May 11, 2021

From Farming to Glamping - Carol Oulton

Send us a text Today we're joined by Carol Oulton, owner of Newlands Hall Farm and the Weardale Retreat. Weardale Retreat is a glamping offering consisting of a shepherd hut and a hot tub overlooking the Durham Dales, and it's been a roaring success since Carol decided to diversify her farming business last year. If you're a farmer considering diversifying into glamping, this episode is for you. Links Visit Glampitect's websiteCheck out Glampitect's Facebook pageTake a look at Glampitect's ...

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Transcript

Send us a text

Today we're joined by Carol Oulton, owner of Newlands Hall Farm and the Weardale Retreat. Weardale Retreat is a glamping offering consisting of a shepherd hut and a hot tub overlooking the Durham Dales, and it's been a roaring success since Carol decided to diversify her farming business last year. If you're a farmer considering diversifying into glamping, this episode is for you.

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Email Glampitect: contact@glampitect.co.uk
Call Glampitect: 01312029002

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And we were ready for opening around the 10th of June last year, and it's gone really, really well. And I ended up with a really good occupancy for the five months, it was open at 95%. And I could never have dreamed of in return that much in such a short time. I joined several Facebook groups, and I advertise it on there. But mainly it's on Farm Stay UK, which is a members cooperative.

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And the other one was Quirky Accommodation, I popped it on there, and I got quite a few bookings from that. But when when we had the sheep, if there was any lambs that were pet lambs that were being fed, I would always encourage if we've got any children staying or anybody that wants to see a lamb being fed, they knew what time I went out to feed lambs, and they could quite happily come along and have a look what was happening.

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Hello, and welcome to the Glampitect Podcast.

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Today, I'm joined by Carol Alton, owner of Weardale Retreat in the Durham Dales. I wanted to bring Carol onto the podcast because she also happens to be the owner of a working farm. And I was keen to get the perspective of someone who has made the decision to diversify into glamping and dig into how it went for them so we can provide value to those who are looking at going down a similar route. Glamping represents a great diversification opportunity for farm owners. So if you're the owner of a farm and you're looking to add an additional income stream, then this episode is for you. Before we begin, I'm just letting you know that we're probably looking at a fortnightly release for the podcast moving forward. I hope that's okay with you regular listeners. Now, onto Carol, as ever, I hope you enjoy and find value in today's episode.

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Hi, Carol, how you doing?

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Fine, thank you.

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Well, thank you for coming on. So you're the owner of primarily a working farm. But you've also recently diversified into glamping, you've got a retreat called Weardale Retreat, which is a shepherd hut with a hot tub in County Durham. And today, we really want to dig into the decision you made to diversify into glamping. And how that went and the things you learned and all that sort of thing. But before we start that, obviously in England, we reopened this month. So how has reopening gone for you?

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It's gone very well. Not as many bookings, as I would have liked it up front.

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But no, they're coming in. And that's really all that matters.

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And everybody's enjoying their their mini breaks. And the relaxing stays that they can have here.

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Yeah, I imagine, because yours is a very isolated, I suppose, is it mostly couples that you get who are after sort of to get away from everything?

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Yes, it's aimed at couples because it only has a double bed. So it really is for couples. And with the hot tub, people arrive, and 9 out of 10 of them don't do anything else.

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They stay on site. Enjoy the hot tub, enjoy the views and enjoy the peace and quiet of the rural retreat.

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Sounds perfect. So let's just dig into your backstory a little bit. So could you just introduce yourself a little bit and how you came to own the working farm and then potentially how you came to the decision to diversify into glamping.

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This is a long story really how we came to be here, but we bought the farm.

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I'm married to a farmer who's a farmer's son. And we were working on the family farm down in Derbyshire. Back in 2001, we sold everything up in Derbyshire and bought a bigger farm in County Durham. And that's what we've been farming for the last 20 years. Not only have we got the 380 acres of farmland but we also let two rooms for bed and breakfast. And then five years ago, we looked at the possibility of diversifying into glamping. There was grants available but most were wanting you to put up biggish sites, sort of minimum of five pods and I didn't want that much work in start involved in employing lots of people to help with change overs, etc. So it was sort of put on the back burner until, it will be 18 months now, two years ago. I started thinking about just doing one, I'd got some savings that were coming up to maturing, interest rates weren't very good and return on shepherd huts or glamping pods looked quite good.

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So I investigated further. Did pre planning, talked to the local AONB, what they were looking for in glamping sites and shepherd huts and put planning in. And then I did a silly thing. I put the planning in and then ordered a shepherd hut the next day. And then the COVID-19, or broke out in the March. I did it put all that in in the January and COVID broke out in the March. And did I know what was ahead of me, I didn't know whether I'd been foolish or very brave. Turns out I'd been very brave. And we took delivery of the hut in in May last year.

