Camping About In The Country

I have been hunting for a superlative. ‘Busy’ just doesn’t do justice to the last few weeks. The culprit is our eco camping enterprise, which, thanks to being taken on by some people called Canopy and Stars (www.canopyandstars.co.uk) , has gone totally ballistic. It’s more canopy than stars to be honest, given that what we offer by way of farm diversification is two tents, and a converted horse transporter. But that doesn’t seem to put people off. So Sarah has been chief chambermaid (regrettably without the frilly hat and lace apron but I’m working on that), bottle washer and reception girl. I am assistant engineer, wood chopper, that odd bloke who drives a tractor.

All of which is an utterly novel experience for us, so we’re learning on the job. Like the fact that some campers can’t tell the difference between food waste and newspaper so the well oiled recycling system goes to pot.

The day starts at 6 when I get up to light the log fired shower. It ends at 11pm when we both fall into bed utterly knackered and go straight to sleep. With another long ‘to do’ list facing us the next day. But Sarah is in her element, shining with fervour, so busy I think she wishes the walls weren’t in the way, it would make her journey shorter.

Meanwhile we got the hay in without too much trauma except the landrover throttle cable snapped and then the clutch went on the Super Major I was towing it and its trailer out of a field with. This was akin to last year’s Landrover pond dunking exercise, and distracted me for a couple of days, but we got through it.

Plans are now afoot to build a mobile thatched cottage and a wood cutters hut for next year’s offering. I am serious. And so busy I don’t have time to write any more. Got to go.