March/April 2021

ISSUE 41 | March/April 2021 | www.openairbusiness.com 

BUSINESS 

Bars & 

Catering 

FUNCTION VENUES 

› Storytelling 

› Destination Venues 

/ / 

GLAMPSITES 

› Alfresco Dining 

› Social Strategy 

EVENTS 

› Toilets 

› Impact Study 

CASE STUDIES: 

SEDGEWELL BARN • MOUNT VIEW LUXURY GLAMPING • ALSO FESTIVAL

THE POD BODS 

NATURE DWELLINGS | OUTDOOR LIVING | HOSPITALITY SOLUTIONS 

GUEST 

HOME OFFICE 

THE POD BODS 

CHALET 

HOSPITALITY 

Visit: thepodbods.com | Call: 01924 677002 | Mail: Info:@thepodbods.com

ISSUE 41 | March/April 2021 | www.openairbusiness.com 

WELCOME 

OH, 2021, what do you have in store for us? We’ve said a 

devastatingly sad goodbye to many planned large events, the 

government not helping with its failure to put financial cover in 

place for cancellations, but it appears that smaller scale affairs 

may at least survive. We hear from both ALSO Festival and 

Towersey on their plans, and look back at 2020 event Breaking 

Bread. Created by festival producers Team Love, an impact 

study has shown that the pop-up tipi dining village kept 100 

hospitality professionals in work and saved the government 

£220,000 in furlough schemes and Universal Credit. 

There’s not much better news in the private events sector, yet we keep things up 

beat chatting with “eternal optimist” Adrian Murphy, who turned his entrepreneurial 

intentions to opening a pizzeria in a church when things ground to a halt at his 

destination wedding venue, Mount Druid in Co. Westmeath, Ireland. 

Indeed, the most pleasurable pasttime that is eating has truly come into its own 

since Covid destroyed all our other fun time opportunities with friends. Alfresco dining 

is going to be massive this year. We have product features in both our Venues and 

Glampsites sections to help you make the most of it. 

Back to destination venues. Nothing says post-Covid wedding more than an intimate 

getaway with nearest and dearest over multiple days, and there’s opportunity here for 

venues of all shapes and sizes to maximise on what is likely to be an increasing trend. 

Kelly Chandler answers our questions on how to operate a successful destination 

wedding venue – something to bear in mind when planning diversifications for this year 

and beyond. 

Tally Rix 

Editor / Publisher 

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Tally Rix - tally@openairbusiness.com 

EDITOR 

Tally Rix - tally@openairbusiness.com 

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ADMINISTRATOR 

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James English - 

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PUBLISHED BY 

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Tenterden, TN30 6BW 

01580 848555 

Contents MARCH/APRIL 2021 

UPFRONT 

4 News 

9 Product News 

12 Entrepreneur’s 

Chat – Adrian Murphy, 

Mount Druid 


17 Sedgewell Barn – a 

destination wedding 

venue with Wigwam 

Holidays glamping 

onsite 

22 Destination Venues 

– capitalising on the 

trend for multi-day 

weddings 

26 Storytelling – how 

well do you tell your 

venue’s story? 

28 Back to Work – help 

get your employees 

back in the zone 

31 Bars and Catering – 

products in action 

GLAMPSITES 

35 Mount View Luxury 

Glamping – a Cornish 

site with world 

beating views 

40 Trade Secrets – a 

checklist for cleaning 

42 The Magic Ingredient 

– Greg Watt on 

glamping experiences 

44 Social Media 

Strategy – Lisa Bullen 

tells us when and 

what to post 

50 Alfresco Dining – 

products we love 

EVENTS 

53 ALSO Festival – an 

intimate event that 

made it through 2020 

58 Points of Difference 

– when only ‘different’ 

will do 

60 Breaking Bread – an 

impact study on a 

2020 Covid-safe event 

63 What Towersey Did – 

how one of the oldest 

UK festivals coped 

with Covid 

64 Toilets – products 

in action 

68 Spotlight 

70 Classifieds 

73 Behind the Scenes 

– Victoria Sigsworth, 

Harewood House 

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BUSINESS 

Bars & 

Catering 

FUNCTION VENUES GLAMPSITES 

EVENTS 

› Storytelling 

› Alfresco Dining › Toilets 

/ / 

› Destination Venues › Social Strategy › Impact Study 

CASE STUDIES: 

SEDGEWELL BARN • MOUNT VIEW LUXURY GLAMPING • ALSO FESTIVAL 

COVER PHOTO 

ALSO Festival, one of the few events to go ahead in 

2020. Read more about its return on pages 53-56. 

Photo courtesy of Christian Banfield 

(instagram.com/christian_banfield_photos) 

WWW.OPENAIRBUSINESS.COM 3

VisitEngland 

launches 11th 

Pink Book 

VISITENGLAND HAS published the 

latest edition of its Pink Book outlining 

regulatory requirements and guidance for 

accommodation providers and attractions 

in England. 

Now in its 11th edition, ‘The Pink Book: 

Legislation for tourist accommodation and 

attractions’ provides guidance on food 

hygiene and health and safety to business 

management and tax. 

Tourism Minister Nigel Huddleston 

MP said: “The owners and operators of 

accommodation and hospitality businesses 

have worked tirelessly over the past year 

and will play a central role as our local 

communities and economy build back 

better from the challenges of the pandemic. 

“The Pink Book is an important resource 

to help our accommodation providers 

maintain their superb service for visitors, 

helping us to make a holiday in England a 

truly memorable experience.” 

The Pink Book is the only guide to 

legislation specifically aimed at all 

accommodation providers and attractions 

in England and is priced at £9.99 plus 

postage or can be downloaded at 

www.visitengland.org/pinkbookonline 

Tented Camping Rights Extended in Wales 

PITCHUP.COM WELCOMES the news that Wales has now joined the English government 

in temporarily relaxing permitted development planning laws, allowing landowners to set 

up temporary ‘pop-up’ campsites for up to 56 days across the year. 

Over 200 pop-ups in England have listed on the platform after the rules for England 

were confirmed as extending to 56 days last November, with expectation for at least 500 

by July. The vast majority of sites use their 56 days across peak holiday periods in July and 

August generating valuable extra space and choice for families looking to get away. 

Founder of Pitchup.com Dan Yates said: “Wales is always an extremely popular 

camping/glamping destination. Pembrokeshire was last year’s 9th most popular spot 

across the whole of the UK and in fact a Welsh site is our second-highest earner so far this 

year. The government’s announcement is fantastic news for consumers and businesses 

alike. It will provide additional capacity to welcome holidaymakers as well as a valuable 

income stream for all kinds of landowners from farmers to pubs, sports clubs and stately 

homeowners and the surrounding local economies.” 

GETTY IMAGES 

22 Scandi Glamping Cabins in Northumberland 

RUSSEL WILLS 

LUXURY GLAMPING cabins are being created 

in the grounds of Northumberland luxury 

hotel Newton Hall by The Apartment Group. 

Work is now underway on 22 Scandinavianstyle 

cabins, which will replace around 50 

static caravans at the site at Newton-by-the- 

Sea, with plans to open in June. 

CEO Debrah Dhugga said: “In 

Northumberland we have a series of caravans 

that are around 50 years old and in a bit of 

a state. Newton Hall and Luxury Cabins will 

have 22 cabins which are being built now, in 

a very Scandi style, and there will be nothing 

like them in the North East. 

“I think for businesses in hospitality in 

general, outdoors is the new indoors, which 

is why we are investing in outside venues 

to give us some return and help us to grow. 

Everyone talks about Cornwall and its hotels, 

beaches and foodie scene, but people don’t 

see Northumberland as ‘luxury’ and it’s one of 

my ambitions to make that happen.” 

4 WWW.OPENAIRBUSINESS.COM

The Highlands’ Covid-safe Glamping Festival 

CAPERS IN Cannich is billed as Scotland’s 

first festival created in response to Covid-19. 

Planned for 28-31 May, the exclusive outdoor 

glamping festival will be held at Invercannich 

Farm in Cannich. 

Complete with social distancing guidelines 

and other coronavirus protection measures, 

numbers will be limited to 200 people and 

each ‘bubble’ will have its own luxury bell tent, 

garden area and welcome pack. 

Depending on demand and the easing of 

restrictions over the summer, the capacity 

may be increased to up to 500, while up to 

eight weekends may be staged if the concept 

takes off. 

Capers in Cannich has been created by Karl 

Falconer, who runs Highland Hog Roasts at the 

farm. He said: “It’s a very special moment to 

officially launch our new exclusive glamping 

festival concept, designed especially in 

response to Covid-19, one year on from when 

the country first went into lockdown.” 

Priced at £205 per person, based on a 

shared bell tent, festivalgoers can order food 

and drink for delivery to their space via a 

phone app. 

The Showman’s Show Back this Autumn 

ORGANISERS OF The 

Showman’s Show have 

confirmed that the event will be 

held at Newbury Showground 

from 20–21 October 2021. 

“The government setting out 

a roadmap to steadily ease 

the current lockdown and a 

tentative date of 21 June for 

all restrictions to be lifted 

has provided a much-needed 

boost to the outdoor event 

sector and prompted a string 

of exhibitor bookings,” said 

Johnny Lance, event director. 

“The unveiling of the roadmap 

was the positive news that 

we’d all been waiting for. As 

publishers of the Showman’s 

Directory, we’ve seen a surge 

in event organisers getting in 

touch to confirm dates for their 

2021 events and we’ve been 

busy updating the website. 

It’s also been wonderful to see 

so many high-profile events 

receiving national media 

coverage as they announce that 

they intend to run and to see 

ticket sales looking promising. 

It has certainly prompted 

conversations with many of our 

exhibitors and we’re delighted 

that bookings have got off to a 

steady start.” 

Fellow event director Jeremy 

Lance adds: “The roadmap is 

a step in the right direction, 

but we know that there are 

still many challenges ahead for 

event organisers and suppliers. 

While we’re optimistic about 

events returning, our priority 

is to support our exhibitors 

and visitors so in the coming 

months we will be monitoring 

the situation to ensure that we 

plan the show in accordance 

with not only the regulations 

but the mood of the industry.” 


