Follow the Dream
The Straw family had been dreaming of moving to Devon for many years. In the summer of 2014, we decided to pack up and make the dream become a reality. This is our story so far...
We relocated from Hook Norton in Oxfordshire to North Devon in July 2014. I was under strict instructions not to leave ‘Hooky’ until the annual Beer Festival had taken place, so the following day we eventually said a sad farewell to all our lovely friends, and we shoe-horned ourselves into the car with everything including the kitchen sink.
For the first two months we lived a fairly nomadic lifestyle, living in our faithful old bell tent, around Devon, Cornwall, Wales and France. We had a fantastic summer visiting friends and exploring new places. However, with the school term looming it was time to find a home and start the new chapter of our lives. We rented for the first six months in Braunton, then found West Stowford Barton and the best of both worlds; a crazy old house in a wonderful rural location and close to the sea. That was the start of Strawfields.
Our most memorable holidays have been camping with family and friends, this inspired us to set up a small rustic campsite at Strawfields. We have camped in every kind of weather, from the sunshine on the cliff tops at Watermouth, being mud splattered whilst encouraging an old VW van to release itself from a boggy field in Hartland, to experiencing camping during a major thunderstorm in France where a mini tornado whipped our tent from the ground in the middle of the night! Many wonderful and memorable experiences with our family. No gadgets, no Wi-Fi, just 'wildish' camping with open fires, large pitches, lots of space, fields and streams to explore, marshmallows, smores, mancala, UNO cards and a good book to read!
Since the start, it has been all the wonderful people we have met along the way that have helped shape what Strawfields is today. A huge heartfelt thank you to all the lovely guests that have already experienced a holiday in one of the cottages, huts or tents. We have thoroughly enjoyed meeting you all and hope you will return again soon. Also, a big thank you for all the lovely reviews you give us, we really do appreciate all the comments. It's been so exciting to start The Straw Patch Project and we are thoroughly enjoying being able to share Strawfields with the local community.
