The Loft at Southleigh

05/07/2023

We've done it again! Yay - we're really proud that people consistently rate us with full marks after their stay!

We still have a few gaps in the calendar for the months ahead so please do check out our listing and come to stay in the beautiful Devon countryside - find out what our previous guests are raving about!!!

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/48293309

22/05/2023

We’ve just had another 5 ⭐️ review ! Happy guests, make us happy!

We still have some availability over the half term here at The Loft at Southleigh.

The weather looks set to be phenomenal down here in Devon this half term. With the wild flowers in full force, all the attractions fully open, the sea temperatures rising and just a short journey from Dartmoor, Exeter and Haldon Forest, why not treat yourself to a few days rest and relaxation down here in this beautiful part of the world.

PM us via this page or book direct via our Airbnb page https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/48293309

07/04/2023

The sun is shining, spring is in full swing, lambs are being born and eggs-a-plenty here for Easter.

Due to a last minute cancellation we have availability from 9th -16th April.

Minimum 2 night stay - with a discount down to £85/night plus cleaning fee (£35) if you book direct with us via this page or by phone
🥚 🌸 😊

07/03/2023

That’s this years pregnant ewes brought home for lambing.

With lambs due from 21st March onwards we have timed it to fit with the Easter holidays so that guests in The Loft can witness the excitement of lambing if they are lucky.

With dates still available from 7th -16th April for a minimum of three nights, have a look at our AirBnB page for more details or contact us direct through FB.

18/05/2022

When a family check out from The Loft, one of the first things I do before giving it a good clean is check to see what has been written in the guest book.

It’s such a lovely thing to be able to share our home with people and it makes us feel really proud to think that out of all of the places on planet earth they could have chosen, they chose us!

I thought it would be a nice thing to share some of the comments from some of the families, it makes us feel very proud.

03/05/2022

Growing our own food and having food available to us all year round is really important to us.

It was five years ago, next month, that we arrived here and set about two key projects that would help us achieve our dreams.

First was to get ‘The Loft’ up and running and be ‘guest ready’ ASAP.

Second was to set up a food growing system that allowed us to grow fruit/veg/meat/eggs year round so we could take steps to no longer rely on supermarkets and also start to save money by avoiding buying things.

The Loft is now in its second season of welcoming guests and the veg areas are now providing produce every day of the year (some more than others).

This year round supply of produce enables us to provide all guests who arrive at The Loft with a hamper of seasonal, home grown produce that we have grown on our land without chemicals and with a bare minimum of food miles, if any.

As society navigates its way through the climate emergency these things are going to become increasingly important and so hopefully will become more mainstream. For us, we want to be setting these things up now by choice, rather than by necessity, so that they will be in full productivity sooner rather than later.

Some of the photos below are of our rare breed sheep grazing our orchard, our mixed flock of hens and their multicoloured eggs, our fruit garden, herb beds, vegetable beds and polytunnel as well as all of this years seedlings full of potential for future guests hampers. The only thing missing is our free range rewilding pigs, which are due to arrive this week, and bees which we are currently without since or colonies died over the winter.

We love growing food, we love sharing our space with other people and we love sharing that food with them when they arrive.

Why not book now for an Autumn break and visit when the veg and fruit is in full flow.

20/04/2022

A short compilation of wildlife visits to
Our neighbours pond over the last few months. Amazing viewing. Can’t wait to have a pond ourselves!!!

https://youtu.be/-mHJPj3NeO0

Wildlife at the Pond - Doddiscombsleigh Spring 2022

05/04/2022

Wow, what a day yesterday was!!! 3 Bookings in the same day!!! It looks as though the chaos at the airports, on the tunnel and at the ports is making people think again about where they spend their summer holidays.

To add to that we have had confirmed the piggies are coming at the end of this month. We are having the ginger one and one of the spotty ones.

Lastly our first hen has just gone broody so some eggs will be put under her in the coming days for chicks in about three weeks.

30/03/2022

That’s it!!! Having redecorated and given the whole place a deep spring clean we are ready for the re-opening of The Loft just in time for Easter.

Currently there are three bookings in place from the 8th onwards which leaves dates from 1st-7th April still available. Summer dates also still available but two summer bookings already made.

Feel free to contact us direct or visit our AirBnB page direct and book in just a few clicks.