South East Glamping Event 

CANVAS LODGE supplier, Clear Sky, is 

hosting its first ever two-day glamping 

trade event on 1-2 July at its headquarters 

in Tonbridge, Kent. 

Friends@TheFarm is a free two-day 

event featuring glamping suppliers it has 

worked with and can recommend and 

allowing attendees the opportunity to 

meet with experienced professionals. 

According to Statistica, Google searches 

for “glamping holidays UK” increased 

by over 400 per cent in 2020. Clear Sky’s 

intention with Friends@TheFarm is to 

offer a dedicated space, providing all the 

information, news and support needed 

for those looking to learn more about the 

flourishing market. 

Sponsored by Open Air Business 

magazine, exhibitors include Lotus Belle 

Tents, Tree Tents International, Glamping 

Fires, The Coal Bunker, The Septic Tank 

Store and Social Media Sussex, each with 

their own location on the farm to present 

their services and accommodations in the 

best light. 

Organiser Mark Scott, managing director 

of Clear Sky, said: “I’m really looking 

forward to welcoming visitors from across 

the UK to our farm. Whether they are 

taking their first steps into glamping or are 

looking to increase their business offerings, 

we're looking forward to seeing them.” 

Visitor registration is compulsory, please 

visit www.safaritents.net/the-show-2021. 

php for your free ticket. 

Lodge Expansion at Cornhill Castle 

SEVEN LODGES are under construction at 

hotel and wedding venue Cornhill Castle in 

Biggar, Scotland, in order to capitalise on 

summer staycation demand while creating 

additional capacity for wedding parties. 

Set beside the banks of the River Clyde, 

each lodge will be designed in a heritage 

style to mirror the look and feel of the 

castle rooms, featuring Chesterfield sofas, 

stag head chandeliers and “luxurious 

fixtures and finishes” throughout, reports 

The Herald, Scotland. 

Each lodge will sleep up to four and 

includes private decking areas with hot 

tubs and panoramic views of the Scottish 

countryside. 

Carlton Graham, operations director 

at operator Manorview Hotels, said: “We 

have been planning the development for 

some time and we are confident now is 

the perfect time to add to our offering at 

Cornhill. 

“The hotel has previously been 

traditionally used as a wedding venue but 

we are anticipating a big demand from the 

short break market. 

“By increasing our capacity for overnight 

accommodation on site we can also 

increase residential guests numbers for 

weddings as well as offer flexible room 

options for events and small celebrations.” 

Leeds's Largest 

Outdoor Covered 

Drinking Area 

SEVEN LOCAL independent 

operators located on Merrion Street 

have joined forces and plan to install 

a 50m canopy over Merrion street 

to create the city’s largest outdoor 

drinking area. 

Manahatta, MOJO, Verve, Mean 

Eyed Cat, Roxy Ball Room, Yard & 

Coop and Liv Bar are taking part in 

the new venture, which will run until 

17 May. 

Inspiration for the idea came from 

the hugely successful Merrion Street 

Festival in the summer of 2020, which 

saw bar and restaurant operators on 

the street collaborate for a weekend 

of live music, great food and drink. 

Lisa Morris, co-Owner of Yard 

& Coop, said: “Merrion street has 

some of the area's best party bars 

and restaurants all now with plenty 

of outside seating and professional 

covering, making it one of the largest 

covered party areas in Leeds. Each 

venue will be showcasing their best 

drinks, food and good times. This is 

going to feel like being on holiday in 

the centre of Leeds – every weekend.” 


PRODUCT 

New Pricing for the 

Schiedel Garden Fireplace 

THE NEW Schiedel Garden Fireplace package is the ideal solution for 

outdoor heating and living, perfect for venues and glamping sites. Unlike 

other fireplaces, this one is formed from volcanic pumice blocks, sourced 

from the Hekla Volcano in Iceland. 

The natural pumice gives this outdoor fireplace all the insulation needed 

to have a safe and spectacular focal point in any area. The relatively small 

footprint also means it can be placed against any wall in even the tiniest of 

outdoor spaces. The fireplace can be painted and custom designed and 

even include company branding. 

The kit includes everything for an easy build and rendered finish. The 

smaller model includes a barbecue grill. The packages are now priced to 

include a log store, VAT and delivery anywhere in the UK or Ireland. 

0191 4161150 / davinder.sangha@schiedel.com / www.schiedel.com 

CORE Wheel-Inn Kit 

THE CORE 'Wheel-Inn Cellar-in-a-box’ kit is a 

mobile fully featured cellar set up that allows 

you to dispense kegged beers and ciders 

whenever and wherever needed – in minutes! 

Easily integrated into CORE's modular bar 

solution, it means you can have a professional 

bar set up for any event irrespective of location. 

The CORE 'Wheel-Inn Cellar-in-a-box’ kit can 

dispense up to three different drinks and 

ensures that professionally dispensed, ice cold 

beverages can be served so you are not limited 

to serving only bottled drinks. The kit is ideal for 

any situation where you need to serve kegged 

beers and ciders in a temporary location without 

the need for expert installation crews. Kits are 

available to purchase or rent by contacting the 

friendly CORE team. 

0845 299 6499 / sales@core-barandeventhire.com 

/ www.core-barandeventhire.com 

Bell Tent with 

Integrated Porch 

NEW TO Life Under 

Canvas for 2021 is the 

versatile 5m bell tent 

with integrated porch. 

This stylish addition to 

the range is a practical 

variation of the 

standard 5m bell tent 

designed exclusively 

by Life Under Canvas. 

The 1.5m deep 

porch, that is zipped 

onto the front of the 5m tent, 

allows ample space for luggage and cool box storage or a neat 

space for chairs and a table. Plus, as it’s detachable, campers 

can leave it behind if they’re just off on a short trip and want to 

travel lighter. 

The perfect solution for a stylish and practical life under 

canvas. 

01497 851603 / hello@lifeundercanvas.co.uk / 

www.lifeundercanvas.co.uk 

Stock Tank 

Pools now 

in the UK 

BASED IN Somerset, 

Diptanks has become the 

very first company to bring 

stock tank pools to the UK. 

The galvanised steel tanks 

are made by Hastings, 

in Nebraska, and widely 

regarded as the best quality 

tanks in the US. 

All sizes are currently in 

stock with free delivery in 

England and Wales. Available 

in 11 different sizes, they have a multitude of uses such as 

outdoor baths, ice baths and wood-fired hot tubs. The oval 

Diptanks can be easily heated using a wood-fired thermosiphon 

method, requiring no electricity. 

Coming soon, Diptanks will be offering a wood-fired water 

heating chiminea, which can efficiently heat the 6ft oval Diptank 

from 10°C to 38°C in three hours. Also available are cedar lids, 

made to order and beautifully handcrafted with tongue and 

groove premium grade Canadian western red cedar. 

01823 586444 / info@diptanks.co.uk / www.diptanks.co.uk 


PRODUCT 

Eco Tiny Homes and 

Modular Buildings 

THE TEAM of modular building experts at Northamptonshirebased 

The Qube have launched a range of stylish, sustainable 

and affordable holiday accommodation. Pairing contemporary 

design with robust build quality, these tiny homes are 

relocatable and make maximum use of minimal space. 

Friendly to the environment, tiny homes are also built to last 

and designed with heat and energy efficiency in mind, saving 

you outgoings in the long run. 

Whether used as extra accommodation for hotels, an 

alternative offering for park homes, or as part of a wider 

glamping offering, tiny homes may well be exactly what is 

required to help with your diversification. 

“Eco-accommodation is kudos currency in the eyes of the 

increasingly eco-conscious public,” says The Qube’s associate 

director Jordan Spittle. “Thanks to their quirky, super-sleek 

modern stylings, tiny homes will give your site an immediate 

ethical and eye-catching promotional edge. Whether it is tiny 

homes or modular buildings you would like to discuss, speak 

to The Qube team.” 

01604 785786 / ecotinyhomes@theqube.co.uk / 

www.theqube.co.uk 

Twin Bathroom 

Units for 

Glampsites 

BEAR HABITATS are the 

new back-to-back twin 

bathroom units from 

The Septic Tank Store. 

Perfect for glamping 

and camping sites, 

the timber-clad units 

measure 3m x 2.1m 

x 2.4m high and are 

portable. They are fully 

insulated and heated 

for year round use, with 

an enclosed services 

section for all the behind 

the scenes workings – all 

ready to plug in. 

Each Bear Habitat 

can be delivered fully 

assembled with a 

range of optional extras 

including the possibility to add on a small sewage treatment plant 

giving glampsite owners an end-to-end waste solution. 

Owners will also find the Habitats easy to move, easy to install 

and easy to clean. Plus, the optional add-ons, such as an external 

washing up area and choice of wall and door colours, allow a 

bespoke solution to fit the glampsite theme. 

Designed and manufactured in Oxfordshire, the Habitats are 

built on a galvanised steel frame with forklift points which means 

the units can be moved to the perfect location. “We are confident 

that Bear Habitats will wow glampsite guests with their quality 

ceramic bathroom fittings, sensor lighting and hot water – the 

ultimate in high end glamping,” says Wayne Clark, MD, The Septic 

Tank Store. 

01295 236 101 / sales@theseptictankstore.co.uk / www. 

theseptictankstore.co.uk 

Brand New Dining Dens! 

EVENT IN a Tent has created the new Dining Den in response to Covid. Designed 

and made in house, these dens are bigger than they appear, providing quirky 

outdoor dining spaces for venues and perfect glamping kitchen, or even 

showering, areas. 

Providing cosy spaces for dining through the UK’s unpredictable weather, they 

are super simple to assemble. Dens come flat packed and take under 90 minutes 

from start to finish to erect. If you prefer, Event In A Tent can put them up for you 

in under an hour. 

The dens are finished using wooden beams and cream PVC walls with large 

windows. The walls are also removable so are compliant with outdoor hospitality 

regulations in both England and Wales. They give a light and airy feel, creating a 

great mood for customers to start emerging from lockdown. 

