The cottages and surrounds are looking and sounding spectacular at the moment. The playground is full of colourful primroses, the blossom is out on the blackthorn and the gunnera by the pond are growing great guns. The birdsong in the morning is something else. I've been enjoying seeing how many different species I can rack up on the Merlin app.  

We've been open for the season now for a couple of weeks, having kicked off with a super successful and very sunny retreat weekend on the Spring Equinox. 

We are full this week with Easter guests but we do have availability in Apple (sleeps 3) and Cider (6) from Friday 10th April and in Swallow (6) from Saturday 11th April. Hay (7) is fully booked 'til Friday 17th.

Three night minimum stays from £80 a night in Apple, £120 a night in Cider and Swallow. Flexible check in and departure days throughout April. ​

Refurb news:
The main project Mark and Graeme undertook this winter was renovating the windows in the communal conservatory. That involved replacing the rotten windowsills, replacing blown glass and giving the whole thing a smart new paint job. So far I've neglected to get photos of the finished product so will upload some to our social media feeds as soon as possible. ​

English Tourism Week starts today. What better time to think about and book your domestic holiday that supports local people and communities!

We moved to Devon ten years ago for a complete change of lifestyle having previously lived in the commuter belt around London. Our children were 5 and 8 then - they are a bit bigger now!

We took over the holiday cottages as a going concern but they needed a bit of TLC and we’ve undergone an extensive programme of renovation and improvement since then, along with re-branding and building our social media profiles, all the time learning on the job and (mostly) doing it ourselves.

We are super proud of the cottages today and are fortunate to have a very loyal customer base, many of whom return year on year.
It really does make a difference to local communities when you stay at small businesses such as ours and use local facilities such as the pubs, farm shops and tourist attractions.

Thanks for all of your support over the last ten years. Please come and stay or at least follow our IG and FB feeds and like the odd post to help boost our profile. We are @halsbeerfarm on both.

Swallow sleeps up to 6 people in:

• a ground floor king size bed with ensuite shower wet room;
• a first floor king size four poster bed with ensuite shower and balcony and;
• a first floor twin room with ensuite bath with shower over. 

The ground floor of Swallow Barn is fully accessible for those with mobility constraints with threshold free doors throughout the downstairs. Perfect for a multi-generational family holiday. It has a light and bright L shaped living/dining room and a sizeable kitchen with range cooker.  ​

Swallow has a private gated patio to the side with gas BBQ, dining table and chairs and views over the pond. Easy ramp access to the communal deck and conservatory. Swallow's spacious living room has views onto the lawn and is an easy walk to both the car park and the heated indoor swimming pool. 

Apple and Cider Cottages, sleeping up to 3 (or 4 if one is an infant) and six respectively are also available from 27th March for between 3 and 7 nights and from 10th April for 7 nights. Hay Barn is already fully booked for the entirety of the Easter holidays. 

Our opening weekend of the 2026 season coincides with our tenth anniversary of taking over here at Halsbeer Farm on 21st March. It's also the Spring Equinox and our friends at Serendipity Mind Body Soul are hosting a retreat specifically for facilitators that weekend. So if you support others in your work or know someone who does who might benefit from this retreat do please share the info. Only two bedrooms remaining.

The original recipe was a Great British Bake Off one, featured on the Great British Food Awards website. Theirs was a monster 4-layer cake - bit overkill for my purposes - so I halved the recipe to make a standard 2-layer cake and I also reduced the time it took by cheating on a couple of steps. Much as I would have loved to make my own lemon and primrose curd and syrup I simply didn't have time so instead I bought a jar of good quality lemon curd and skipped the syrup. The cake didn't suffer for it, it was still moist and zingy. I did decorate it with some primroses and violas (edible) and celandine (not edible) flowers and a few sprigs of herbs that were starting to shoot in the herb garden, specifically a trailing rosemary that was already flowering, lavender and chamomile.    

Cake:
140g ground almonds
120g self-raising flour, sifted
225g unsalted butter, softened (if you only have salted use that but skip the pinch of salt)
225g golden caster sugar
4 eggs
50ml lemon curd yoghurt (if you don't have this I'd use normal yoghurt and a squeeze of lemon juice)
Finely grated zest of 1/2 a lemon
Pinch of salt 
Lemon buttercream: 
115g unsalted butter, softened 
210g icing sugar, sifted
2-3 tbsp good-quality shop-bought lemon curd
Lemon curd: 
120g good-quality shop-bought lemon curd (or if you want to make your own see the recipe link above)
To decorate: 
Edible spring flowers such as primrose and violas
Sprigs of herbs such as thyme, lemon balm, mint, rosemary, chamomile and lavender
Icing sugar, for dusting
Equipment: 
2 x 20cm sandwich tins, greased and base lined with baking paper
Wooden skewer or cocktail stick
​Medium piping bag with large star shaped nozzle.

Heat the oven to 180C/Fan 160C/Gas 4.
Stir the ground almonds and flour together in a bowl. Beat the butter and sugar together with a stand mixer or a hand mixer until pale and creamy.

Add the eggs one at a time beating well between each. Add a spoonful of the flour and almond mixture if it starts to curdle. Stir in the yoghurt then fold in the almond and flour mixture with the lemon zest and salt (if using unsalted butter).