The pint at the end of the day at our local was very nice indeed.

13/03/2022

Still some Limited availability over Easter holidays.

With Easter on the horizon and spring poking its flower heads through winters soil, is it time to treat you and yours to a last minute break?

We feel so privileged to have wild daffodils blooming along every river and stream valley, wild garlic erupting from the woodland floor and bluebells starting to wait in the wings in the place we call home.

A short 5 minute walk from The Loft takes you on a public footpath through some beautiful old oak, ash and hazel coppice woodland.

A longer 15 minute drive and you are on the River Teign where it flows through a deep river valley, rammed with flood plains and daffodils galore.

A longer 40 minute drive and you are in the heart of Dartmoor National Park with everything that is has to offer available to you.

Our daughter is doing the Ten Tors walking challenge with school and wanted to take us to see, in her opinion, the best part of Dartmoor that she has trained on yet. These photos are just a small glimpse of what we saw.

Message us direct or find us on AirBnB for more details and photos.

Please share and help spread the word.

13/02/2022

The Loft’s orchard grows again in 2022.

It was always part of our dream to have an orchard full of fruit and nut trees, all blossoming and fruiting throughout the year and supplying us with a wide range of produce for use on our smallholding. Our sheep however had other ideas!!!

Sheep love browsing the tips of the branches and having a good old scratch on saplings as they walk past so we always knew that if we were to have an orchard, and rear our own rare breed lamb and hogget, then we would need to put in some extra effort.

This extra effort, along with the cost of each tree, means that we can really only plant between 10-15 trees per year rather than the whole paddock, which is our eventual aim.

Each tree is supported by a hazel stake (by-product of our hedgelaying) and tied to it with some old bicycle inner tubes ( courtesy of cycling fans in our village). This is to give the tree some support in the face of the wind which comes up our valley off of Dartmoor. Believe me, they need it on some days!

The tree is then fenced off with some chestnut posts (sourced from a nearby Devon wood) and hazel rails (more by-product from our hedgelaying) to stop the sheep from rubbing against the stake or tree.

At the bottom of each trees hole, we put a good handful of home made leaf mould and compost to help provide nutrients, but also to provide microbial and mychorizal biodiversity which will help the new trees gather nutrients from the immediate soil and improve its water absorption capabilities (important in case of droughts!)

We will then add a good and deep layer of wood chippings (yet another by-product from our hedge laying) to help reduce the grass growth around the tree which means the tree will get more of the share of the nutrients around it.

The end result of this is an annually growing orchard which is now at 50+ trees. These include all kinds of heritage varieties of apples as well as pears, plums, damsons, cherries, quinces, green gages, crab apples, chestnut, cobnuts and rowan berries. We plan to plant some walnuts and almonds next year to increase our nut yield.

The hope is that in about 10 years we will be more self sufficient in our own fruit and nuts and the wide range of varieties means we have nut put all of our eggs in one basket. Fingers crossed!

In the meantime what we get to have every year is a beautiful and growing blossom display which lasts from end of April to mid May. The smells and colours of each variety are so different, it’s like an edible rose garden. The bees love the flowers, the birds love the buds, we love the fruit and the wasps and birds love the fallen fruit. Throughout the year the insects love them all and the bats love those insects. It’s a wildlife haven in its own right and it will get better year on year.

So why not come and stay at The Loft during blossom season this year. Have a picnic under the trees, read a book beside the bees or just be mindful as you sit and meditate with Dartmoor on your horizon.

Or, book an October visit and pluck some of the different fruits from the trees and see what your taste buds think of the different varieties.

We love it and we think our visitors will too!

11/02/2022

Even smallholders need a spa day every now and then!!!!

As a treat to ourselves, before silly season kicks off, we have just returned from two hours of sauna, whirlpool bath, herbal steam room, tropical showers, lava steam room and swim.

It was lovely, just simply lovely. So lovely in fact that we thought we should let people know it exists only 10 minutes away from The Loft and only cost £20 each for two hours!!!

So, whether you come to explore the Moor, the beaches, the rivers or the food that is available nearby, know now that you can add a spa session to your visit. It is something we will definitely be doing again soon!!!

https://finlakeresort.co.uk/spa/

15/01/2022

Winter here has seen us continuing to lay our hedges for the brown hairstreak butterfly and fence them, so they can be protected and grow wide and thick for a host of other species.