01978 661449 / info@event-in-a-tent.co.uk / 

www.event-in-a-tent.co.uk/alfresco-dining 


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• Stretch Tent solutions for your outdoor business 

• Fully bespoke with optional ongoing management 

• Smaller Stretch Canopies now available for 

glamping sites 

Festivals • Weddings • Parties • Corporate Events 

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01403 333 135 enquiries@tentstyle.co.uk www.tentstyle.co.uk 

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ENTREPRENEUR’S CHAT 

Adrian 

We meet the 

man behind 

Mount Druid, 

the quirky, 

alternative 

Irish venue and 

glampsite 

With a background in 

property refurbishment 

and lettings, Adrian 

Murphy was in a 

good position to 

make the most of a 

farm he purchased in 

2005. He had moved 

to the village of 

Castletown Geoghegan in Co. Westmeath, Ireland, 

four years previously and saved the site from major 

development by a volume house builder. 

The farm is set on 100 acres of parkland and 

features a Church of Ireland rectory dating back to 

1825. It is now also home to Mount Druid, a quirky 

events venue and glamping destination. The name 

has come from the original townland the site 

occupies, which Adrian found on an 1858 map. 

“When my family and I moved in we always had 

the intention of doing something commercial. The 

site is still home to an organic sheep farm but a lot of 

the early decisions we made with the rest of the land 

were done with a commercial thinking cap on. I was 

always thinking, would the general public like this?” 

In 2006, Adrian built a lake. “We also planted an 

awful lot of broadleaf trees – about 200,000. This cost 

a lot of money and people said we were mad as we’d 

never see the results, but with that attitude no one 

would ever plant a tree! They are now 15/16 years 

old and 30 feet tall; they really do add to the place.” 

And why plant all those trees? “I guess primarily 

out of the love of trees. I love trees and people in 

general love trees. We have old chestnut trees on 

the land and the local school kids come up in the 

autumn to collect conkers. The fact trees are good 

for the environment is a bonus; sustainability is 


PEOPLE 

“RURAL IRELAND 

IS PRETTY MUCH 

ON ITS KNEES SO 

THE BUSINESS 

COMING 

THROUGH 

HAS REALLY 

HELPED AND 

CASTLETOWN 

GEOGHEGAN 

HAS MANAGED 

TO KEEP 

ITS VILLAGE 

POST OFFICE 

AND SHOP, 

WHICH ARE 

VITAL IN THIS 

COMMUNITY.” 

important to us but it isn’t something we brag 

about.” 

GLAMPING 

In 2011, the family had to start making the land work 

for them. “We got into trouble with the banks and 

needed to bring in some money. Our first enterprise 

was glamping. I was watching Country House Rescue 

on Channel 4 and saw that despite them putting a 

lot of time and effort into transforming the lovely 

Georgian house into a B&B, everyone wanted to stay 

in the geodome in the garden. Most of us get to stay 

in nice houses from time to time but not something 

quirky and outdoors. 

“We put in planning and were fortunate enough to 

not have one objection. There are three pubs in the 

village and they all benefit from the people we bring 

to the area. Rural Ireland is pretty much on its knees 

so the business coming through has really helped 

and Castletown Geoghegan has managed to keep 

its village post office and shop, which are vital in this 

community.” 

Adrian researched domes but couldn’t find any 

on the market at that time so turned his attention to 

other structures. “I had stayed in a Mongolian yurt 

when I was 19 and loved it so I ordered 10. It took us 

a week to put the first one up – no one here could 

read the instructions that were in Mandarin! The last 

one we had up in a morning.” 

Adrian started marketing stays in the yurts 

through Facebook and then a one page website. “I 

had put my mobile as the contact number and was 

receiving calls at all hours. By the third weekend of 

opening we were fully booked and it continued like 

that.” 

And then National Geographic got in touch… 

“When the call came in I thought it was a mate 

winding me up. I Googled the journalist who said 

she wanted to include us in their Travel Insights. 

She seemed legit and came to the site, asking me a 

thousand questions. 

“I could have started out with a grand marketing 

strategy but everything came together organically 

and we just flew.” 

FESTIVAL THINKING 

From the beginning Adrian says he had a ‘festival 

head’ on. “I was thinking all the time about festivaltype 

off-grid infrastructure, but this isn’t always 

practical. For instance, we started off with eco, 

composting loos but quickly tired of them. Luckily 

for us we had the mains sewer going through the 

land so we installed flushing toilets. We have kept 

the festival vibe with festoon lighting, a converted 

double decker bus and other quirky touches – 

nothing run of the mill. We also have shepherd huts 

and five small stone Irish cottages.” 

In 2011, Adrian took his festival thinking to its 

logical extreme and launched Green Village Fest to 

help promote the glamping. 

“We got 3,000 people but we were expecting 

30,000! We learnt a hard lesson. We had too much 

of everything and lost a fortune. There were some 

excellent elements though, including a speakers’ 

tent and we got famous economist David M Williams 

to talk. It was only three years after the big crash in 

2008 so it took big balls to do what we did and I am 

proud that we gave it a go. I would do it again, but 

smaller.” 

WEDDINGS 

Mount Druid made the move to weddings in 2012. 

“We looked at the price of hiring a marquee and 

realised how cost prohibitive it can be for couples so 

figured we should create a purpose built place.” 

Mount Druid now boasts an unconsecrated 

tin chapel that seats 190, a converted barn and a 


PEOPLE 

boathouse. The chapel was designed by Adrian 

and put together by local builders. The first bride 

was Annaleigh McCaffrey, who happened to be the 

head of marketing for Primark. “I told her that if she 

booked a wedding I’d build her a church! It’s nestled 

among the pine trees on our site and is perfect for a 

simple blessing or a full ceremony.” 

The bride then spread the word. “She told all her 

media buddies about us and in that first year we 

held seven weddings. In 2013 we had 27 and in 2014 

we had 40. Pre-Covid, we were up to 75 weddings, 

each a wee mini festival in itself!” 

For post wedding drinks and canapés, guests use 

the fully heated Boathouse, which was completed in 

2012. “We have a Jamie OIiver wood burning pizza 

oven housed in its own glazed kitchen so couples 

can host pizza parties the day before or after their 

weddings.” 

The converted barn can seat up to 220 and 

features a light filled atrium with a Jacobean library 

and lots of soft furnishings. A grand piano sits in 

the corner of the room for guests to play and the 

décor is a combination of vintage chic with antique 

and restored furniture. “We’ve used Arts and Crafts 

wallpaper to frame the entrance into a garden room, 

which has a wood burning stove and looks out onto 

the restored walled garden where ceremonies are 

also held with guests seated in a raised amphitheatre 

overlooking the pond,” says Adrian. 

Mount Druid’s unique style has been entirely 

created by Adrian and his wife Deirdre. “It has 

been borne from a need to do everything on a 

shoestring budget. Necessity has been the mother 

of all invention in our case thus we’ve never had an 

architect and wouldn’t dream of using an interior 

designer. 

“I have spent a lot of time in junk shops and 

Deirdre on eBay looking for things like tea cups and 

saucers and second hand shoes – items that help 

make up our various quirky interior collections.” 

Adrian and the team had the wedding recipe right 

and were able to scale the business. “We thought 

it was a good idea to turn into a venue and couples 

have all the accommodation on site exclusively for 

guests to stay in. We made millions of mistakes but 

over time we stopped making them and got better 

and better and now I like to think we are pretty 

much flawless.” 

Over 50 per cent of couples come from the 

UK and further afield, making Mount Druid very 

much a destination venue. “It works well as we 

are only one hour from the airport.” 

The core team comprises 10 full time staff, 

rising to 25 on an event day. Adrian and 

Deirdre’s six children, who range from 11 to 

22, are also involved. “I often refer to them 

as reluctant employees, but they do love it 

sometimes and all know what to do. I hope they 

will take the business on one day, but only if 

they want to. My parents ran a B&B, but other 

than that I had no real experience in hospitality 

myself. I do however have a degree in estate 

management.” 


PEOPLE 

“WE MAKE THE DOUGH AT MOUNT 

DRUID THEN TAKE IT UP THE ROAD. 

IT’S WORKED QUITE WELL AND 

HELPED ALLEVIATE THE BOREDOM OF 

LAST YEAR.” 

COVID 

Having been shut during Covid, Adrian turned 

his attention to an old church in the village, 

transforming it into a pizzeria. “We make the dough 

at Mount Druid then take it up the road. It’s worked 

quite well and helped alleviate the boredom of 

last year.” 

As for the wedding bookings? “We have been fair 

with them all and just said, ‘pick a new date’. There 

is so much pent up demand in the market that we 

are going to be very, very busy and, in Ireland, we 

still don’t know when we can open – we’re having 

to play it by ear.” 

So, is Mount Druid in profit? “That’s a very good 

question. When you look at what I spent on the 

place over the past 15 years you’d probably want to 

put me in a straitjacket. But we now have the place 

how we want it and this would have been the year 

we would have seen the financial benefit. I am sure 

it will happen, but then I am an eternal optimist!” 

Friends have also described Adrian as ‘a bit(!) 

mad’. “Way back in 2010 when I told the locals 

about my plans for glamping, no one knew what it 

was, and they then said no one would want to stay 

anyway. I have confounded them all!” 

DETAILS 

Mount Druid 

Castletown, Castletown Geoghegan 

Co. Westmeath, Ireland 

+353 44 922 6679 

www.mountdruid.ie 

To view the full range of high quality, 

durable and sustainable products, 

visit: www.glasdon.com 




Diversifying from farming to 

hospitality, Catherine and Stuart 

Tweddle have already established a 

thriving glamping business through 

Wigwam Holidays and have now 

turned their attention 

to repurposing redundant 

outbuildings to create a 

spectacular wedding venue. 

We talk to Catherine 

CASE STUDY 

Sedgewell 

Barn 

When did you start your venue 

business and what is its history? 

Sedgewell Barn is a brand new familyrun 

wedding barn venue and we’re 

expecting our first wedding to take place 

this summer, following the Covid-19 

delays. 

My husband Stuart and I took over 

the running of the farm when Stuart’s 

parents retired in 2010. About four years 

ago we decided to shift the emphasis 

of the business away from farming and 

diversify into tourism and the running of 

a small haulage business. 

Wigwam Holidays Sedgewell 

Barn, which offers luxury glamping 

accommodation, welcomed its first 

guests in July 2017. We started with just 

A brand new venue with Wigwam 

Holidays glamping on site 

two en-suite Wigwam cabins, which then 

quickly expanded to six. 

