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The Forgotten Farm (Luxury Self-Catering Holiday Cottages Dartmoor Devon UK)
From decrepit farm land to thriving holiday business. Discovery Real Time puts on its wellies and heads down to Devon this April, to follow the ups and downs of an extraordinary makeover series charting the reawakening of a run down Dartmoor farm, as it is transformed into a thriving business housing luxury holiday accommodation.
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Discovery Real Time puts on its wellies and heads down to Devon this April, to follow the ups and downs of an extraordinary makeover series charting the reawakening of a run down Dartmoor farm, as it is transformed into a thriving business housing luxury holiday accommodation.
Philippa and Sebastian Hughes have gambled a small fortune that 500 acres of beautiful Dartmoor farm land can be made profitable in the modern world. When they bought Holwell Farm near Widecombe there was much scope for development. Their plan to make the farm pay includes the introduction chickens, pigs and cows and to start a local meat delivery service - but their main ‘crop’ will be holidaymakers.
They are aiming high and hope that their hard work will pay off as they set about transforming the former periods granite barns – which, built in the 1900s, previously housed the stables, piggery, boiler room and calves - into a 5-star, self-catering retreat. As a small army of builders descend to convert the four barns into luxury holiday cottages, great effort also goes into the farm itself with the rebuilding of ancient stone walls, clearing of overgrown fields and introduction of livestock.
Added to the on-site work itself are the all important details of finance and planning. There are bank managers to convince, National Park Planners to woo, and government farm grants to claim. This is not a task for the faint hearted, but a very complicated and highly risky venture - and as with many building projects things do not always go according to plan. Escalating costs and unforeseen delays mean the Hughes’ face a six-figure short fall and risk missing out on the all important holiday season. Will they find a way to sort out their cash flow worries in time?
The whole enterprise is orchestrated by husband and wife team Sebastian and Philippa - two very different characters. Sebastian is a straight-talking, no-nonsense farmer who loves his pigs: “The ideal pig is very small at the front with a hell of a backside - because all the best pork is there.” Philippa on the other hand is level-headed, thrifty and every inch the modern business woman with a head for figures. Where Sebastian is impulsive, Philippa is measured. “I have to mentally treble everything Sebastian tells me.”
Theirs is a partnership that proves you don’t have to be the same to be equal – and their union needs to be strong as the Forgotten Farm is a massive undertaking and a huge financial gamble. For them, failure is not an option.
More than just a renovation series Forgotten Farm offers a glimpse into rural life charting the struggles, heartache and happiness involved in creating a new business in the countryside.
Forgotten Farm is due to premiere on Discovery Real Time as part of the Real Time Retreat strand on Wednesday 5th April at 9.00pm. The series will transmit weekly in this day and time slot thereafter, concluding on Wednesday 7th June.
Discovery Real Time is currently available on Sky digital 250, Telewest Broadband 271, ntl: 304/133 & Top Up TV 28.
Send an email to Philippa Hughes of Holwell Farm
01364 631471
Keywords:
holiday, cottage, devon
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