For one weekend a year revellers descend,
glow sticks in hand, upon the meadows of Upcote Farm. The music thumps, the
crowd jumps and the late night merges into early morning, where a sprawl of
tents are colourfully picked out by the rising sun. The 2000Trees Festival has fast become one of the most successful small festivals in the
country and there’s no doubt its setting has played an important roll.
Mismatched patches of woodland are dotted across the surrounding Cotswold
hills, while ponds and streams drain down the farm’s valley into the meandering
River Coln. Though weary, it’s no surprise the weekend’s campers leave wishing
they could return sooner, an opinion that plenty have voiced over previous
years.
Despite the reverberating sound of those
summertime tunes, John and Sheila, the affable owners of Upcote Farm, welcome festival-goers with open arms. The setting is the same
Cotswold escape, though with a rather more peaceful atmosphere. Located in a
wooded glade in a quiet corner of a working farm, the site consists of two
hand-crafted cedar and oak glamping pods accompanied by a third block, in the
same style, which houses a toilet and shower. The pods, crafted locally by a
pair of expert furniture makers, have electricity, running water and heating,
while guests can chose between a double bed or the four single beds option.
From the doorstep it's easy to explore a
little more of the farm, with an excellent walk that leads through the woods
and into the surrounding countryside, or take a bike along some of the
Cotswold’s cross-country bridleways. Whether you wake to a frosty winter
morning or a dawn chorus of summer birds, this place always seems to have some
sort of festival going on. Beyond the farm’s own obvious summer bash, the
eclectic town of Cheltenham is a short drive away and has a great mix of events
throughout the year. The jazz festival in spring, a science festival in early
summer, the literary festival in autumn, then (deep breath) there’s folk,
comedy, dance, poetry, food, cricket, fashion… something, it seems for any
taste, all capped by the famous Cheltenham horse racing.
You needn’t be on the hunt for specific festival
fun, though. The calm of the wooded glade makes Upcote Farm a wonderful place
to simple escape and enjoy a little alone time in the countryside, whether
that means a walk to the village pub or building dens in the surrounding trees.
The two pods have a real sense of being cut off from the rest of the world and
until you chose to break this cocoon the place can truly feel your own.
