd huts have been something of a revelation for a staycation-mad nation. It’s glamping, but elevated. It’s getting back to nature, but with a solid roof over your head. It’s waking up to the sound of the birds and having access to a hot shower and a kettle to make your first cuppa of the day in peace. But with UK glamping options on the rise, where to begin? Rebecca Cox starts in north Oxfordshire, to check out Fat Pheasant Shepherd Huts…

Fat Pheasant Shepherd Huts Review

STAY

Two of the three shepherd huts on Bury Court Lane Farm have wood-fired hot tubs. The third, our home for the night, has an outdoor freestanding bath (in a pleasing millennial pink hue) on the deck beside the hut. While hot tubs are an indulgent add-on for any staycation, taking an early-morning bubble bath overlooking the rolling hills of the Oxfordshire/Warwickshire English countryside while listening to the sound of birdsong feels like a really unique treat. On a clear night, a sunset soak or bathing under the stars also appeals. In fact, if the interior of our little Fat Pheasant Shepherd Hut wasn’t so enticing, I may have spent the entire trip luxuriating in the bubbles.

Inside, a comfy double bed with soft pink bedding sits at one end of the hut beneath panoramic windows providing stunning views of the surrounding fields. At the other is a petite and chic tiled bathroom with a loo and shower, next to a fully functioning kitchenette, stocked with pretty Le Creuset crockery and everything you’ll be needing for those evening BBQs over the firepit. There’s even a wood burning stove to heat your little hut up, should the sun go AWOL for your stay. The simple wooden interiors are elevated with cheerful artwork and a bookshelf stacked with novels ready to read while you laze on a deck chair and wait for the fire to take.

If you’re a larger family group, there are spacious bell tents next to the huts, decked out with comfy camp beds and perfect for kids. With space for them to get straight out and play in the morning, you may even get a lie-in. (Failing this, your hut has a lock.)

Fat Pheasant Shepherds Huts

Our beloved outdoor tub

EAT

Order a hamper when booking your stay and receive a box stacked with tasty treats from the farm and surrounding farm shops. All the usual BBQ favourites are in the classic box, but we opt for a veggie grill, with enormous mushrooms, corn on the cob, aubergine, courgettes, and halloumi for burgers alongside homemade chilli jam. Toasted marshmallows make the perfect dessert, unless you wisely stop by the village’s beloved ‘Cake Shed’ on the way to the farm, sadly out of action during our visit but apparently a reliable source of excellent brownies. For breakfast, eggs from the farm and BBQ leftovers are an option, but Jo’s (our host) outstanding homemade jams and marmalades are well worth trying, plus honey from the farm, smeared thickly on freshly baked bread atop a generous layer of butter. (The only thing tempting enough to lure me out of the outdoor tub.)

DO

Nothing. This is a place to stay still. Walkers will delight at the detailed map of suggested routes, kids will love the Shottsewell village playground, complete with zip wire, pavilion and basketball hoops, and sightseers will want to discover the classic English market towns and villages packed with interesting boutiques and eateries a short drive away. But the beauty of the Fat Pheasant Shepherd Huts is the space. Space to stay still and do absolutely nothing. They’ve cleverly situated each hut in its own field, in a spot where it is neither overlooked, nor overlooking. You’re a stone’s throw from the farm but there is a real sense of being away from it all and having time and space to disconnect.

So disconnect from the day to day and reconnect with loved ones. The little huts would make for a perfect romantic escape, pack a bottle of champagne and talk for hours as the fire dies out and the stars appear. Alas, I have brought a 6-year-old instead of a romantic partner, but reconnect we do, with no iPads or TV, no homework to do, or bedtime to adhere to. We draw, we chat, we read, we toast marshmallows. We walk up the path to see the farm animals then realise we miss our little hut and retreat back to chat some more.

Fat Pheasant Shepherds Huts

The ‘Dolly’ Hut

THE FINAL WORD

If, for your next getaway, you want to truly get away, a secluded stay at Fat Pheasant Shepherd Huts is the real deal. The petite and chic huts are a great reminder that when it comes to holiday homes, outdoor space trumps indoor space, every time.

BOOK

Bury Court Farm, Shotteswell, Oxon, OX17 1JA | From £150 per hut, per night plus £90 per bell tent | fatpheasanthuts.com

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