The wallows and muddy patches made by our rewilding pigs have filled with water to create the temporary ponds we so dearly hoped for.

Our rewilding pigs have returned from the butchers as free range and gluten free sausages that we have been given the all clear to sell along with our rare breed lamb and hogget which has also been made into burgers and sausages.

We are now 'live' with our ground source heat pump meaning our central heating and hot water are created via electricity from a green energy supplier. We are one step nearer to being off grid and carbon neutral. Next step for 2022, solar panels!!!

We are now taking bookings from April, so please help us by sharing this post with your friends and family or consider making a booking to come and visit beautiful Devon.

Availability and prices can be found on our Airbnb page here: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/48293309. Alternatively contact us directly thorough Facebook to make a direct booking.

Thanks

Elliott and Laura

Please share, as well as like, it’s amazing how much doing this really helps us get bookings!!

11/09/2021

10/09/2021

Autumn update - with the summer day light shifting, evenings setting in earlier and leaves starting to drop, it can only mean two things…… October half term holidays and chutney making time.

Here, on Southleigh Smallholding we are busy weaning our lambs, sowing winter crops, harvesting fruits of the bushes and trying to process our gluts as best we can. We have jams on the go, chutneys in the pan and fruit Gin infusing. We need to harvest our aloes, process our strawberries and make our jellies in the coming weeks, but all of that comes after a seaweed foraging course that takes place today.

Who knows what we will learn to eat from this?

But whilst we are busy every evening preparing for winter many of you will be starting to think about a short break over October, or even Christmas, so why not consider a short trip to The Loft.

The forests and heaths near us will be in their beautiful mid season colours and the pubs menus will be starting to be more stew and casserole rather than salad and bbq. The red wines and ales beside the fires will replace the Prosecco and cider in the sun and the beaches will be clearer to enjoy walking your dog on without treading on any sand castles.

For availability, click the link to our AirBnB page. Please share this with friends family and colleagues as the summer just gone has proved that this is a really useful way for us to reach further afield.

Best wishes

Elliott & Laura
X

13/08/2021

Check out done. 👋
Lovely feedback left for us. 🥰
Entire place cleaned and sparkling. 🧼
Homemade cakes baked. 🧁
Homegrown salad picked. 🥗
Local beers gifted. 🍻
Home reared eggs collected. 🥚
Hamper done ✅
Next guest due in ten minutes 😅

01/08/2021

Due to a cancellation we have last minute availability in The Loft holiday accommodation from the 7th-13th August.

Sleeps 4 people, 1 king size bed, 2 singles. Large living space, kitchen, bathroom, beautiful roof terrace, fire pit, stunning views and lots of adventure to be found nearby on beaches, Dartmoor, Exeter, Haldon Forest and beyond!

Please get in touch if you are interested in a relaxing break away.

Friends please share!

31/07/2021

Loving the positive reviews we’re getting here at The Loft this summer! Lovely to share this space with such great guests enjoying their holidays here. 😇

23/07/2021

We had the most beautiful moon rise over our field last night, seen in this photo over our raptor perch.

Then after a full deep clean of The Loft, we sat back and enjoyed a cheeky glass of rose on the roof terrace. Such a beautiful space.

07/06/2021

Hello all. We have just had a booking cancellation so are now free to take new bookings for the rest of June.

With piglets, lambs, chicks, sunshine,meadows and a stunning view all here and waiting, why not just go for a couple of nights for a break of routine.

06/05/2021

June half term availability.

Following a recent cancellation, we are now free in The Loft between 1st -4th June. With chicks having hatched yesterday, piglets now settled in and lambs skipping around their meadow, why not come and stay for a few days break.

Contact us direct or find us on AirBnB in the village of Doddiscombsleigh.

Please share good friends and help Facebook do its magic thing!

Elliott & Laura.

18/04/2021

Washing with a view!! Not all cleaning is tiresome when you have such a beautiful day 🧼

12/04/2021

So excited to be welcoming our first guests since last year. 💛

11/04/2021

The finishing touches to The Loft have now been made following the installation of some beautiful pieces of artwork from a local Doddiscombsleigh artist, Sheena Cooper.

We are fortunate to live next door to Sheena and have been able to view all of her work and see her studio where it all comes together.