Later this spring, a total of 11 cabins, 

including an accessible Wigwam Lodge, 

will be onsite. Nine of them will have 

private outdoor hot tubs. 

More recently we decided to convert 

some of our redundant farm buildings 

into a beautiful wedding venue to sit 

alongside the existing glamping site. 

Stuart has done much of the conversion 

work himself – it’s been a real labour of 

love! 

I am also from a farming background 

and worked as a chartered surveyor until 

our two children arrived. We also have 

a sprocker called Max who loves to help 

meet and greet our guests! 

Tell us about your location and site 

Our wedding venue is set within 60 

acres of rolling countryside in the heart 

of rural North Yorkshire. We have two 

interlinked wedding barns, one of which 

is romantically rustic and the other 

which is stunningly industrial in style. 

Both barns together can accommodate 

up to 200 seated guests. 

Our venue has the advantage of 

having luxury en-suite glamping units 

onsite, many of which have hot tubs. The 

venue also boasts an outdoor seating 

area, indoor chill-out space and several 

stunning backdrops for photographs. 

We are licensed to hold civil 

ceremonies and there are several indoor 

spaces to choose from, as well as our 

pretty outdoor courtyard area. 

We are located just a few minutes’ 

walk from the picturesque village of 

Ainderby Steeple and the venue is 

nestled between two National Parks - 

the North York Moors and the Yorkshire 

Dales. Yet the A1(M) and the railway 

network are both within a 10 minute car 

journey. 

What facilities for outdoor functions 

do you offer? 

We have a beautifully landscaped 

courtyard area where wedding 

ceremonies can take place and guests 

can mingle for a pre-wedding drinks 

reception. We are also developing a 

terraced area where guests can have a 

stroll outside after the reception and 

take in the breathtaking views and wide 

open skies with the Yorkshire Dales on 

the horizon. 

For couples who would prefer to hold 

their reception in a marquee or tipi then 

space is no problem here and we have a 

designated area for this purpose too. 

Our on-site glamping accommodation 

is just a short walk from the wedding 

venue. For those wanting to get wed in 

the great outdoors couples can even 

have their ceremony in a Wigwam cabin! 

Each cabin has its own parking space, 

plus outdoor area to the front with a 

firebowl, wooden stools and picnic 

bench. 

Onsite there are private dog walks, a 

children’s play area and an honesty shop 

where guests can buy marshmallows and 

free range eggs from our own chickens. 



What services do you offer? 

Our friendly team has a full list of handpicked 

suppliers, including approved caterers and 

bar hire. Our experienced in-house wedding 

planner is there to give a helping hand with 

supplier coordination leaving couples to relax 

and enjoy the wedding day of their dreams. 

We may be a new wedding venue but we 

have a very experienced in-house team. 

We are also licensed to hold civil 

ceremonies throughout the venue, including 

in our intimate open-air courtyard area and 

in six of our Wigwam cabins. 

Describe how you researched and sourced 

your structures 

For the wedding venue, we knew our 

redundant farm buildings were a huge asset 

and, while we did the practical research, we 

felt our location was perfect for a special 

celebration. 

We had hired a marquee from Abracadabra 

Marquees for Stuart’s 40th birthday party 

and found them to have a very high level 

of customer service. We have also been 

recommended Totem Tipis by 

a number of different 

sources, 

including Ellen our in-house coordinator. 

For the glamping accommodation, we 

did exhaustive research into the products on 

the market and we also visited a number of 

industry exhibitions so we could physically 

see the different products available. 

A Wigwam Holidays franchise stood out 

due to the quality of the cabins, which allows 

for year-round occupation. Wigwam also 

has its own booking system and marketing 

assistance, which was a big draw for us. 

How do you work with your customers to 

make their event unique? 

From the moment a potential guest gets in 

touch our customer service is paramount, and 

each guest is made to feel extra special. Our 

approach is friendly and accommodating and 

we’re developing the knack of anticipating 

guest requirements, which is particularly 

helpful for our wedding venue. 

Our venue is a blank canvas so couples can 

style it how they wish. We also have a superb 

list of suppliers in the region, so we support 

a number of local businesses.


How do you publicise yourself? 

We have a very active social media 

presence and Laura Spouse of VSM 

Consultancy looks after our PR. We are in 

the process of building a new website for 

Sedgewell Barn and have invested a lot 

of time in researching and being listed on 

third party wedding directories. 

How would you describe your style or 

unique selling point? 

Exclusive, rustic, unique, rural and 

relaxed. Our unique selling point is 

that couples have exclusive use of the 

wedding venue and glamping site for 

three days and two nights, making it a 

truly memorable event. 

What challenges have you faced 

historically? 

Converting the barns mainly ourselves 

whilst running other businesses and 

fitting in a family life has not come 

without its challenges at times! 

How has Covid-19 impacted you? 

When Covid-19 struck, we were left 

reeling at the impact and, as company 

“SINCE THE 

BEGINNING OF 

LOCKDOWN 3.0 

WE STARTED 

OFFERING 

COUPLES 

VIRTUAL SHOW 

ROUNDS OF 

THE WEDDING 

VENUE, WHICH 

WORKED VERY 

WELL” 

directors, we were unable to access 

any financial support for a very long 

time. We lobbied the Chancellor to 

reconsider this and while this has 

yet to be overturned, we were able 

to access some financial help as 

Lockdown 1.0 progressed. 

Our Covid-19 secure measures were 

exhaustive and once we could re-open 

the glamping site in July 2020, we had 

a very busy, yet safe, summer. 

Since the beginning of Lockdown 

3.0 we started offering couples virtual 

show rounds of the wedding venue, 

which worked very well. We have 

managed to secure bookings by 

offering flexible deposit payments. 

How large is your team – any special 

people you’d like to mention? 

We currently run the business between 

us with help from Louise King who is 

an invaluable member of the team 

and takes care of our bookings and 

accounts. We also have Ellen Davies 

of LND Events who is our in-house 

wedding coordinator, Laura Spouse of 

VSM Consultancy who helps with our 

social media and wedding enquiries, 

and Faith Young who helps with 

glamping enquiries and customer 

review responses. 

Build Your Own 

Shepherd Huts 

With Tithe Barn Shepherd Huts original parts. 

Call 01262 470475 or 

Visit www.shepherd-huts.com 

and click on the ‘self build’ page 



We are currently advertising for more 

staff to help us run both the glamping 

and wedding side of the business. 

Have you worked with any industry 

bodies or consultants? 

We did some Q&A sessions with Kelly of 

Kelly Chandler Wedding Consulting and 

group training with other venue owners 

over Zoom. Guides for Brides did a live 

feed to help market our venue via one of 

their Facebook wedding fairs. 

We also used Zoom for training with 

Hitched on converting enquiries to 

bookings, and used Bridebook to learn 

about pricing structures. 

Ellen Davies of LND Events helps 

with venue consultancy and wedding 

coordination for our couples, and we 

have Laura Spouse of VSM Consultancy 

for social media expertise. 

Wigwam Holidays has helped in 

marketing the glamping site and we use 

their booking system and assistance 

on dealing with amending glamping 

bookings due to Covid-19 restrictions. 

What are your plans for next season? 

If the ‘Roadmap’ doesn’t change we 

plan to reopen the glamping site from 

12 April and the wedding venue from 

21 June 2021. We then plan to remain 

open for both glamping holidays and 

weddings from then on, although at 

the moment the wedding venue is only 

operating from May to October. The 

glamping site is open all year round. 

Describe your average day 

mid-season 

Like many family-run businesses, we 

juggle the school run and running two 

separate businesses. 

In mid-season, we are up early, 

checking emails, checking the site and 

then ensuring all cabins and hot tubs 

meet our exacting standards once 

guests leave at 10am. Guests can arrive 

from 2.30pm and everything has to be 

ready by that time. 

We have a self-check-in policy, yet we 

live onsite so we have a presence. We’re 

then catching up on paperwork, dealing 

with enquiries and keeping an eye on all 

the latest industry announcements. 

Each hot tub needs testing twice 

daily so this is a good chance to meet 

“WE’VE ALL 

HAD A VERY 

TOUGH YEAR 

AND TO BE 

ABLE TO 

OFFER OUR 

COUPLES AND 

THEIR GUESTS 

SOMETHING 

SO SPECIAL 

AND EXCITING 

TO LOOK 

FORWARD 

TO IS VERY 

REWARDING” 

guests and deal with any queries they 

may have. We often feel as if we don’t 

have time to sleep! 

What do you enjoy about the 

business and why? 

Helping make couples’ dreams come 

true! We’ve all had a very tough year 

and to be able to offer our couples 

and their guests something so special 

and exciting to look forward to is very 

rewarding. 

What other outdoor hospitality 

sectors do you operate in? 

Our wedding venue and glamping 

accommodation complement each 

other perfectly, being situated together 

on one site. Couples book all the 

glamping accommodation and the 

wedding barns as part of one exclusive 

venue hire package. 

What are you most proud of? 

The fact that we’ve built this business 

from nothing and that we have 

built a viable business in just four 

years. There have been tough times, 

yet knowing we are getting it right 

(fingers crossed) is something to be 

very proud of. 

What advice could you give to 

someone coming into the industry? 

In the wedding industry you need to 

be a people person and always greet 

your couples and their guests with a 

smile. You also need to be prepared 

to work long hours, including 

weekends and bank holidays, as that 

is when most couples are spending 

time planning their wedding. 

ADDRESS BOOK 

WEDDING COORDINATION 

Ellen Davies, LND Events 

www.lnd-events.co.uk 

MOBILE BAR HIRE 

Louisianna’s www.louisiannas.com 

MARQUEE & FURNITURE 

Abracadabra Marquee Hire 

www.abracadabramarquees.co.uk 

TIPI HIRE 

Totem Tipis www.totemtipi.co.uk 

LIGHTING 

Typical Type www.typicaltype.co.uk 

DIRECTORIES 

Bridebook www.bridebook.co.uk 

Coco Wedding Venues 

www.cocoweddingvenues.co.uk 

Guides for Brides 

www.guidesforbrides.co.uk 

Hitched www.hitched.co.uk 

DETAILS 

Sedgefield House Farm 

Northallerton 

North Yorkshire 

DL7 9JY 

info@sedgewellbarn.co.uk 

www.sedgewellbarn.co.uk 

sedgewellbarn@wigwamholidays.com 

www.wigwamholidays.com/ 

sedgewell-barn 


There has never been a better 

time to invest with the UK’s 

#1 Glamping franchise 

Book a discovery call today 

www.wigwamholidays.com/franchise 



Destination Venues 

We pick Kelly Chandler’s brains on the trend towards destination weddings 

What is a destination wedding? 

