A stay at Fat Pheasant Shepherd Huts gives you a taste of life in the Oxfordshire countryside with all the charm of the farm – and none of the hard work. The transition from home life to a holiday in the country is neatly marked by the last part of your journey. After you’ve parked your car and said hello to the farmyard animals, you’ll need to hop into your host’s 4X4 to be driven to your hut. No neat little tarmac here. You’re in the countryside now and the terrain is tough. Thankfully, however, the living will be easy.
With hot tubs, en-suites, made-up beds and log burners, Fat Pheasant Shepherd Huts are designed to offer luxurious stays in secluded spots on the farm. There are just two huts here. You might call them a brace but they’re too far apart; each situated in a separate meadow to offer seclusion along with far-reaching views. The comfy king-sized double makes each hut a great hideaway for couples but families and groups are welcome too. There’s space to add a cot or child’s mattress inside and bell tents are available to hire as an add-on outside belldroom. These can sleep up to four in single beds, with twinkling fairy lights to help set the scene.
Book the hut-and-bell-tent combo and the location is transformed from being a couple’s hideaway to a tiny campsite that’s just for you and your family or friends. Families with older kids, a couple of couples or even a low-key camping hen-do would suit this set up well and, if there’s more than six in your glamping gang, there’s the option for a full-site booking. Celebration or not, your taste of the countryside life would not be complete without good food. Stay on site with a pre-ordered hamper of goodies fresh from the farm or strike out into the countryside for lunch at one of three local pubs within walking distance.
Bury Court Farm itself is some 500 acres in size, so there’s much to explore without even leaving its fields. Though it’s mostly arable, there’s a menagerie of animals to meet including, unusually, a pair of emus towering over the kune kune pigs and Highland cattle. Should you wish to do more, farmer’s daughter Jo can put you in touch with local folk offering horse riding, archery and clay pigeon shooting, plus, of course, there's the Cotswolds, just to the south-east of the farm, with pretty villages and stately homes, like the National Trust's Upton House, within an easy 10-minute drive.
Guests are welcome to explore the 500-acre farm and meet the animals that live there. There are public footpaths you can follow through the fields and out into the wider countryside. Host Jo is happy to put you in touch with activity organisers for horse riding, clay pigeon shooting, archery and more. The farm sits just outside the Cotswolds AONB where there are plenty of pretty villages and lots of lovely countryside to explore. Broughton Castle (01295 276070), Upton House and Farnborough Hall (01295 670266) are all within a 15-minute drive. The closest town is Banbury, four miles away, with Shakespeare’s birthplace at canal-side Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick with it’s famous castle and elegant Royal Leamington Spa all within 20 miles of site.
Guests can order a hamper of locally-sourced food, for breakfast or dinner, which can be delivered straight to the huts to cook on the fire pit or gas bbq. There are lots of fantastic pubs nearby, including the Falcon (01295 692120) and The Plough (01295 690666) both in Warmington and within walking distance (by day), as is the Moon and Sixpence (01295 730544) at Hanbury. If you need to stock up on supplies, head to Carpenters Farm Shop (01295 690561) for local goodies or towards Banbury for a local supermarket.