A NOTE FROM PENNY AND HALEY

Evelyns Garden Roundhouse - Glamping - Sauna - Plunge - Garden Spa - Glamping - Ridgeway Camping - Wantage - Oxfordshire logo

Evelyns Garden

The riDgeway GLAMP/ WILDcamP

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GLAMP FROM AS LITTLE AS £16 each per night

SEASON 2026 - APRIL - October

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At Kingston Lisle, OXFORDSHIRE
At the top of Blowing Stone ROAD,
Near KINGSTON LISLE & sparsholt, in Oxfordshire

Garden SPA GLAMP RETREAT

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DOG FRIENDLY

Get away from it all, sleep under the stars & listen to natures jukebox.

where two stories met & a garden grew

The farm is a 100 acres and was originally part of a larger family estate. I bought it in 1992. The family had built most of the bungalow house and put up the Dutch barns, as there had only been a sheep dip on sit, although it had shown on maps from the 18th and 19th Century. There are a lot of “Down Barns” on the Ridgeway Downs so that the Shepards could gather and dip the sheep that were grazing all over.
My husband had died two years earlier, and I had sold other properties, and was attracted to Down Barn Farm as it is in area thats very good for riding.
I had a few  head of Cattle and 2 horses at that time and my children were all at university.
A few years on and I had bred more of my beef Shorthorn cattle and bought one or two more horses as I was doing some competitive Endurance riding. The beef Shorthorns, were at that time a Rare Breed but I found them easy to manage  with quite an attractive red and white coat!
The breed now happens to be quite commercial, as this particular breed can produce great beef from grass and hay alone. making it eco friendly and healthier for humans, as apposed to grain.
I also have another rare breed, called the Tamworth pigs. they re still quite rare as they live indoors and cannot be part of an intensive pig unit. The pork is however very tasty and great for crackling.
In 1995 I converted the farm into an Organic status. This was an easy process for me, as I was already running the farm as organic. I had no need for pesticides or herbicides or artificial fertilisers, when I just used the manure from the cattle.
I found that the farm was very useful for ridgeway walkers crossing, and up until recently I ran an B&B, which know is continuing in a different form with Haley and Evelyns Garden.
 
Evelyn’s Garden began as just a small seed back in 2017, when I bought an old horsebox and transformed her into a full time, cosy home, naming her “Lady Evelyn” after my wonderful Nana.
I moved too and from various lands, over the years learning slowly how to live off-grid. Eventually, with some encouragement from friends, I decided to share the lifestyle I loved and rent her out as an Airbnb. Always looking for the suitable spot to host in, led me to a wonderful lady named Penny, who owns a vibrant 100 acre Organic Farm. Penny warmly embraced my vision for a humble “glamping” space, on her land, where I nestled onto her former horse paddocks, simply displaying the most incredible views, looking out over the beautiful countryside—This space quickly became the perfect setting for everyone who visited! Alongside Lady Evelyn,  I hosted a bell tent, and a few camping spots, with nothing but a few bucket toilets and a hose. As the space grew in popularity, I traded Lady Evelyn the horsebox to build more suitable facilities for my guests.
Composting loos and showers were hand built from my trailers, a Roundhouse and Kitching, dining area to compliment.Making the site a lot more habitable. season after season, the simple Horse-box rental soon grew into the wild retreat now known as Evelyn’s Garden.
 
 

about - DOWNS BARN FARM​

The farm is a 100 acres and was originally part of a larger family estate.  I bought it in l992 from the daughter who had been left it when her father died early.   She and her husband had built most of the bungalow house and put up the two green Dutch barns because there had only been a sheep dip on the site although it is shown on maps from the nineteenth and eighteenth century.  There are a lot of ‘Down Barns’ on the Ridgeway Downs so that the shepherds could gather and dip the sheep that were grazed all over.

My husband had died two years earlier and I had sold other properties and had been attracted to Down Barn Farm because it is in an area which is very good for riding.  I had a few head of cattle and two horses at that time and my children were at university.

A few years on and I had bred more of my Beef Shorthorn cattle and bought one or two more horses as I was doing some competitive Endurance riding.  The Beef Shorthorns were at that time a Rare Breed but I found them easy to manage and thought that their coat colour of ‘Red, white or Roan’ was pleasing and made the individuals more easy to distinguish than if they had been  all black like Aberdeen Angus or cream like Charolais. As it happens, the breed, which is the oldest cattle breed to have a recorded pedigree book, has now become quite ‘commercial’ because the cattle can produce good beef from grass and hay alone which is more eco friendly and healthier for humans than from animals fed on grain.   

I also bought another, even rarer breed, the Tamworth pigs.  They are still very few and far between because they need to live outdoors and cannot be part of an intensive pig unit.  The pork is however tasty with lots of crackling!

In l995 I converted the farm to Organic status.  This was not hard to do as I had never believed in pesticides or herbicides and there was no need to spend money on artificial fertilisers with all the manure from the cattle and horses.   The animals only needed to have antibiotics on very rare occasions, for welfare reasons only.

I found that the farm was very useful for people walking the Ridgeway Path and until recently I did quite a bit of  B&B and have always also welcomed campers – and this is now continuing with Evelyns Garden.

Penny