Tiverton is the district town of Mid-Devon and is an attractive market town on the banks of the River Exe. There is plenty to see and do, especially this year with a swan trail around the town to get you oriented and the 50th anniversary celebrations of the fabulous horse drawn barge on the gorgeous Grand Western Canal. Here are our Tiverton Top Ten to inspire you:  1. The Flock That Rock Search for ceramic swans decorated by local artists all over town - find them all and get a 10% discount on painting your own ceramic swan at a local pottery painting place. Visit The Flock That Rock ..read more

On 21st March we will have lived here in Mid-Devon running Blackdown Yurts and Halsbeer Farm holiday cottages for eight whole years. It's the longest Mark and I have ever lived anywhere. I can't believe how quickly time has flown. And I really can't believe that the start of the Covid pandemic was four years ago - right in the middle of that time. Crazy!  During the last eight years we've totally remodelled the site with new decks, new cladding on Badger and Woodpecker, bringing Buzzard down from the top of Yonder Hill into the yurt field on its own raised deck, new camp kitchens ..read more

Full moon focus The first full moon of the year -January's "wolf moon" - was a couple of nights ago. Unfortunately it was cloudy here  but we got fabulous views both the night before and the night after.  Watch the full moon rise above Blackborough Beacon while you warm yourself at your very own camp fire outside your yurt. This season's full moons fall on: 23rd April, 23rd May, 21st June, 21st July, 19th August and 17th September. If you can't visit on exactly those dates or we don't have availability, the moon appears full a day or two either side.  ..read more

A question from one of our yurt guests this week got me to thinking about what our visitors can do if it’s wet on your holiday. We are lucky in having the barn as a refuge for guests to enjoy whatever the weather - with sofas, a wood-burning stove, cooking facilities and a large dining table - it's a lovely place to while away a few hours reading and playing games while rain patters on the tin roof. But if you want to get out and about when it's raining where should you go? Read on to find out... Exeter A big one of course is Exeter, Devon's historic cathedral city, which is surprisingly ..read more

We are very nearly half way through our open season of our glamping site this year! How did that happen? June has simply flown by in a haze of beautiful sunshine and warmth.  We are fully booked in our Devon yurts this weekend but we have a smattering of availability next week and over the following two weekends. Starting from £80 per night. Perfect for a short stay getaway before school is out for Summer. Woodpecker (sleeps 6) is available for two, Willow (sleeps 4) for three and Buzzard (sleeps 6) for four nights all from Monday 3rd July. ​Badger (sleeps 6) is available from Thursday ..read more

We are over the strawberry moon* to let you know that we've achieved a Gold Award in Visit England's Glamping Accreditation scheme for the second year in a row. We equalled our best score of 86% in this year's assessment. The assessor had the following to say about our yurts and glamping site: "Blackdown Yurts is a well established site which maintains a very good standard of accommodation across each of the yurts. The yurts are well spaced out and the maturing surroundings provide each with a good amount of privacy. All enjoy an uninterrupted view across the fields and woodl ..read more

Save £15 per night on glamping stays with us throughout the rest of April and May up to and including Thursday 25th May. That makes a stay in one of our six sleeper yurts cheaper than our four sleeper yurt would usually be. Effectively a free upgrade! Simply enter code SAVE15 at checkout to receive £15 off each night of your stay. Two night minimum stay still applies. Valid for new bookings made on or after 20th April 2023 only. Book now at www.blackdownyurts.co.uk And the discount is valid at the weekend as well as midweek. We have weekend stays available from&nbs ..read more

This is still one of my all-time favourite photos that Mark has taken here at Blackdown Yurts. The majesty of the Milky Way coursing down the centre, Mars at far left and a shooting star at centre right, with a group of happy glampers enjoying the campfire next to their yurt. 'Happy days', or rather 'happy nights'.  At the end of last year I attended a meeting where representatives of the Exmoor Dark Skies Project and the UK Dark Skies Partnership spoke about the importance of keeping our landscapes as free as possible of light pollution. It's so important to avoid excessive lighting as ..read more

We watched such a fantastic movie last weekend and it inspired me to write a list of the zoos and wildlife parks that you can visit while on holiday in the region. It was only at the end of We Bought a Zoo*, which stars Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson, that I discovered it was inspired by real-life events at Dartmoor Zoo here in Devon rather than being a story from the USA where the film is set. We've not visited Dartmoor Zoo ourselves yet, but it is now firmly on the list for this year.  Visiting a zoo is a fantastic family day out while on holiday and one of the benef ..read more

I don't know about you but I am so over camping - the packing, the unpacking, the uncomfortable beds. Give me glamping any day. I thought it would be handy to highlight just what we provide in the yurts and their kitchens so you know what you don't have to bring with you and conversely what you do!   Our yurts have proper beds with proper mattresses and all bed linen plus blankets provided. You need to bring towels for showers although we do provide one hand towel per bathroom in the barn for your convenience. The yurts have nightlight candles, lanterns and fairy lights but we recommend ..read more