A destination wedding is a wedding 

celebration that takes place in a location 

that's quite far away from the couple’s home 

or location. There is no geographical limit 

but UK couples historically would define a 

destination wedding as going to popular 

travel destinations such as the Caribbean, 

France or Italy and a couple from Asia might 

describe themselves as having a destination 

wedding in London. 

However in recent years a destination 

wedding has been applied more widely to 

the trend for more and more couples to pick 

a location and a venue within the UK, often 

somewhere rural, perhaps two to three 

hour’s drive from their home. This location is 

usually somewhere they have no connection 

to, in other words they didn’t grow up 

there, family don’t live there and they don’t 

reside or work there now. The location is 

purely chosen because it’s somewhere they 

love and want to celebrate their wedding 

in rather than because of any traditional 

wedding expectations. 

What are the features of a destination 

wedding? 

Wedding plans can vary hugely depending 

on the style and wishes of each couple but 

usually if a couple are choosing a destination 

wedding they are viewing it as a multi-day 

event – this is not an afternoon and evening 

party only but more likely something that 

will involve exclusive hire of a venue and 

space for at least some of the wedding party 

to stay for two to three nights or more. 

It’s more viewed as a mini holiday in 

the same way as heading off to a holiday 

destination might be, but with the wedding 

itself at the heart of it. Destination weddings 

are often smaller in guest size than the 

average although this will depend on a lot of 

factors and isn’t always the case, especially 

if most guests are still travelling within the 

same country. 

How has the trend for destination 

weddings changed and what are the 

drivers? 

Destination weddings used to be more 

driven by access to better weather, being 

able to justify having a smaller guest list and 

not offending anybody (if going abroad). 

But over recent years there has been an 

increase in those couples who just want 

quality time somewhere beautiful, relaxing 

and very “them” to celebrate in their own 

style with nearest and dearest. This might 

be somewhere that doesn’t burden one side 

of the family who are local, but somewhere 

that everyone can share in a new experience 

and, in some cases, pitch in and help with 

the creation of all the wedding details. 

The wish to be together for multiple 

days is driven, I believe, from our general 

separation in modern living – with couples 

and their friends and families often more 

likely to be geographically apart from each 

other because of work and lifestyle, the 

value of quality time that a wedding affords 

is even more special. Additionally, the 

idea of everyone pitching in to create the 

wedding, to “DIY it”, is very much in tune 

with the young millennial collaborative 



“THIS IS ABOUT PUTTING YOUR TOURIST HAT ON AND 

THINKING MORE IN TERMS OF HOW YOU WOULD CREATE 

A HOLIDAY EXPERIENCE” 

spirit, something not shared by older 

generations. 

How has Covid impacted the trend? 

I believe Covid has accelerated the trend. 

With a year of being deprived of almost all 

face to face quality time with loved ones 

and of the lack of holidays and celebratory 

experiences, the trend for UK destination 

weddings is set to explode, especially 

when you consider that, as I write in spring 

2021, international travel and the overseas 

destination option is much more risky and 

slower to recover and the UK destination a 

more do-able option. 

How can a venue adapt to become a 

destination? 

Key to being a destination venue is having 

accommodation as part of the offering. 

That’s essential. You don’t have to have 

hundreds of rooms but if you’re looking to 

host weddings for say 60-80 guests then you 

need to have options thought through for 

30-40 units or rooms, the majority of that 

onsite supplemented by other local options. 

That can also be temporary accommodation 

like bell tents and yurts (and the extension 

of permitted development for temporary 

structures to 56 days from 28 days for 2021 

is a help). 

But… accommodation itself does not 

create a destination that couples want to 

host their wedding at. You need to sell the 

experience of what they can do at your 

venue and in your local area and why they 

would want to spend two to three days 

entirely on your land and in your property. 

This is about putting your tourist hat on 

and thinking more in terms of how you 

would create a holiday experience. Whilst 

a wedding party will of course focus their 

stay on the wedding day, getting ready 

and dressing their venue spaces, they will 

also want other activities to be available, 

whether it’s sporting facilities, guided walks, 

a pre-wedding day pizza party, pampering or 

a post-wedding day pool party for example. 

Are you competing with hotels? 

In some respects yes in that hotels have the 

ready-made accommodation and facilities 

for dining and the like but in many ways no. 

Hotels often struggle to give pure exclusive 

use and privacy to wedding parties, certainly 

over multi-days because of the other 

commercial revenue they generate from 

their restaurant or leisure breaks. Privacy 

is highly valued by wedding couples and, 

for a multi-day event, independents will 

often have the edge over hotels unless the 

wedding budget is very high. 

Is there room in the market for a ‘new’ 

kind of destination wedding venue? 

If permitted development was extended to 

56 days annually on an ongoing basis that 

would help sell future destination weddings, 

at least for the peak of summer. Properties 

that struggle with the accommodation 

aspect and that aren’t wanting to operate 

year round under a substantial full planning 

permission investment could then compete. 

I would say that the openness of couples 

to consider small guest numbers this 

past year means that a lot more existing 

properties can feasibly become destination 

venues if they proactively seek it out and 

carefully build a destination focus and 

offering. 

Any suggestions on how best to package a 

destination wedding for couples? 

Always bear in mind that a couple who are 

not local are going to need help and support. 

They will want some of that help to be 

available remotely without multiple visits so 



“HAVING TRIED AND TESTED SUPPLIERS WHO CAN WORK 

WITH YOU SEAMLESSLY ON ACCOMMODATION AND 

CATERING/BAR IN PARTICULAR WILL BE VERY IMPORTANT” 

you will need to embrace tech and virtual – a 

lot more natural to us all in 2021! 

Having tried and tested suppliers 

who can work with you seamlessly on 

accommodation and catering/bar in 

particular will be very important. Catering 

and bar options should also extend to those 

pre and post days and meals, not just the 

main wedding meal. That’s not to say you 

have to incorporate all of those things into 

a package and it will depend on your ideal 

client and venue style; you could have more 

of a DIY vibe, in which case emphasise use 

of your kitchens, ease of food deliveries 

and the like. However, in general, where 

everyone is not local, destination couples 

and their families tend to need more support 

and “done for them” services as options. 

Absolutely key for destination weddings 

is how you present your venue hire 

and accommodation. It’s quite unusual 

for a couple to pay for everyone’s 

accommodation for a multi-day wedding so 

even if you charge one overall venue hire fee, 

make it clear in all of your sales processes 

that part of that cost can be charged out to 

guests and how. 

Do destination weddings always have to 

be more expensive? 

A destination wedding doesn’t have to entail 

more expense and there are ways of divvying 

up the costs in the way of presenting it more 

as a shared holiday rather than a wedding 

with one couple or family footing the bill. 

That will depend on a lot of factors. 

What has to be carefully considered 

though is that a destination wedding 

is multi-day. Aside from the obvious 

additional travel costs for people to get 

there, this type of wedding involves bringing 

people together for much longer than a 

conventional wedding; ultimately people 

need feeding, watering, comfort and 

entertainment. Whilst this doesn’t have to 

be for every minute of the day, and certain 

parts of the stay can be “at leisure” for each 

guest, that needs to be planned out, made 

clear and communicated for a successful 

and happy time for all. 

To put it bluntly you probably wouldn’t 

feel comfortable laying on just a hog 

roast and a couple of drinks when you’ve 

asked Simon and Karen to fork out £500 

for accommodation and leave them with 

having to pay all their meals and drinks 

for three days! Unless this was made very 

clear to them from the start and the whole 

event had more of a “let’s have a holiday 

together” focus rather than “you’re invited 

to a wedding”. 

How should you market your venue – 

what kind of couple can you expect? 

Destination couples will vary of course as 

destinations vary but in general they will be 

bold, wanting to create something that’s 

very them, and wanting to look at ways to 

create a special and memorable wedding 

experience in your location, otherwise they 

could stay more local, do what other friends 

have done, follow more of a format and do a 

lot less work! 

Couples are likely to want to know what 

others have done in your setting, what 

you’ve done before and want to listen to 

quirky touches you can help with to make 

their wedding unique, and make the best 

of what’s available locally (particularly food 

and drink) to celebrate the area they are in 

geographically. They are more likely to even 

search for their wedding venue not actually 

using the term ‘wedding venue’ but view 

the whole thing as a holiday so you may 

find them using terms like ‘party house’, 

‘staycation’ or ‘private home for hire’. 

LUCY GREENHILL 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Kelly Chandler is 

passionate about 

supporting venue owners 

to develop and evolve their 

wedding offering as market 

conditions adapt and change. 

An in-depth knowledge of the 

destination market is just one area that Kelly 

brings to her bespoke consulting programmes 

for venues. 

Kelly Chandler Wedding Consulting helps land 

and property owners thrive by generating 

profit from hosting weddings. Kelly and her 

team offer specialist private consulting and 

a range of training programmes focussed on 

creating spot-on wedding offerings, growing 

enquiries and resulting wedding sales. www. 

kellychandlerconsulting.co.uk/services 


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Storytelling 

GETTY IMAGES 

Charlotte Winship explains how the art of telling a story can increase venue sales 

ONE OF my favourite parts of venue 

management is venue sales. The thrill of 

winning another booking, successfully 

achieving your target for the month and 

most importantly delighting customers. 

So, against increasingly stiff venue 

competition, how do you delight your 

customers enough to win their business? 

WHO IS YOUR AUDIENCE? 

Firstly, consider your audience and their 

needs. Who are they? A young couple 

looking for a memorable wedding venue, a 

busy corporate events organiser looking for 

a unique location for a business conference, 

or a promoter looking for an intriguing 

venue to draw crowds? 

A successful marketing campaign will find 

your audience, encourage them to view your 

website, suggest they follow you on social 

media and tell them that your venue can 

meet all their requirements. It will also drive 

them to make contact with you. 

