Camping holiday at Feather Down Farm at Howbeck Lodge in the Lake District (From York Press)

Camping holiday at Feather Down Farm at Howbeck Lodge in the Lake District

11:44am Saturday 11th July 2009 in

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Breakfast is easy at Feather Down Farm in the Lakes, so long as your child doesn’t drop the eggs, finds NADIA JEFFERSON-BROWN.

“GENTLY”, I cautioned as Miles reached into the chicken coop for another fresh egg before dropping it with aplomb into the metal bowl I was holding.

“We’ll be eating that one this morning then,” was Gary’s response to the hairline crack that appeared on the shell.

Miles would have grabbed a seventh egg under the watchful eye of one of the farm goats that had chaperoned us to the coop if we hadn’t enticed our two-year-old away with talk of omelette and bacon for breakfast.

This was our first morning on the Feather Down Farm at Howbeck Lodge, situated in the Northern Fells at the foot of the Skiddaw range in the Lake District, and the early visit to the chicken pen in our wellies and pyjamas became a daily ritual.

By nine o’clock we were back in our tent, with Gary adopting the task of keeping the wood-burning stove burning while Miles and I sat back and relaxed in two large canvas deck chairs, waiting for our eggs to gently fry.

This was camping with a difference.

There are now more than 20 Feather Down Farms, all working farms, located in beautiful farmland and rural areas in Britain, as well as in the Netherlands and France.

They are designed so that holiday-makers stay in rhythm with mother nature (so we didn’t mind parking our car in the farm yard, and carting our luggage – and Miles – in a wheelbarrow to the tent), and enjoy a taste of farm life.

We stayed at Howbeck Lodge, a traditional family sheep and beef farm, which has been run by Christine and John for more than 20 years on the outskirts of Hesket Newmarket.

It was just a short stroll from the farm to this unspoilt village which boasts a lovely children’s play area, a riverside walk, and the very popular Old Crown pub, which was well worth a visit, along with the Hesket Newmarket Brewery Cooperative.

The hills of Cumbria were in view through the rolled-up window flaps of our tent, with chickens, goats, rabbits, horses and Highland cows as our local wildlife – along with the rare red squirrels darting along nearby tree branches.

There are five tents carefully sited along the woodland fringe of the farm, each with its own outdoor picnic table and cooking stove.

We all loved our tent with its wooden floor and heavy duty canvass roof and walls - one of which could be completely rolled up for the ultimate outdoor living experience.

There were two bedrooms – one double, one with bunk beds, complete with duvet and sheets – at the far end of the tent, separated from the main living area by cream curtains, and a charming cabin-bed-in-a-cupboard which Miles excitedly adopted.

There was no electricity. We used the wood-burning stove for cooking and heating while light was provided by oil lamps and candles.

Our nights were comfortable, if on the cool side.

There was cold running water in the kitchen area which boasted pans and ladles around the stove. Shelving was fashioned from wooden crates, with a coffee grinder adorning one of the interior ‘walls’.

Our food was stored in a cool box, chilled by iced “hot water-bottles”, which were replenished daily.

The large dining table featured two ‘candelabra’ of beaten metal suspended from a wooden beam over the table.

Unlike ordinary camping, we were also blessed with our own rustic-looking flush loo to spare us any midnight treks to the nearby communal shed-cum-shower/toilet block which had instant running water.

Every Feather Down has an honesty shop. At Howbeck Lodge, it is on the first floor of a converted shed with basic essentials and groceries along with Christine’s homemade produce, from soups to delicious cakes.

Christine also offers home-made dishes which can be ordered and brought hot to your tent.

We sampled her hearty shepherd’s pie after a day out in Keswick, while on another evening, we tucked into homemade pizzas, cooked by John within minutes in a stone pizza oven, sited in the woods and surrounded by tables with candle lanterns.

John went out of his way to share his farm with us, and during our stay we regularly helped bottle-feed the lambs and got to know many of the animals including a litter of hounds and a Highland calf, born just hours before our arrival.

During our four-night stay, we also explored the surrounding villages, and ventured into Keswick some 12 miles away, passing through the picturesque Caldbeck Common, home to dozens of Shetland ponies and sheep.

Fact file

• A stay in a tented unit for up to six people (max five adults) at Feather Down costs from £395 for a weekend (three nights) in August to £495 for a midweek stay (four week). Prices start to fall in September and are cheaper again in October.

• Additional costs are rental of the (obligatory) bed linen (sheet package) at £ 5.95 per person, and reservation costs at £ 15 per booking, on-line bookings receive a £15 discount per booking.

• For reservations, please call 01420 80804 or visit featherdownfarm.co.uk