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And we were ready for our opening around the 10th of June last year. And it's gone really, really well. Apart from the odd, odd nights, and I ended up with a really good occupancy for the five months that was opened up 95%. And I could never have dreamed of a turnover of that and return that much in such a short time. So that's just hoping that 2021 is just as good with the year of the staycation.

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Yeah. And then you mentioned that you did pre planning and no, not everyone goes through pre planning, but it's something that we quite often recommend to our clients because, you know, sometimes it can save them a lot of financial and emotional heartache if the council just don't want the site to be built at all. And then you know, it's expensive to get a full plan application rejected.

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How did you find the pre planning process?

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The pre planning process was simple. They just rubber stamped it. But in the meantime, we decided to change sites that I was looking at. And we'd gone from looking at a pod to shepherd hut in between the pre planning going in and the full planning application going in, and the only downside was the access, because it's a single track from the main road to the farm with very few passing places and was one stretch which they insisted needed more passing places. But we managed to prove that there is passing places and two vehicles can pass on the lower part of our drive.

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I imagine it was fairly straightforward considering it is a very small development, isn't it? It's not like if you're installing 20 pods and creating a whole new development, is is it quite integrated onto your farm?

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It's one pod in the corner of one field next to the farm yard, or near the farmyard, I don't want it to sound as though it's a smelly, smelly place because it isn't.

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But it's next to the farm yard, just down from the farmhouse.

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And although when you're there, you feel that everybody can see it from the farm yard, in reality, you can't be seen and people realise it is, they are hidden away, it is in the corner with high walls around them. And they can just look across the views across the other side of the valley.

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And what made you opt for a shepherd hut over a glamping pod or say a tent structure?

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I've never even looked at a tent structure. That never never even came into the equation. I'd looked at pods, and what I wanted out of the pod and layout, I wasn't finding what I wanted. And what we're way down country. And I just happened to stumble on eBay on a local person that was building sheperd huts. So we went and had a look, liked what we saw, and he was willing to do something bespoke for me, so that I'd got what I actually wanted inside the hut. So that was the reason that I chose Blackdene Sheperd's Huts, which are built in Durham.

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Nice and you've obviously gone for a hot tub as well. How have you found that in terms of the maintenance of it, but also how it's affected demand for your site?

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The demand for the site is, the hot tub is the main draw. Yes, there is some maintenance but we've gone for a woodfired one. So that ideally needs emptying daily and refilling we clean it and sterilise it, every changeover and it is then left to each guest to refill as needed for the amount of times I use it during the stay.

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I suppose because sometimes people can be put off by the maintenance, I suppose if you if you run a working farm you're going to be getting your hands dirty and stuff and doing all sorts of jobs like that as well, so I imagine it just fits quite easily into your into your schedule. Does it?

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Yeah, and the pot, you drain the water out. And there is yes, there's a bit a certain amount of cleaning to do, but with it being a woodfired one there's no filters or anything to maintain, you haven't got to keep keep checking all the pH levels and everything, you fill it, heat the water up with a wood fire.

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And then once it's up to temperature, you just need to keep the log going on to keep it where you want it and then empty each day or, some don't empty, others do. Ideally it should be emptied every day.

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Yeah. And so obviously, the the glamping journey, I'll say, you know that the process of going from the idea of having a glamping site to getting it up and running and open and welcoming guests varies in length and in difficulty depending on the site and the council that you're dealing with. How did you find the whole process from idea to completion?

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From idea to completion, it seemed a long time, but it was probably 18 months from putting that pre planning, thinking about it and then putting the pre planning in to actually getting it up, up and running because I spent a lot of time doing market research, looking on the internet, who'd got them what occupancy they were getting before I even put my pre planning in. And then I was looking at this at the shows over the summer to what huts and pods were available and where people were and going to places like the glamping show so that I could see what was on offer. I did the glamping show and the farm innovation show at the NAC to have a look what was available regardless in the huts, hot tubs, barbecues, fire pits, all the little extras that you put on, you know, an outdoor seating, whether I've taken them all into account, is different, but it's looking what's available and what people might like to have.

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Yeah, you mentioned market research, we see it as an important part of the process as well. We offer it in our feasibility studies. How did you find that doing your own market research helped you in the process?

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I thoroughly enjoyed doing it. And being a member of Farm Stay UK, I was also manning the stall there, so I was talking to different people that had units as well.

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So I was doing doing research without realising I was doing research. So in some ways, and just going out and talking to different people I thoroughly enjoyed doing that bit. The hard work was actually sort of sourcing things and getting things delivered on time once you'd ordered them.

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Would you say the sourcing and delivering, was that the most challenging part of the process? Or was it something else?

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The most challenging part was actually getting the hut onto the site that we've chosen. In hindsight, we should have taken a wall down and taken it in from the top rather than trying to get it up from the bottom because it's on the bank. And we built the bank up and the bank, we should have gone in from the top of the bank rather than trying to pull it in from the bottom. But that's another story.

