UK stays – A shot of the world

If you’re looking for a countryside escape, the yurt at Waterperry Alpacas won’t disappoint!

For my 30th birthday, Alex surprised me with our first trip away with our daughter Adelaide, who was 8 weeks at the time. With no idea where we were going, we packed up the car – full to the brim with enough baby paraphernalia to last a lifetime, and set off for Oxfordshire. As we came to the village of Waterperry, we were given instructions to follow the signs for Waterperry gardens, and look out for some wooden gates with a black cockerel sign outside. Admittedly, we did take a couple of wrong turns but we eventually found the place – I was still completely unaware of what was there and what we were ticking off the bucket lis t!

From the second we got to Waterperry Alpacas, Jo and Royston were the most incredible hosts. They showed us to the yurt in the bottom corner of their garden, gave us a tour of their little farm and then introduced us to the alpacas, chickens, ducks and dogs. As it was my birthday treat, they left us a bottle of Prosecco in the fridge for when we arrived, which was such a nice touch and a welcomed addition to our evening in the hot tub! Once we got settled in, we were left to our own devices and were able to wonder around the animals as much as we liked, which really made this place amazing value for money, and separated it from lots of other yurt experiences.

We booked through AirBnB where you can see more photos of the yurt, but you can also visit their website to book directly and learn more about their alpacas!

The field of alpacas were pretty much in their back garden and we often passed Royston whilst wondering about; he always had something fun for us to join in with or a great story to tell us. He chatted to us for ages and was so friendly and accommodating. Nothing was ever too much trouble and he went above and beyond to make us feel at home. He brought us extra logs and an electric heater; it gets a bit chilly in the yurt overnight which was fine for us (because of the amazingly warm alpaca fur duvet) but with a newborn we didn’t want her to get too chilly. He also gifted me a squirrel to skin and eat, as it’s on my bucket list to eat one… Alex stuck to sausages.

When Grievesy booked Waterperry Alpacas, she mentioned to the owners that I had a few other things on my bucket list such as milk a cow, sheer a sheep etc.. and asked them if they would be able to accommodate any of them. Royston had a search around his farm and let me have a go on pretty much everything! He had an agricultural quad bike, ride on lawnmower, an old dumper and we also did some shooting. He let us get involved in feeding some of the animals too – he whistles for them, and ducks and chickens come running from all over the farm to be fed. It was nice for Adelaide to experience (even if she had no idea what’s going on).

Waterperry is a little Oxfordshire village with a garden centre and farm shop, and I’m sure some great country walks. Sadly, we didn’t get to explore much as we were only there for 2 nights. It’s close to the market town of Thame and only 40 minutes into the centre of Oxford. We popped into Thame on a couple of occasions for some lunch, and they have a great selection of shops, cafe’s, restaurants and lots of boutiques, as well as the market which is open Monday – Friday. We went to Black Goo cafe and tap room twice; once for brunch and once for cake – neither disappointed. The ‘slice’ of cake was the size of a brick and was the best chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten. The portions are all so generous and the people are friendly, they also have great vegan options – we’d definitely recommend.

Black Goo Cafe and Tap Room near Waterperry Alpacas

If you were looking for somewhere closer to Waterperry Alpacas then there are a couple of pubs nearby. The Clifden Arms is within walking distance and is meant to have really good food. Sadly the kitchen there isn’t open on Monday and Tuesdays which were the two days we were there. The pub that we did end up visiting was called The Old Fisherman and was only a 10 minute drive away. It’s a really nice location and the outside area is great for a drink, but the food was pretty average.

We had such a great time at this stay that we’ve talked about coming back, possibly with some of the family as my nieces and nephew would love it. Anyone considering a stay in a yurt, I wholeheartedly recommend Waterperry Alpacas.

Even as we walked up to the little building with the words ‘Solent Forts’ written on the front, I still had no idea where Scott was taking me for a surprise night away; I’d genuinely never heard of The Solent and had forgotten what a fort was! ‘No Man’s fort’ was a complete mystery to me.

We’d arrived in Portsmouth the day before and spent the night in a cheap Ibis hotel right near to Fratton Park stadium so that we could spend the evening here and not have to worry about leaving early to drive down on the Monday morning. We caught the train into Portsmouth harbour, and took a stroll around to a pub called The Bridge Tavern which was right on the waterfront, where we had some delicious fish and chips!

Our trip to Portsmouth and No Man's Fort

The next morning, I followed Scott aimlessly as he refused to give away any clues to our exciting night away; although I had guessed a boat so you can imagine the smugness on my face when we were walked down the jetty towards them all. We got onto a little ferry boat with a load of other people and our bags, and set out into the Solent.

There are two forts that you can visit – Spitbank Fort and No Man’s Fort (where we stayed), and the third is apparently in the process of being converted into a museum.

When we arrived at No Man’s fort, we got off the boat and stepped onto the external steps which took you up and into the large round building in the middle of the sea. The rooms were all around the edges in a sort of mezzanine floor, which were large, beautifully decorated and had the most stunning sea views! There was a restaurant, a bar and a half-lighthouse – but the main attraction was the rooftop terrace! The very top of the fort was completely covered in artificial grass, and had a selection of seating areas as well as a fire pit (ready for roasting marshmallows), a little sauna hut, a bar and 2 hot tubs which look out over the Solent!

When we got there, they took our bags to our room whilst we went on a tour of the entire fort (with welcome drinks, of course). The tour took us from the rooftop, all the way around the outside of the fort, to the top of the two-floored lighthouse and also to the old ‘basement’.

The fort still had a lot of the original elements from back when they were used as defence and so it’s really interesting to see for yourself!

When we were settled in, we went to get some lunch – a sharing cheese and meat board – to tide us over until our included three course set meal that evening. We spent the afternoon taking in the views from the roof and soaking up the sun (we went in July 2018 when Britain had its heatwave, so we were blessed with some beautiful hot weather). For the evening meal, we got dressed up for a ‘fine dining’ style meal with everyone sat in one large part of the fort, where Scott was able to tick off another thing from his bucket list – buy a very expensive bottle of wine… there were no complaints from me!

One thing to bear in mind is that, me being 20 and Scott being 26, meant that we were easily the youngest couple on No Man’s Fort by far. We preferred it that way however, as we were going for a more sophisticated and calm night away, as opposed to some kind of party island!

After dinner, we got into our swimming costumes and headed up onto the roof to get into the hot tub and spend the majority of our night there. We began chatting to the one other couple that was up there, who lived on the Isle of White, who were telling us some really interesting stories about their life so far. Once they went to bed, we stayed in there watching the stars and listening to the sea until the very early hours of the morning. As far as romance goes, it was probably up there!

If you’re into unusual stays, I’d definitely recommend staying a night here to experience it all, however it’s not cheap! We managed to take a couple of days off work so that we could go on a Monday, so it did reduce the price to around £400 for the night, but if you’re looking to stay there on a weekend – start saving!! We found it on Secret Escapes but it’s worth having a look around to find the best deal – you can even hire the fort out for events as well as business meetings.

Scott took me away for this surprise night on No Man’s Fort in July 2018, where we said we’d do this regularly, taking it in turns to surprise the other with a really cool UK stay. I’m writing this in January 2020 and I’m yet to return the favour, so maybe I should start looking soon. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know!!!

Tag: UK stays

Our Stay in a Yurt at Waterperry Alpacas

No Man’s Fort