Camping at Barn Farm started when a lone caravaner asked Gilbert if he could park up on his traditional Derbyshire gritstone stock farm, in this beautiful part of the Peak District. Twenty years on, Barn Farm is a popular, relaxed camping spot for families and school groups, as well as ramblers, who can head off on the footpaths that lead directly from the site.
The site sits just below mystical Stanton Moor, with its prehistoric Nine Ladies Stone Circle. More recent legend has it that nine dancing ladies and a fiddler were turned to stone for frolicking on the Sabbath! Kids will love the resident peacocks, sheep and cattle, and there’s a good chance of spotting some of the farm’s other furry and feathered residents – wildlife visitors include badgers and black fallow deer, as well as nuthatches, dippers and peregrine falcons. And don’t tell the kids you’re going for an evening stroll across Stanton Moor – ‘we’re going on a bat hunt’ is so much more exciting!
On the edge of the pretty village of Birchover, the main sloping camping field has wonderful views over the Derwent Valley, and if things get a bit busy, the campsite opens up other fields, so you should still be able to find yourself a nice peaceful spot. Mid-week campers, however, should be warned that a local quarry operates Mon–Thurs, so the site can get quite noisy.