Yurt-tastic! My First Airbnb Adventure
With no time to plan a holiday, I was happy to let my boyfriend take charge and surprise me with a few days away, in accommodation booked via Airbnb. I’d never even looked on Airbnb before, and had absolutely no idea what to expect – the only clues he gave were slightly worrying, because they included the description that it was ‘novel’ and that I’d be enjoying an ‘alfresco bath’. I tried to put my visions of shivering to death in a tin bath outside a smelly cowshed out of my mind as we headed off last Sunday …
And boy was I pleasantly surprised. He’d booked a ‘Charming Yurt for Two Romantics in Umberleigh‘ (North Devon) – awwh! It was absolutely gorgeous.
The accommodation comprised a huge yurt, with three separate buildings: a kitchen, a bathroom, and a toilet. Everything was solar powered, and the toilet a compostable one. The ‘alfresco bath’ referred to the fact that the side of the building the bathroom was in could be lowered like a drawbridge to ground level, so you could enjoy the view and look up at the stars while having a soak. Bliss.
The yurt belongs to the loveliest couple called Leila and Max, and was their home for a year and a half before they decided to move further away from work (they run a solar power company from premises on the farm where the yurt is sited). You can tell that the yurt was much loved from all the attention to detail – fresh flowers, shabby chic furnishings, and an abundance of firewood to keep the log burner chucking out heat to keep us toasty at night. The yurt and all the buildings were handmade by Max using recycled or upcycled materials or wood grown on the farm – absolutely amazing.
When we arrived Leila had left a lovely welcome card, with fresh bread, croissants, milk, butter, jam and a bottle of Prosecco, so we needed to do nothing but settle in. After a lovely walk down by the river we enjoyed an amazing sunset, and snuggled up in the massive bed to the sound of nothing but the distant bleat of sheep. Heaven.
We had dreadful weather, but this did not spoil our stay. The yurt has wifi, TV, DVD player and lots of films, so no excuses to be bored even if you never stepped outside it – but we did. It was in a good spot from which to explore North Devon, and we had a lovely day out at RHS Rosemoor (where I was blown away by the herbaceous borders); visited Broomhill Sculpture Garden; Barnstable, and Torrington; walked from Lynmouth to Riversmeet; and cycled 50 miles along the Tarka Trail on hire bikes (yes, 50 miles, for me whose longest ride ever was probably 10! – he’d lied been mistaken about the distance, but I forgive him, it was great).
I’ve now downloaded the AirBnB app and am completely hooked – so many lovely and unusual places to stay. Though I want to go back to Leila and Max’s charming yurt again sometime. Despite being only 90 minutes from home, it felt like we had a real holiday, and are feeling totally refreshed and recharged.
If you haven’t booked with Airbnb before you can use this link to get £16 off: .
Thanks Leila and Max for a wonderful stay, and hope everyone else who stays enjoys it as much as we did.
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on July 22, 2015 at 8:38 am
That looks really gorgeous, what a fab find. We’ve not used AirBnB yet either but have been tempted on a number of occasions, including right now!
Zoe at Splodz Blogz recently posted…What’s in your Bag? Femfresh Wipes
Go for it Zoe!
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on July 23, 2015 at 7:56 am
AirBnB are a recent revelation to me too. We stayed in a once Bakery very near Bakewell Village, famous for its pudding! What a lovely stay, and my I love the sound of the bath!!
Amanda recently posted…Teen Bedroom Makeover : Making Plans
I want to go away every weekend now! so many fab properties on the app. xx
Oh my sounds wonderful
Thanks Becky, it really was something special. I want to live in a yurt now! Mx
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