This is the time when you can learn more 

about them. 

› What are their specific event needs and 

requirements? How can you fulfil them? 

› Is this a corporate event? What is the 

purpose of their event? What outcome are 

they looking for? 

› Is this a public event? What appeal does 

“WITH THE INFORMATION 

YOU HAVE GATHERED ABOUT 

THEM, YOU CAN USE THIS 

MEETING TO ALIGN YOUR 

VENUE WITH THEIR VALUES 

AND CREATE A POWERFUL 

IMPRESSION” 

your venue hold for mass audiences? 

› Is this a wedding? How does your venue 

align with their values? What style do they 

favour? 

SET THE SCENE 

Next, invite potential customers to meet you 

and visit your venue. But if they have seen 

the photographs, walked through the venue 

plans, read your FAQ, what more do they 

expect to learn from the site visit? 

A venue visit is an opportunity for the 

event organiser to check the location and 

make sure it is easily accessible. It helps 

them to visualise their event at your venue 

and understand how it will flow. They 

can also make sure that your venue lives 

up to the photographs and assess how it 

compares to the other venues they have 

seen. 

But a venue viewing doesn’t just serve 

your client. Whilst they are verifying the 

information and reviewing your venue’s 

credentials you also have a really important 

sales opportunity. With the information you 

have gathered about them, you can use 

this meeting to align your venue with their 

values and create a powerful impression. 

This is your opportunity to tell them your 

venue story in a way that captures their 

imagination. 

THE POWER OF A STORY 

I love stories, particularly historical ones. I 

have always had a fascination for history (I 

even got a BA in it!) and I am very fortunate 

to have been able to combine my passion 

for the past with my passion for parties and 

events. Having the opportunity to walk 

in the footsteps of our ancestors, imagine 

what their experience would have been like 

and hear stories of their lives. These stories 

became a large part of my venue sales patter 

as I excitedly reeled off names and dates, 

stories, anecdotes, mysteries and intrigue; 

determined to enthuse my clients and 

compel them to fall in love with my venues 

as much as I was. 

I would greet them at the door with a 

warm welcome, prepared to inspire them 

from that first moment through to their final 

departure. Encouraging them to absorb 

the atmosphere and immerse themselves 

into the fabric of the place. Putting on a 



show that would excite them and invoke 

an emotional response; a shiver down the 

spine, a spark of joy, love, wonder, awe or 

intrigue. 

The story doesn’t have to have notable 

characters or famous events. It could be your 

family history or the transformation of your 

venue. It could be the love and effort you 

have put into creating a beautiful place to 

share with others. 

Whatever your story, it will be unique 

because no two venues share the same 

story. Your story sets your venue apart from 

all the rest. 

Highlights of your story could be a unique 

location, a singular view, an infamous history 

or a quirky experience that nowhere else can 

provide. Most notable is the humanity: the 

people who built and designed your venue, 

the people who lived and worked there, the 

people who have partied and dined there 

and the people who poured their heart and 

soul into transforming it into a wedding and 

events venue. Learn the stories and your 

venue ceases to become just a beautiful shell 

but a place with a past purpose and a future 

legacy. 

Even the most modern and industrial 

of buildings can tell a tale. One of my 

favourite venues is Cockatoo Island. It has 

a chequered history originally as a convict 

penitentiary for repeat offenders, a quarry, a 

shipyard and naval dockyard. It is now one of 

the most important cultural sites in Sydney 

hosting the Biennale, art and music festivals 

and Hollywood film crews. It’s ugly, grubby, 

dilapidated and difficult to get to (you need a 

boat!) but it has an amazing million $ Sydney 

Harbour view and hundreds of stories. 

ALIGN YOUR STORY WITH YOUR 

CLIENTS’ VALUES 

Couples looking for a wedding venue want 

romance so tell them tales of love. No 

tragedy here please. Happy memories 

of romantic liaisons and long-lasting 

relationships, human and animal! Create 

lots of scenic photographic opportunities. 

Avenues, pathways, bridges, bowers, 

romantic vistas, dramatic backdrops, water 

features, architectural interest and combine 

them with a story. ‘Ah, this is the place 

where so and so met for the first time’ or 

‘this is the tree planted by so and so for his 

true love’ or ‘this is the room where so and 

so married’. 

Businesses are looking for venues of 

interest that will appeal to their clients 

and stakeholders, particularly if they 

are from overseas. Can you find a story 

connecting your venue to the business? 

Perhaps an historic relationship? A personal 

connection? An artefact that has a link? 

Stories sell tickets. Intrigue, notoriety, 

fame, fortune, tragedy, comedy, life, death, 

invention, firsts, lasts, biggest, smallest. 

Public events promoters are looking for 

venues that will help attract crowds to buy 

tickets to their events. What can you tell 

them about your venue that will excite them 

into wanting to stage their event there? 

They already have a great idea for an event. 

What inspiring backdrop can you give them? 

Will this be the first event of its kind at your 

venue? There’s a story in the making! 

How can you make these stories part 

of their event? A quote on the invitation, 

a costume party, a logo, a theme, a house 

tour. 

TELLING YOUR STORY FROM A DISTANCE 

Of course, we haven’t been able to do many 

face-to-face site visits lately and have had 

to find more remote ways to engage our 

clients and share the wonder of our venues 

virtually. How can you invoke the same 

emotional response? How can you express 

the physical atmosphere of your venue 

digitally? 

› Document your stories on video and share 

them over social media 

› Enable clients to take a digital 3D virtual 

tour via your website 

› Make sure you keep your photography 

up-to-date with plenty of high quality 

professional images 

› Tell your stories over your web blog 

› Start a podcast and interview people 

with a connection to your venue, maybe 

starting with a recent client or wedding 

couple. 

A HAPPY ENDING. 

It doesn’t matter if you’re selling a palace or 

a barn or a factory, everywhere has a story 

to tell. Find that unique quality that only 

your venue possesses, get excited, share 

your enthusiasm, tell your story, weave 

magic, intrigue and leave a lasting memory 

in your clients’ hearts and minds. Make them 

want to book you and become part of your 

venue’s story. 


Charlotte Winship has 

over 20 years’ experience 

transforming good 

wedding and events 

venues into great venues. 

She is an expert in helping 

venues reach their ideal customers, 

maximise sales opportunities, increase 

profitability, establish effective teams and 

streamline venue operations. 07493 350303 

/ charlotte@charlottewinship.com / www. 

charlottewinship.com 

FIND YOUR 

VENUE’S STORY 

› How old is it? 

› What was it in its former life? 

› Who has lived or worked there? 

Anyone notable? 

› What events have happened 

there over the years? 

› How did it become a wedding 

venue? 

› What special features or character 

quirks does it have? 

RIGHT William Wordsworth composed 

poetry on this lawn at Herefordshire 

venue, Brinsop Court. Stephen 

Hawking also spent many summers 

here with science colleagues. 

BRINSOP COURT 


BACK 

Back to Work 

How to re-engage your team post lockdown 

THE EXCITEMENT is palpable. There is so 

much pent up demand, and still lots to do 

before reopening. But… 

How long have your team been on 

furlough? Whether it’s 12 months or only 

four, it’s still a long time to be away from 

work. And it would be naïve to think they 

can just pick up where they left off. 

Not only is it going to be a bit of a shock to 

the system getting back into a routine from 

a physical perspective, but there’ll be some 

emotional needs to address too. One of the 

questions I’m most frequently asked, is “how 

do I keep my employees engaged?”. And 

that’s in ‘normal’ circumstances, let alone 

after everything Covid has thrown at us in 

the past 12 months. 

There will be plenty who are just itching to 

get back to work, to see their workmates, to 

get back to some kind of routine. But this will 

no doubt be tinged by other emotions. While 

many are simply relieved to have a job to 

come back to, they may still have concerns 

for the long-term future of their role. And, if 

you’ve had to make any redundancies, some 

of these people will also experience some 

“survivors’ guilt”. 

Some may be uncomfortable about 

changes to their role, and others anxious 

about their safety, either within work, or on 

their journey to work. Many have discovered 

new interests and other priorities in life, so 

will they be sad at the prospect of losing the 

time to continue these? Some may be even 

questioning whether they want to come 

back to the same role or come back to work 

at all. 

If we ignore these concerns they can 

have a big impact, not just on the individual 

concerned. When this gets picked up by 

colleagues, it can have a domino effect 

on how they feel and how engaged they 

are too. Which ultimately has an impact 

on productivity and on your customers’ 

experience. 

But there is still plenty to look forward to. 

Here are two areas to focus on before you reopen 

so everyone is looking forward to their 

return and is prepared - both mentally and 

physically - for their role. 

BACK TO WORK 

ONE-TO-ONE 

A confidential one-to-one meeting with 

each of your team members is the first step 

to help plan for their return. Assuming you 

are conducting these virtually, choose the 

medium each person feels most comfortable 

with. 

Unlike a regular one-to-one (which are 

always important to engage employees at 

any other time) these won’t be so much 

on reviewing performance, but will focus 

on looking forward. Here is the seven step 

'CLEARER' framework I’ve created: 

› CONNECT 

Your goal here is to relax people so they feel 

confident to be honest with you about how 

they are feeling. One of the easiest ways to 

do this is to ask about - and show an interest 

in - what they’ve been doing during their 

time on furlough. 

Keep this conversational, it’s not an 

interrogation. Ask casually about: What 

have they been up to? What’s been good 

about their time at home? What will they 

miss most? Have they taken up any new 

hobbies or learnt any new skills? Have they 

discovered or rediscovered things that are 

important to them or activities they enjoy? 

Have any of their priorities in life changed as 

a result of time away from work? 

› LISTEN 

It’s important to discover how they feel 

about being back. Be prepared for the 

fact that they may not even want to come 

back to work, or to come back in the same 

capacity as before. What concerns do they 

have, what questions do they have about 

their role, about changes to the way you’ll be 

working, about the business? 

Some people are very good at putting 

on a brave face; listen to their tone and any 

hesitation. If you are on camera or face to 

face watch their body language. Be mindful 

of what they don’t say too. Bear in mind 

there may be things that to you are quite 

GETTY IMAGES 



trivial but to them are important, so give 

them plenty of time; people won’t open up 

if they feel rushed. 

