It's in our Nature

Our Green Life

‘Helen has poured her passion for, and knowledge of, Penhein’s land into the glampsite, and in so doing has created a magical retreat in a wood within woods …’

Joanna Eede, nature-based tourism journalist

Where it all began …  

“Growing up at Penhein, I learned from an early age that when family, friends, adventure and the natural world combine, magic happens. 

My father’s deep love of the natural world meant that I spent hours immersed in nature, on fascinating local adventures. At dusk we would crawl downwind through long grass to watch badgers or walk in the woods at night to look for bats.  As well as teaching me the practicalities of farm life, my father always drew my attention to the wonders of nature: be it the animal tracks on the ground or the birds in the sky. 

It was this exciting combination of adventure, rural abandon, practicality and wonder I knew as a child that I wanted to bottle in a glamping experience at Penhein. 

Our vision:  

Just over 10 years ago, when I returned from working in London to take on the management of Penhein Farm, we decided to diversify (a necessary task facing many U.K. farmers, given the decline in farming revenues).  

And so, a vision for a far-removed-from-the-world, immersed-in-nature glampsite, in a semi-ancient ash coppice, began to take shape.   

This vision had several elements:  

• To give our guests the opportunity to disconnect from the hurly burly of daily life and rekindle a connection to nature, by living close to its wonderful flora and fauna 

• To create an idyllic, peaceful place from where guests can explore the countryside, roam free, and share adventures with family and friends 

• To create a glampsite with little visual impact on the surrounding landscape, and little adverse physical impact on the woodland and its inhabitants 

• To ensure the glampsite is rich in biodiversity, a place where nature prospers and guests can relax in the knowledge that they are staying at a glampsite where sustainability is paramount 

• To provide a sensory experience for guests. The process of immersing in nature – the sound of the dawn chorus, the calls of owls from the tree hollows, the carpets of woodland flowers, the light, space and fresh air – sharpens our senses and reinvigorates our instincts   

• To give guests the opportunity to deepen their understanding of, and connection with, nature through the agency of experiences and learning new skills – from bushcraft to identifying bird song to practising Shinrin Yoku  

• To ensure Penhein’s farm and wider landscape is managed in accordance with our environmental and sustainability principles 
  

This overarching vision, together with our ecological principles and beliefs, still holds true, and continues to be the guiding light in all that we do.