Divide the mixture evenly between the two pre-prepared tins and spread level. Bake for 30-35 minutes on the middle shelf until risen and you get a nice bounce back from the surface when lightly pressed and/or a skewer or cocktail stick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool completely. 

Make the buttercream by beating the butter until pale and creamy. Add the icing sugar a little at a time, then add the lemon curd. I used that in preference to milk to slacken the mixture off a bit while also imparting the lemon flavour. You want enough to give a soft, pipeable consistency and a great zingy taste. Spoon the buttercream into a piping bag.

Place the first cake on a board or cake plate, then pipe a ring of buttercream around the edge of the sponge (I did two rings). Spoon lemon curd into the centre and spread evenly. Place the other sponge on top and decorate with a ring of piped blobs around the edge. Decorate with flowers and dust with icing sugar to finish.

Enjoy, preferably with friends or family in the Spring sunshine. 

Jump in to 2025 with a cottage stay at Halsbeer Farm in marvellous Mid Devon.

Happy New Year from everyone at Halsbeer Farm holiday cottages! We hope your holiday season was filled with warmth, joy and memories that will last a lifetime. As we step into 2025, we're so grateful for all of you who made last year special with your visits to our beautiful self-catering holiday accommodation.

Now is the time to start planning your next getaway and we’d love to help you make 2025 even more memorable. Whether it’s a peaceful rural retreat to recharge, a fun-filled family break, or a romantic weekend spent walking in the countryside, Halsbeer Farm is the perfect destination for your next escape. 
​
​Read on for a reminder of the features of our holiday cottage complex on the edge of Devon's beautiful Blackdown Hills Natural Landscape (previously Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) and for a run down of our 2025 availability, which can also be seen live in the availability calendars on each cottage webpage, which can be visited by clicking on the images below.

​Features of our little piece of heaven in Devon:

• All of our cottages welcome well-behaved dogs 🐶
• Our three largest cottages are 100% ensuite 🚽
• Our three largest cottages each have a ground-floor accessible bedroom with ensuite shower wetroom🧑‍🦽
• We can provide cots and high chairs on request 👶
• Stairgates are provided top and bottom as standard 🧒
• Our cottages share an indoor pool heated to a balmy 29C 🏊
• The games room has pool, ping-pong and table football 🏓
• Our laundry has two washing machines and a tumble dryer 🧺
• The communal conservatory is an ideal party space and can be arranged informally or for a sit down meal for up to 22 🥳

​The walking festival isn't the only date for your diary this Autumn. There is lots going on locally including:

• Devon Open Studios 7th - 22nd September
• Somerset Art Weeks 21st September - 6th October
• Tiverton Literary Festival 25th - 29th September
• Tiverton Eat Festival on Sunday 29th September
• Powderham Food Festival 5th and 6th October
• RHS Rosemoor Festival of Flavours 5th and 6th October
• Halloween at National Trust Knightshayes 26th to 31st October
• National Trust Killerton's new fashion exhibition daily until 3rd November

Several nearby historic attractions are taking part in Heritage Open Days between 6th and 15th September, opening their doors to visitors for free. Examples include Hemyock Castle on 8th September, Dunkeswell Abbey on 14th September, Spiceland Quaker Meeting House on 15 September, Killerton, Knightshayes and Powderham Castle (various dates). Check the Heritage Open Day website or the venues themselves for more information.

Plus, we have lots of suggestions of places to visit on our Things to Do webpage.

​Time for the beach...
 
Sidmouth is one of our favourite beach towns to visit, with a great long beach and promenade, including some red sand up at the Jacob's ladder end (pictured below), great shopping and eateries along the sea front and in the pedestrianised centre. One of our faves.

Here's a link to the Beach Page on our website to get you inspired for your summer hols.

Three night minimum stay from £110 a night in Apple Cottage and from £150 a night in Cider Cottage, Swallow Barn and Hay Barn. 

The longer your stay the better value the nightly rate. For example seven nights in Apple from £70 a night, and in the three larger cottages from £90 a night.

Spring really is the best time to visit - April and May might just be my favourite months with wildflowers blooming and fresh new leaves unfurling. This is a view from up near Blackborough House looking towards Kentisbeare and Cullompton with our holiday cottages nestled in the trees at the bottom of the hill. 

The stunning Grand Western Canal near Halberton on the Swan's Neck Circular Walk of 2.5 miles. 

We open for the season on Good Friday 29th March and are so excited to have returning guests coming back for Easter week celebrating a grandchild's birthday and a 50th wedding anniversary so big congratulations to them. We just love hosting family occasions here at Halsbeer Farm whether you take one cottage, two, three or all four. It gives us such a sense of pride and fulfilment to see people enjoying spending time together in the surroundings we have created and care for. 

We had a lovely surprise last week when a chap knocked at the door with an aerial photo (top) of Halsbeer Farm from 26 years ago before the farmhouse was extended and the cottages were converted and thatched. It also predates the installation of the driveway across the front field. Back in 1998 the only access was from the rear where the yurts are now located down into the farm courtyard between the house and Apple Cottage. At that time what is now the games room was a dairy and the pond was a slurry pond. The building which now houses the swimming pool was an open sided barn and there was a large dutch barn on what is now the front lawn.

The image above was taken in April 2017 by some guests who took all the cottages to celebrate a big birthday party. It shows just how much the farm has changed since 1998.