› ESTABLISH EXPECTATIONS 

It’s inevitable that the way you work, and 

some duties, will have changed. This might 

present opportunities to restructure, to 

upskill and cross train people to master 

new skills, to take on other responsibilities 

as part of their development. 

There may be duties that were once a 

part of a role but are now less of a priority, 

so explain why this is. If these were tasks 

they did well or took a particular pride 

in doing, be sensitive to how you handle 

this. You certainly don’t want them to get 

the impression that their previous efforts 

weren’t appreciated. 

Whatever the outcome, be clear on what 

the ‘new’ role is, or at least what the options 

are. You may not need to agree this right 

now; either one of you may need to time to 

research or reflect. 

› AGREE ACTIONS 

What needs to happen as a result of your 

meeting? There may be things they need 

from you, and possibly things you need 

them from them too. Sum up the actions 

either of you will take and by when, so you 

both know where you stand. 

› REASSURE 

By now you’ll have a good sense for how 

they are feeling. Address any areas of 

concern, so they know you are there to 

support them, and that they can come to 

you with any later questions or suggestions, 

however trivial they may seem. 

Do they have any further questions about 

their shifts, their pay, any training prior to 

opening, any new responsibilities, who 

they will be working with? You may not be 

able to answer all these questions right 

now, so make a commitment to when you’ll 

come back to them. Reassure them of your 

commitment to their safety and ongoing 

support. 

› ENTHUSE, EXCITE AND ENERGISE 

Don’t dwell on the past, but demonstrate 

your enthusiasm and excitement about the 

opportunities ahead. Are there any new 

skills or interests they’ve adopted during 

lockdown that have relevance to their work 

or to the business as a whole and they’d like 

to pursue? 

What new skills or development 

would they like? You may not be able to 

make any promises, but by having these 

conversations now makes it easier to factor 

them into your new business model where 

you can, and gives them something more to 

look forward to. 

Everyone now has new experiences and 

different perspectives than they did 12 

months ago, so listen and take on board 

any ideas and suggestions they have to help 

with their return to work or your reopening. 

› REVIEW DATE 

Schedule a follow-up date with each team 

member. Even though you’ve told them 

you are there for them, some would never 

initiate a conversation or come to you for 

help unless it’s in the privacy of a scheduled 

one-to-one meeting. Whether you meet 

again before re-opening or not, make 

sure there is at least one follow up date 

scheduled before you end the meeting. 

REBUILDING THE TEAM 

Some of your team members may not 

have seen one another for the whole of the 

lockdown. You may even have new people 

in your team who haven’t met anyone yet. 

Take steps now to bring the team together, 

and ensure that when they return everyone 

is aligned. Here are three areas to pay 

attention to: 

1. SHARED PURPOSE 

People perform better when they feel a 

sense of belonging, and one of the easiest 

ways to do this is to have a shared purpose. 

But a lot’s changed in the last 12 months, 

so it’s possible your vision, mission, or 

values have shifted. Even if this isn’t the 

case, remind your team of your purpose, 

and by doing this collectively you know that 

everybody has had the same message. 

In the lead up to opening, you’ll also 

have some immediate goals and priorities. 

If you let everyone know now what these 

are, it means they can be more prepared for 

them as and when they return. This enables 

everybody to be working towards the same 

goals and targets from the outset. This also 

provides an opportunity for people to share 

their ideas and input. Your team will often 

have a different perspective, so give them a 

voice, which in turn gains buy in and helps 

them feel valued. 

2. UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER 

It’s likely that most people’s roles will have 

changed to some degree, even if only 

slightly. Help everyone see how they each 

fit in and contribute to the overall purpose, 

and also individual departmental goals and 

priorities. 

New roles and new challenges may 

result in some people needing support, 

so it’s good for everyone to know where 

that support might come from. Who within 

the team has the right experience, skills or 

knowledge to support a colleague? 

As you will have identified from the 

one-to-one meetings, priorities for some 

have changed. If this is going to impact 

how or when people work, it can be useful 

for others to understand this. If they feel 

comfortable to do so, create an opportunity 

for them to share this. 

3. SPENDING TIME TOGETHER 

Don’t let the lockdown prevent you from 

doing things together as a team. There 

are plenty of activities you can do online, 

where people can work as a team. Anything 

from virtual escape rooms, to horseracing, 

to cocktail masterclasses or wine tastings 

etc. 

Whatever you do, the focus should be on 

having some fun with colleagues. If there’s 

some relevant learning to be had as a result 

(such as wine tasting), so much the better, 

but that shouldn’t be a prerequisite. You 

can also use your outdoor space to get 

your team together in person (naturally 

maintaining social distancing and any other 

government guidelines). 

Taking part in a charitable event - be that 

fundraising, volunteering, or simply raising 

awareness - can be a rewarding way of 

bringing people together to work as a team, 

even if virtually. 

Remember to celebrate what’s been 

good about the past 12 months. Have any 

team members achieved a qualification, 

or marked a significant event, birthday, or 

anniversary, but missed out celebrating 

with others? What have you achieved 

within the business: renovations, new 

services, charity work, supporting key 

workers etc? 

IN SUMMARY 

Recognise your team will be experiencing 

a mix of emotions as they think about their 

return to work. Start preparing them as 

soon as you can, so they are ready both 

mentally and physically. Listen to concerns, 

answer their questions, and ask for their 

input so they feel valued. 

Bring your team together so they are 

aligned and working together towards 

a shared purpose. And remember to 

celebrate and recognise your team’s 

contribution to your successful re-opening. 

Good luck. 


Caroline Cooper is the 

Founder of Naturally Loyal, 

and has over 30 years' 

training and development 

experience in hospitality. 

Recognising that managers in 

hospitality often get promoted into 

positions without much training, her key focus 

is on developing newly promoted and junior 

managers to lead and engage their teams 

effectively. You can download her free A-Z of 

Managing People at 

www.naturallyloyal.com/oaba2z 


CWC Advert (Open Air Magazine).pdf 1 23/02/2021 12:04:51 

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GLAMPSITES 

CASE STUDY 

Mount View 

Luxury Glamping 

With world beating views, this site lives up 

to its marketing photography 

Farmer David Wallis was 

inspired by a magazine to 

diversify with safari tents. 

He also added a shepherd’s 

hut and is working on 

a bespoke cabin at his 

Cornish site overlooking 

St. Michael’s Mount. A mix 

of accommodation helps 

attract a range of customer 

types but he has to be 

watchful of the weather! 

What’s your back story- your life before 

glamping? 

I was born and grew up here at Rose-in-Vale 

Farm. I have worked on the farm all my life 

and, although we have diversified, we still farm 

potatoes and other veg throughout the year. We 

started to diversify from traditional farming in 

2014 when we put in our solar park. The glamping 

accommodation is situated in the same field. 

What made you decide to start offering 

glamping accommodation? 

Glamping came to me one afternoon in the 

summer of 2015. I was flicking through a country 

magazine and spotted safari tents. It inspired me 

and I really felt like this was something we could 

do. We have the land, space and one of the best 

views in the world. Once the inspiration hit me, 

I started to run with the idea. Two years later, in 

spring 2017, we were up and running! 

How did you research the business before 

entering it? 

Obviously the idea came from a magazine. We 

did our online research and attended both the 

Farm Innovation Show in October 2015 and The 

National Glamping Show the following year. 

Tell us about your location and site 

The site overlooks Mounts Bay and has 

panoramic views of St. Michael’s Mount. We 

are surrounded by some of the best beaches 

in Cornwall and the village we are positioned 

in is a perfect Cornish retreat. We have a small 

honesty shop onsite where guests can purchase 

any essentials. Both tents and the shepherd’s 

hut have their own private outdoor space and 

hot tubs. 

I would say the view is our best feature. To me 

it’s unbeatable, and many of our guests share the 

same opinion. However, due to the positioning of 

the site we are open to the elements. I think with 

any vast open view you have to expect a little bit 

of wind. We aren’t nestled in a valley, if we were 

we wouldn’t have our unique selling point, which 

is the breathtaking view. 


GLAMPSITES 

How did you tackle getting planning? 

We didn’t make use of the 26-day rule 

and to be honest we were really lucky. 

The planning process was smooth for us. 

I think we have the solar panels to thank 

for this! As we all know, it can be difficult 

when diversifying from traditional 

farming and planning can be a big issue, 

but because we had already diversified 

in 2014, and the accommodation was 

going in the same field, the hard work 

had already been done. We used a 

fantastic planning consultant, Ian Firth, 

who specialises in planning for glamping 

accommodation. 

How did you finance the project? 

Part savings, part business loan. 

What glamping accommodation do 

you offer and why did you choose it? 

We have two safari tents sleeping up 

to six people and one shepherd’s hut, 

which is the perfect cosy retreat for a 

couple or young family. The reason we 

chose the safari tents is that we liked the 

idea that it’s still technically ‘camping’ 

without having to trudge through the 

mud to the toilets or sleeping on a cold 

floor. I think lots of people, especially 

families, do really enjoy being in the 

great outdoors and embracing nature in 

all its glory. The safari tents still feel like 

you are embracing the wild as you can 

hear the wind and the rain on the canvas, 

while staying cosy, dry and warm inside! 

We decided to go for a shepherd’s 

hut as well to offer something slightly 

more designed for couples. It’s a very 

‘romantic retreat’. Having different 

accommodation types allows us to 

appeal to difference audiences, which 

is important. The safari tents are open 

from the last weekend in March to the 

first weekend in November. We wouldn’t 

want to keep them open through the 

depths of winter as the weather in 

Cornwall really is unpredictable. This 

way everything it kept fresh for reopening 

in the spring. 

The shepherd’s hut is open all year 

as it really is so cosy inside, so in each 

different season it’s a perfect retreat to 

nature. 

What occupancy levels and price per 

night do you achieve? 

We mainly operate on weekly bookings, 

but we do offer shorter stays, especially 

in the lower seasons. For the safari 

tents, a week booking in March starts 

from £722 and in August the top price 

is £1,570. From May through to October 

we are usually fully booked. There is 

more availability in the winter for the 

shepherd’s hut, as this is obviously out of 

season, but we still see a good demand. 


