The farm, which is just a few miles south of the Ceredigion border and my home town of Cardigan, is run by my brother after my mother retired at the end of 2009 after running it for 15 years. We opened the farm for a month in 1992 and properly for the spring and summer season in 1994 as a means of diversification so that we could sustain the long and proud tradition of keeping the family shire horses on the farm in memory of my maternal grandfather J.R.Lewis who passed away at the end of 1991 and who was a Shire Horse man to his bones.
I spent my summer months as a teenager working on the farm whilst friends would be enjoying the freedom of their summer holidays. Looking back, it was a great experience for me as it put me into constant contact with people and it certainly stood me in good stead many years later for my time in public service.
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| Horses and Hills - A Perfect Camping Match! |
Huw, the eldest of us 5 children (I'm the baby of the family!), has now been running it for some 18 months and has renewed the farm attraction and is now expanding out into unchartered waters.
The Camping and Caravanning Club!
A new chapter in the development of the family business was opened last week when, after much inspection, the farm became the 1,500th certified member of the UK's Camping and Caravanning Club as can be read here in their own press release on reaching this landmark.
To quote the Friendly Club's own website:
The site is in a secluded and picturesque area of the farm and campers have free access to its facilities for the duration of their stay.
The farm is a member of Farms for Schools, which means their facilities meet required standards for health and safety and educational resources.
Site owner, Huw Murphy, said: “We were looking to diversify from our core business and noticed that a lot of our visitors were camping in the area.
“As campers with two young children ourselves, we wanted to provide a smaller, less commercialised site similar to those we often look for when booking our own holidays.”
Facilities on site include toilets and showers, a farm trail and an onsite shop and cafe where campers can pre-order breakfasts and lunches.
Attractions on the farm itself include Shire Horses, rare-breed sheep and pigs, indoor and outdoor play areas and donkey rides.
The Club’s Exempted Camping Manager, Damien Field, said: “We are delighted to have achieved this milestone, which means we can offer our members more places to camp than ever before.
“Dyfed Shire Horse Farm is an excellent example of some of the diverse attractions our Certificated Sites offer and we’re pleased to welcome owners Huw and Nikki to the network.”With stunning, peaceful views of the Preseli Hills, it really is a great location to pitch up for the evening - particularly as the field adjacent is the home to our month old filly foal and her mother!
If you would like to book a pitch at the Dyfed Shire Horse Farm, please contact the site directly on 01239 891 107.
Well done indeed to Huw and Nikki! An excellent piece of rural diversification!
I am e-mailing the details to my brother and his wife.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds idyllic and I passed the site on Saturday afternoon and I always love looking at the views of the Preselis.
Grand!
ReplyDelete