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And at Glampitect we see marketing as a as an important aspect of any glamping site. So how do you promote your site? I know you've got a couple of online, you've got your own website and it's on Facebook and things like that. So how do you promote it online?

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I've got a Facebook page for Newlands Hall Farm Holidays and we promote on there alongside the bed and breakfast. It's got its own website. I've joined several Facebook groups and I advertise it on there. But mainly it's on Farm Stay UK which has a members cooperative for farm stay and rural accommodation. And the other one was Quirky Accommodation. I popped it on there and I got quite a few bookings from that, but Farm Stays did me really well last year and my own website.

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Again, so with your site being on a working farm, did you incorporate any any side of the actual farm into the experience? Or do you like to keep it separate for the guests at all?

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We do keep it separate for the guests. And it is two separate businesses because we've been doing, I've been doing the bed and breakfast longer than john and i have been in business for farming together. So that is definitely a separate a separate business.

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But when when we had the sheep if there was any lambs that were pet lambs that were being fed, I would always encourage, if we've got any children staying or anybody that wanted to see a lamb being fed, they knew what time I went up to feed lambs, and they could quite happily come along and have a look what was happening.

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You mentioned the B&B there, what do you prefer running, the glamping element or the B&B?

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Oh, definitely the glamping. A lot easier, a lot easier. And then, I think after 35 years of bed and breakfast, I'm starting to realise that people in your house isn't as easy as I thought, once thought it was.

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Well, glamping made you realise just how easy it can be.

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Yes, I mean, I charge slightly more for the glamping than I do for the bed and breakfast. And there's nowhere near as much work because with the bed and breakfast, you've the daily servicing, and cleaning of your rooms, etc. Whereas the shepherd hut, I show people in or at least greet them in the car park at the moment, and give them instructions where to go. And then that's it. If they're in for two or three nights, I don't do anything else. And just leave them to it. If they need more wood, they've got my phone number they ring up and we either deliver it or leave it in the carpark for them to collect themselves. And quite a few have breakfast baskets which need taking down but again, it's taken at a time they want and I just leave it on, knock on the door and leave it on the doorstep for them in a basket and just stand back and job done.

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That's perfect. So obviously that all sounds nice and easy, but I'm sure I'm sure there've been challenges along the way. And I don't think any any new business is made without making mistakes along the way.

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Is there anything that you'd do differently if you were to do it again?

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Probably go for a slightly bigger hut and be able to get round every corner of the bed so making the bed was easier. Yeah, somebody left a review and it was smaller than they expected. But every everything was in it and it's true. There's everything in it.

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But yeah, you could just do with that, another 18 inches of width in the hut just so that you can get everything in that you will and get round and and clean things and make things so everything looks nice.

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Yeah, it doesn't sound like you've made any catastrophic errors and so it sounds like you'd do it fairly similarly if you were to do it again.

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Yeah, yes. Yes, we would.

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What would you say is the best thing about being a glamping site owner?

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I always enjoy meeting people. The four legged friends are lovely that come. I accept dogs and it's amazing the number, you go through the gate to take the the breakfast basket round and they're the first person that greets you and they know you've got food and they either sit and look willingly at your or just run around the corner barking because it's a stranger in town.

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I assume you never even considered making it, it was always going to be a dog friendly site was it?

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It was always going to be dog friendly even though I'd always said in the bed and breakfast no dogs. I if

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The sheep the sheep have survived.

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I was going away with my dog, I'd want to be able to take him somewhere so I appreciate in people's houses is different but a cottage or a hut or anything, I've always thought if we can take dogs, I'll take dogs. And hat's what I've done and tou hwood we've not had any, I've ot had had any problems what

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We've only got two sheep. So yeah, of our own, the neighbours have got a lot of sheep. But everybody that's been dogs have been kept lovely under control. So I've not had any qualms about anything. But yeah, they've left it, they've tidied up after them and everything so no problems.

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Nice. And then the final question, if you could give one tip to any other people in your position, so any farm owner thinking of diversifying into glamping, what would that tip be?

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Plenty of market research, attend shows like The Glamping Show and the FBI show down in the NEC and have a look at what's available. Go and stay in other shepherd huts and glamping pods and see what they're like before you can do it yourself because that way you can feel what it's like as a guest and then know what you want to offer in the way that you can give everybody a really lovely experience

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Perfect. And anyone who's interested in the Glamping Show and all the other trade shows, the the links to those shows will be in the description, as well the link to Weardale Retreat if anyone wants to stay at Carol's site. So thank you for coming on. It was really really, really informative. Yeah, thank you.

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Thank you for listening to another episode of the Glampitect podcast. I hope you enjoyed and that you found value in today's episode. If you did, feel free to leave a rating and review on Apple podcasts because it really helps us move up the podcast rankings. Thank you