A couple are delighted by the success of their glamping site which is run 'completely off grid'.
Mark and Hilary Berry have been running Hedgerow Luxury Glamping in Newholme, near Gisburn, since October 2019.
Despite the lockdown just a few months later, Mark and Hilary have doubled the number of cabins they have available and are delighted at how successful they have been.
Hilary said: “We started off with three and we had just managed to get those done when we opened up in October in 2019.
“We were only open 23 weeks before Covid hit but we were really busy.
“During lockdown, we decided to get a fourth one in.
“After lockdown we carried on and used grant money to put another one in.
“At this point we were opening up and we had so many people who wanted to come in and stay. At that point we got a sixth one.
“By the time we came out of lockdown fully we had doubled in size.”
The couple also appeared on Channel Four show Four in a Bed in November and, although they did not take the top prize, the exposure saw the site get so many bookings that their computer system crashed.
When energy prices increasing, Hilary and Mark realised how expensive it would be to keep the site running so decided to invest in solar panels and wind turbines which have now allowed them to operate ‘off grid’.
Their sustainability has seen them win the Lancashire Tourism award for Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism. The win will see the site go forward to represent Lancashire in the next awards Visit Britain.
Hilary added: “We’ve got chickens on the site so that people can go and get their own eggs and we have alpacas for people to go and see.
“We’ve got an honesty shop as well so people can go and get bacon and sausages.
“We’ve got a communal fire den if people want to get out of the pod.
“What we have tried doing is that each one is a mini-retreat and has everything you need.
“A lot of people don’t leave the pod after they arrive.”
All of the lodges are adult only with no pets allowed and have a hot tub, dishwasher, underfloor heating, a BBQ and a firepit; and recently, two of the lodges have had a sauna added.
Hilary said that although she loves all the cabins on the site, her favourite is the newest addition, Bluebell which has a copper bath and super king bed.
Hilary also said that she has customers who have come back several times and other customers who drive three or four hours for a one-night stay.
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