When we spoke to Sheena about launching The Loft this year we talked about the idea of using her artwork in our accommodation to help provide her a means to showcase her art and hopefully sell a piece or two, whilst also sticking with our theme of using as local as possible and as green as possible when considering all things for The Loft.

The pictures we ended up going for add something to the rooms which I had not really even noticed was missing and we are all really pleased with how they look.

With our first guests arriving on Monday, that is the final piece of the puzzle indoors now all done, it just leaves some mowing and tidying up outside, so all good.

If you would like to find out more about Sheena’s artwork or style, or view a gallery of her work then you can visit her page by clicking the following link https://www.sheenacooper.co.uk/gallery

07/04/2021

Please take two minutes to look at this post and then share it to your friends. It is through this process that we are able to reach places other beers cannot reach!!

07/04/2021

April/May availability and springtime update.

We are really pleased to be able to say we have taken lots of bookings for the summer to come, as the country navigates its way out of lockdown.

Despite this there are still a few dates left in April and May for those of you looking for a last minute get away.

Visit our AirBnB page for further details on available dates aswell as a range of photographs and extra information about our smallholding holiday let.

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/48293309?adults=2&federated_search_id=2dc0a681-22b9-4f46-bdd6-a15d5b58edb3&source_impression_id=p3_1617819613_Gap%2FowN7pNhcWdZk

As well as being busy taking bookings, we have used the last month to finish the roof garden and build the garden furniture.

In theme with our continual drive to cut down on consuming things and adding to CO2 emissions through our purchasing, we opted to make our furniture out of reclaimed pallets and futons and clad a retaining wall with more pallets and scaffold boards. We are really happy with them all and have since bought some reclaimed Hogshead Brewery beer barrels to form part of a future pergola plan, and a cast iron fire pit/BBQ from a local blacksmith. All of this is available for use exclusively by guests when staying in ‘The Loft’ and we look forward to seeing people out enjoying the views and open space.

Elsewhere on the smallholding we have seedlings galore germinating in the polytunnel aswell as veg growing well outside. We are still harvesting salad and broccoli and enjoying the wild garlic which grows everywhere around here at this time of the year.

Our breeding flock of sheep have started to lamb and we have three more ewes still to give birth. The lambs are enjoying the sunshine during the day and their mothers thick fleeces during the chilly nights.

The chickens are enjoying free ranging across the farm once more and egg production remains at an all time high.

Piglets are due to arrive this week which is very very exciting for all of us as they are such amazing and fun to watch animals.

Our wildflower seeds have all germinated over the cold snaps we had during the winter. One of our key species we are trying to help establish itself in our meadows is yellow rattle. This wildflower parasitises grasses which it eventually kills off. This leaves a space and opportunity for other wildflowers to grow and establish themselves adding diversity and abundance to our meadows and orchard. We counted over 500 germinated seedlings this afternoon so very excited about the summer to come.

25/02/2021

We have bitten the bullet and added ourselves to Airbnb!!!

Please have a look and let us know if you notice any errors and please share this post with your friends and family as we all begin to look forward to the summer of 2021!!!!

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/48293309?source_impression_id=p3_1614238948_vMtruRS7bFsHRksh&guests=1&adults=1

Entire home/flat in Doddiscombsleigh, United Kingdom. Nestled in the beautiful hills of the Teign Valley in Devon, right on the edge of Dartmoor, The Loft at Southleigh is an amazing space to stay - pe...

22/02/2021

We are taking bookings from 12th April for household groups.

We are committed to refunding anyone who books but has to change their plans due to Covid or due to government changes in the predicted opening up of self catering accommodation.

Today’s weather was stunning here in Devon and gave us a glimpse of the spring and summer ahead. Please see the rest of our page, or message us, to see more details about the accommodation.

To book please email, message via this page or telephone us. Thank you.
[email protected]
01647 253169

08/02/2021

What a beautiful collection of colours, shapes and sizes from our flock of hens.

We hatch and rear our own hens here on Southleigh smallholding, with the aim being a mixture of breeds and varieties providing us with fresh eggs all year round.

We run our hens completely free range where they have access to everywhere (except the growing spaces) and feed them on soya free feed to help ensure the rainforests are not being destroyed to grow cheap animal feed.

With chicks hatching throughout the year between May - October there would be a good chance of being able to handle some when you stay, and of course there would definitely be eggs available for eating!!!