Greener Tourism

Peak District Farm and Country Holiday members are forward thinking and passionate about our special Peak District environment. We are lucky to live and work in the most stunning countryside; the Peak District National Park is nationally recognised as an exceptionally valuable landscape.

Many members are keen to conserve our beautiful scenery by farming using sustainable methods, managing resources efficiently and creating as little waste as possible.

As part of these initiatives they have invested in renewable technologies, including photovoltaic solar panels, air source heating, biomass boilers and wind turbines.

Come wind, come rain, come shine, our holiday guests will have power, heat and light. Book a holiday in the Peak District with us and you can find out more.....

 

Silver Award for Sustainable Tourism

Congratulations to our members David and Felicity Brown, of Hoe Grange Holidays who scooped Silver in the Sustainable Tourism category at the national Visit England Awards for Excellence 2012, held in Leicester. This follows on from last year’s success winning Gold for ‘Access for All’. 

To be recognised for two consecutive years at the National Tourism Awards is quite exceptional, and shows their outstanding commitment to high standards throughout all aspects of their self-catering holiday business. It is wonderful to have such high quality holiday accommodation within the Peak Disrict Farm Holidays group, who are willing to share ideas and top tips which benefit all our properties, and of course you our guests.

David and Felicity are both passionate about their self-catering holiday business and creating a wonderful holiday experience for all guests, whilst leaving a minimal impact on the special Peak District landscape.

The prestigious awards recognise the high quality, sustainable holiday accommodation offered by the business.  Judges were particularly impressed with the emphasis placed on renewable energy, including ground source and air source heating and photovoltaic solar panels which track the sun.  The business also actively encourages guests to leave a lighter carbon footprint, promotes car free days out, local foods and products, and manages the farm with a view to conservation of the beautiful landscape. Hoe Grange Holidays already hold the Peak District Environmental Quality Mark, and Green Tourism Business Scheme Gold Award.

Look out for other group members who also have these sustainable awards - you can be assurred of a quality experience when you stay with Peak District Farm Holidays!

Stunning Snowdrops

It’s that time of the year again - our Snowdrops are out covered with a delicate dusting of snow- a sign that despite their frosting Spring is on its way.

The Peak District offers some wonderful places to see Snowdrops in full bloom - wander up the valley at Milldale near Alstonefield which is carpeted with them. Rhode Hall Gardens, near Scholar Green and Hopton Hall near Carsington are open to the public throughout February and also offer refreshments to warm you after your winter walk.

Apple Delight!

Here in the Peak District we have some wonderful opportunities to be able to work with nature; with bumper crops of apples this year The Dove Valley Centre, in partnership with Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, celebrated “Apple Day” in style with lots of exciting and tasty activities, including:

• Apple tasting, identification and history
  


• Apple Juicing- where everyone took their own apples and bottles
  


• Meeting the owls
  


• Appley activities for children
  


• Tasty story telling

An excellent day of family fun!

If you would like to get closer to nature, and meet the farmyard animals then why not book one of our fabulous farmhouse B&B's or cosy self catering cottages for a short winter break? There are some wonderful winter walks from the doorstep.

We look forward to welcoming you!

Struggle in the snow

Even in the heaviest of snow falls, the animals must be fed, and that means getting to some farms that might not be on the easiest of roads. This essential corn delivery to Bassetwood Farm, home of the Carringtons, one of our B&B farms, needed considerable help to get into the farmyard.

It's not just getting the corn in, there is then the problem of getting the fresh milk out every day! Add to that problems with frozen water pipes and tractors that won't start, and everything becomes hard work - the snow may look very pretty, but it can be a farmers worst nightmare.

Fortunately the snow now seems to be disappearing as fast as it came.

It does however give our stunning Peak District scenery a different dimension. The Peak District is very much still open for bussiness - so load up you sledge and catch a last minute pre Christmas break.

Beechenhill B&B stunning in the sparkling sunshine

Hoe Grange Holidays (below) - this self catering log cabin could be in the snowy alps!

Prize Winners!

Prize Winners!

We are delighted to announce the two winners of the Peak District Farm Holidays November prize draw who will receive theatre vouchers for Buxton Opera House:

Zan Jackson from Stoke on Trent and Janet Watson from Cheshire

Both winners will be able to choose from a selection of performances - we hope they have an enjoyable evening and would like to thank the Buxton Opera House for their support in our promotion - for performance details see www.buxtonoperahouse.org.uk





Meanwhile the Peak District is under several feet of snow and today there are more fluffy white flakes drifting down from the grey skies - there will be no guests on holiday this weekend unless they arrive on skies!

The extreme conditions do make if difficult looking after all our farm animals, making sure they have water and food takes most of the day. The free range hens haven't ventured out of their coop for 2 days and have gone off laying eggs - can you blame them!

Summer Silaging

The weather has been strange this year with a very dry Spring followed by a moderate August with little very hot sunshine, but still not much rain. Our cattle are enjoying the warmth, but the traditional stone lined dew ponds on many of the upland farms are nearly dry, and as low as we have seen them for many years.

The amount of grass on our fields throughout the Peak District has therefore been much less than usual and there may be a shortage of cattle fodder this winter. However we have harvested what we can and you can see our video of how one of our members got on baling and wrapping his silage crop in the White Peak area.

Prize Winners!

We are delighted to announce the two winners of the Peak District Farm Holidays July prize draw who will receive theatre vouchers for Buxton Opera House:

Mrs Dickinson from Matlock and Mrs Collins from Lutterworth

Our winners will be able to choose from a selection of performances - we hope they have an enjoyable evening and would like to thank the Buxton Opera House for their support in our promotion - for performance details see www.buxtonoperahouse.org.uk

If you would like to enter our November prize draw download our new brochure and complete an entry form or telephone Felicity on 01629 540262 to request a hard copy in the post.

New Peak District Farm Holidays Brochure

We are delighted to announce the launch of our new Peak District Farm Holidays brochure created in conjunction with the Peak District Food Group. The new brochure provides a wealth of information, not just on places to stay, but also on places to eat, and where to buy delcious local and specialist foods.

All this with an area map showing visitor attractions and local businesses - an invaluable guide both before and during your stay in the Peak Distrct. You can either download a copy from our website or contact Felicity on 01629 540262 to request a hard copy by post.

Scarecrow Mania!

If you stay on holiday with one of our Peak District Farm Holidays members you will discover that The Peak District has a fascinating historical and cultural heritage. This diverse region is home to some of the country's finest stately homes, enchanting market towns and picturesque villages but also has many strange, unusual and even unique traditions and customs; from the frantic Shrovetide football played through the streets of Ashbourne, to pancake races, cheese rolling, and stunning well dressings made from colourful flowers.



One increasingly popular custom is that of Scarecrow mania which takes over small villages, such as Brassington, Kniveton, Rainow and many others. The scarecrow displays are amazingly imaginative and are often run in conjunction with the village fete, or traditional wakes or holiday week. Rainow is a relatively small village but the enthusiasm is such that this year there were 115 scarecrows dotted around the village – not just single scarecrows, but whole groups, such as the father shooting the stalk as it arrives with yet another baby!
For more pictures see http://www.macccam.co.uk/RainowKerridgeHurdsfd/Scarecrow.html




Why not book a holiday with Peak District Farm Holidays and discover our unusual and unique customs for yourself!