My daughter started Foundation this year and has been up and down with settling in and my son moved up a year group at school; both seemed to be starting to really flag after 4 weeks back so we planned a secret short break away as a surprise and treat – a weekend at Humble Bee Farm!
Humble Bee Farm is a glamping and camping site on a working farm, this side of Scarborough close to Staxton Hill. They also have 3 luxury farm cottages. We decided to make it a full family weekend, I booked a Running Water Deluxe Wigwam® Cabin for me, my husband and our 2 children and a luxury farm cottage for my mum, sister and brother-in-law. I am not a camper, I haven’t been in a tent since I was a teenager and struggle to see the appeal, but I have fallen in love with glamping after this weekend.
We didn’t tell the kids we were going and collected them from school on Friday as normal, then to their surprise drove past our house! We played guessing games as to where we were going and finally told them we were going glamping, to shrieks of delight (just like the episode of Topsy & Tim where they go camping!).
The drive up is beautiful, it reminds you just how lucky we are to live on the edge of such fantastic countryside. From Driffield it’s picture postcard scenery of the Wolds all the way to the farm, you already feel relaxed and away from it all just from the drive. It took an hour from school and we arrived at 4.30pm, to a very warm welcome at the reception. Humble Bee Farm is run by husband and wife team, Julia and Farmer Percy, who showed us where to go and explained what we could do on the farm.
The first thing that my son did was run off to collect an egg from the hen house, you can see if the hens have laid and collect an egg whenever you want to, my kids spent a lot of time checking on the hens and laying progress! We cooked 2 delicious fired eggs for breakfast the next morning.
We then went to see the pigs and cows, and the very friendly sheepdog Alfie. You park outside your accommodation so we drove down, past a lovely duckpond, to the Wigwam® Cabins, which was just opposite the playground so we unloaded while the kids played. Their faces when they saw inside the cabin were something I won’t forget, they thought it was incredible!
The main area had a double bed (which the kids bagsy’d) and a settee that pulled out to be another bed at night, all beautifully decorated with fairy lights above. Both beds were really comfy! There was a heater, a small but functioning kitchen with sink, hob, microwave, kettle and toaster and all the utensils I could ever need. Our Deluxe Wigwam® Cabin also had an en-suite with toilet and shower and a wood-fired hot tub next to the cabin.
Further down the site are Big Chief Wigwam® Cabins, these don’t have en-suites (or hot tubs) but there’s a very clean and well-appointed communal shower block and kitchen. There are also more accommodation types – nomadic yurts which looked gorgeous, with a proper double bed, bed settee and a wood burner for heat, and bell tents which were just coming down for the winter, they go back up in April. There is also a campsite if you want to bring your own tent and electric hook-up all weather stands for caravans. There was also a sports field where my son spent a lot of time playing football.
After settling in we went back to check out my mums cottage which was beautiful. The cottage had underfloor heating and had everything you could possibly need (even bathrobes and slippers!) and of course their own outdoor hot tub. From their patio we saw the cows coming down from the field for feeding, birds flying and the rolling hills beyond.
Back at our cabin we lit our firepit and toasted marshmallows around the fire that evening. After finally getting 2 excited (ad sugar filled) children to sleep, my husband and me sat outside on our picnic bench next to the fire with a bottle of wine, bliss! We really did feel miles away, it was so quiet and tranquil.
The next day we had an early start as the kids were excited and wanted to get up (I made them watch TV while I dozed!) and we stayed around the site for the rest of the day, there was so much to do! We played football on the sports field and went on the nature trail which runs part way around the farm, it’s about 1.5 miles and a 45 minute walk (with a 4 and 7 year old). There are 7 activity boards to find out all about nature and a map to navigate around. The wheat had just been cut and we could see for miles across the countryside, it was a fantastic walk.
Later that day we joined in with a nature event. The farm frequently put on extra activities for families to do while staying, this was a conservation event. The RSPB man was there showing the kids lots of interesting stuff about birds and then a lady from Tophill Low Nature Reserve took us all into the woods to build a hedgehog shelter for the winter. We also foraged for items, played nature bingo and the kids got thoroughly immersed in it. Then of course we had to use the hot tub! It was a Scandinavian wood fired one which the staff lit for us and we topped up with wood to heat the water, adding to the rural feel.
We decided on a pub tea and drove a few miles down the road to Seamer for a fantastic meal at the Copper Horse, one of the best meals out I’ve had and I would highly recommend eating there if you stay at Humble Bee or anywhere else in Scarborough. We could have stayed on the farm as it was pizza night, you order a pizza that’s made in the farmhouse and delivered to your doorstep by Farmer Percy on his quadbike!
We came home Sunday morning as we had football matches and parties to go to (and being an hour away it was an easy drive back) but we could have stayed and done lots more in the area. Playdale Farm is only a few minutes’ drive away, the coast is also a short drive away at Cayton Bay and Scarborough town centre is only 15 minutes’ drive. The farm has a beach chalet on Scarborough North Bay too that you can use if you go into Scarborough. My sister and husband stayed to walk along part of the Wolds Way and there are lots of walks right from the farm. We don’t have a dog but it’s a dog friendly site and a lot of people had their dogs with them too.
I came back feeling completely refreshed, it really did feel like I was in the middle of nowhere, had a proper break and had switched off from real life. I appreciate I didn’t really camp properly (with my en-suite and hot tub!) but I felt like I’d been outdoors, got some fresh air and let my kids be around nature. The kids are already asking when we’re going again and my husband wants us to go back and try a yurt next time so it looks like this will become a regular trip for us.
I can’t recommend the site highly enough. It’s more than just a pod or cabin in the countryside, it’s living on a farm for a few days and all the extra touches such as the nature event and the park, there was so much to do. I’d taken a pile of books, games and the iPad but didn’t touch them all weekend.
There are lots of other events coming up at the farm such as Halloween, bonfire night and more nature events, you can find the full list on their website here. They also have a great offer for Kids Go Free starting in November across the winter. For more information about Humble Bee Farm please visit their website here, call the helpful team on 01723 890437 or email info@humblebeefarm.co.uk.