GLAMPSITES 

How did you work out your brand and 

how do you publicise yourself? 

The name ‘Mount View Luxury Glamping’ 

is obviously inspired by the view of the 

mount. Our view really is our unique 

selling point. Everyone who arrives is 

taken aback by how stunning it is. It feels 

amazing to share it with others. Our 

ethos is ‘Relax and Unwind’ as this really 

is how we want our guests to feel during 

their stay. 

We market ourselves through Classic 

Glamping, who operate across the UK. 

They have been fantastic right from the 

get-go. They cover everything, from 

photoshoots, blogs, advertising us 

on their social media channels, right 

through to helping with pricing and even 

taking the bookings. It’s lovely to have a 

company who have a base in Cornwall 

as I know if we ever need any advice, 

they are 20 minutes away and are always 

happy to help! 

We don’t have our own website, 

but we do market ourselves though 

Facebook and Instagram. It’s nice to 

show progress and share little snippets 

of what we do from day to day, but 

the main marketing is left to Classic 

Glamping, they’ve got it covered. 

“AT THE 

END OF THE 

DAY, IT’S 

THE GREAT 

OUTDOORS, 

YOU HAVE 

TO BE 

PREPARED 

WHATEVER 

THE 

WEATHER!” 

How did you choose your interior 

decoration? 

We designed the interiors for the safari 

tents based on their names. We have 

Sunrise Safari tent which has a yellow 

theme, and Horizon Safari tent which is 

blue themed. The shepherd’s hut is red 

and white. We liked the classic country 

style so ran with it. 

What challenges have you faced? 

To be honest the only real challenge 

we face is the weather. I check the 

forecast and if it’s looking unsettled, I 

have to make the decision of whether 

to remove the front sail. The tents 

themselves can absolutely hold their 

own in whatever weather, but the front 

sail can cause problems. Our guests 

have been extremely understanding 

and embrace the elements with us. 

At the end of the day, it’s the great 

outdoors, you have to be prepared 

whatever the weather! 

How have you coped with Covid? 

Overall we have coped very well. 

Cornwall saw one of the busiest 

seasons ever once we opened last 

year and this year is looking equally 

busy. Because we have self-contained 

accommodation, we can open from the 

12 April, which we are very grateful for. 

We have hand sanitiser positioned all 

over the site and have used sanitising 

smoke bombs on change over days. 

We took out all unnecessary soft 

furnishing like blankets and cushions, 

but I’m hoping to put these back into 

the tent this year as they do add a nice 

touch. We are looking for a sanitising 

spray to use on all the soft furnishings 

this season. 

What are your plans for next season? 

Later this season we are hoping to 

open our brand-new Ocean View 

Lodge. We’ve been keeping very busy 

through lockdown and used the time to 

get creative. I have a great team of local 

tradesmen who have worked so hard to 

help make this happen. We are hoping 

to have the lodge up and running later 

this season. It will sleep six and has a 

hot tub like the other accommodation. 

It’s just over the hedge so is slightly 

separate. We are so proud that we have 

been able to grow the site further and 

we are hoping for Ocean View to be 

equally successful! 

01228 577 385 / 07881 921 339 

www.loghomesfinland.co.uk 

BESPOKE LOG 

CABIN SUPPLIERS 

AND BUILDERS 


GLAMPSITES 

Apart from this, it is just to keep 

our standards up. I do have very high 

expectations of myself and want to 

keep the site immaculate. Cutting the 

grass, pruning the flower beds and just 

keeping all maintenance up to date is 

important for guest satisfaction. No 

detail is too small. 

Describe your average day midseason? 

Well, the glamping accommodation 

isn’t my only job, I am also still farming 

so each day is different. If we describe 

a changeover day it’s very busy! We 

start by emptying the hot tubs, topping 

up the logs and cleaning the fire pits. I 

have a great team of cleaners consisting 

of family members and a close friend. 

We collect flowers from a local 

grower in the village and make sure we 

add all the little touches that our guests 

greatly appreciate. It’s all hands on 

deck, but team morale is high and we 

all pull together and get the job done. 

The sunshine makes it easier, but you 

“I AM PASSION- 

ATE ABOUT 

WHERE I LIVE 

SO I TAKE 

GREAT PRIDE 

IN SHARING 

OUR BEAUTI- 

FUL CORNER 

OF THE WORLD 

WITH OTHERS” 

know what the great British weather 

can be like. 

Do you enjoy the business? 

I really do love it! It’s completely different 

to farming and I think that’s why I enjoy 

it so much. I love farming, but it’s great 

to have that diversification within work. 

I am a people person so it’s nice getting 

to know our guests and recommending 

places to visit or eat. I am passionate 

about where I live so I take great pride in 

sharing our beautiful corner of the world 

with others. 

What are you most proud of? 

It has to be when people turn up and 

say the pictures of the site online are 

beautiful, but they just don’t do it 

justice. I think our photos capture the 

site perfectly, so to hear this really is 

amazing. 


someone coming into the industry? 

Don’t go in half-heartedly; it is hard work, 

but if you are passionate about what 

you are doing you will love it. There is 

nothing better than when people truly 

appreciate all the hard work you put 

into something. I am so proud of how far 

we’ve come and seeing people having an 

incredible time on our family farm is just 

the best feeling. If you put your heart and 

soul into it, you will see the rewards in 

more ways than just financial return. 

Another bit of advice is to keep 

looking forward. You can’t change the 

past, so don’t worry about yesterday and 

look ahead. There’s no point worrying 

about things you can’t change. 

ADDRESS BOOK 

SAFARI TENTS 

Bond Fabrications 

www.bondfabrications.co.uk 

SHEPHERD’S HUT 

Ashwood Shepherd Huts 

www.ashwoodshepherdhuts.co.uk 

HOT TUBS 

Urban Cedar Hot Tubs 

www.urbancedarhottubs.co.uk 

FIRE PITS 

Kadi Fire Pits www.kadai.co.uk 

BOOKINGS & MARKETING 

Classic Glamping 

www.classicglamping.co.uk 

PLANNING 

Bondstones 

www.bondstones.co.uk 

INSURANCE 

NFU Mutual www.nfumutual.co.uk 

DETAILS 

Mount View Luxury Glamping 

Rose-In-Vale Farm 

Ludgvan, Penzance, Cornwall 

www.facebook.com/Mount-View- 

Luxury-Glamping 


glamping pods 

perfect for even 

the most remote locations 

free design plans 

bespoke build 

off-grid solutions 

low maintenance 

fast return on investment 

contact us for a free no-obligation quote 

Fact! Great social media will grow 

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Too busy to tackle it? Not sure what to post? But you know 

you need to do it! 

Take my online course and learn “How you can use social 

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“I highly recommend your course” Brooklands Caravan 

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As co-founder of a successful campsite, my course is 

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premium quality amazing value 

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07767733044 

Marquees & Glamping Tents 

Bespoke Design Service 

Designed & Made in the UK 

01453 767171 


enquiries@bondfabrications.co.uk 


GLAMPSITES 

Trade Secrets 

Cleaning Check List 

John Maddy from Long Valley Yurts shares a change over day check list 


John Maddy is a 

glamping trailblazer, 

speaker and one of the 

brains behind Long 

Valley Yurts, one of the 

longest established 

and largest glamping 

companies in the 

country. He is also 

co-founder of Canopy, 

an independent 

membership 

organisation providing 

industry specific 

training, support, 

qualifications, 

accreditation, auditing 

and consultancy. www. 

canopy-association. 

org.uk / john@longvalley-yurts.co.uk 

/ 

www.linkedin.com/in/ 

johnmaddy 

WE USE a lot of check sheets at 

our multiple Long Valley Yurts 

sites. They allow us to be in lots 

of places at once as well as giving 

accountability to the role of 

cleaning and traceability for our 

customers. 

We have created a full operations 

and safety manual for each of our 

locations. Following our training, 

we give our landowner partners 

a copy and they can successfully 

manage their side of the operation. 

Here is an example of an old 

(pre-Covid) check sheet that we had 

for our bell tents many moons ago. 

These were off-grid and at remote 

locations and before the days of 

cordless vacuums. 

GENERAL 

n Remove throws/rugs and shake outside (remove/replace 

if dirty and take to laundry) 

n Sweep down futon mattress/covers using dustpan and 

brush 

n Remove and thoroughly clean food storage boxes next to 

the cooker 

n Remove and clean beanbags where necessary 

n Sweep carpeted floor using a stiff brush - remember to 

sweep under the futons 

n Replace storage boxes/bean bags and rug 

n Replace throws - throws go over futons so the bottom of 

the throw is in line with the floor 

n Sweep and mop wooden section at the front of the bell 

tent 

n Clean wood burning stove flue and around the hearth 

(make sure stove has been emptied out) 

n Fill wood basket generously include firelighters and 

newspaper 

n Empty 'cold' ash bucket into bins - careful that it is fully 

extinguished 

n Set double futon with a welcome pack, visitors’ book and 

leaflets as per photo 

KITCHEN 

n Clean cooker, grill and control knobs 

n Empty bin, clean and polish and replace liners 

n Tidy inside of storage cupboard making sure everything 

is clean 

n Check cutlery numbers (4 x knives, forks, spoons and tea 

spoons - replace as necessary with spares box) 

n Check utensils in line with inventory - let the office know 

if there is anything missing 

n Check all cutlery and utensils are clean 

n Make sure bell tent is equipped with a lighter, tea, coffee 

and a tea towel 

GETTY IMAGES 


GETTY IMAGES 

GLAMPSITES 

MAINTENANCE CHECKS 

n Check solar lights and fairy lights are working 

n Check fire extinguisher and fire blanket are in place and 

haven't been tampered with 

n Check gas levels 

n Visual check of hob/hose and connection valves 

n Check bell tents have not moved, are ripped or damaged 

and no stakes or pegs have been pulled out 

n Check guy ropes around the tents and tighten if 

necessary 

NOTE 

n If anything is not working, or you are unsure about 

anything (no matter how small/trivial) in this section 

please notify the office immediately as maintenance will 

need to visit the bell tent ASAP before guests arrive 

n If the spares box has been used, to top up supplies please 

make sure you inventorise before the end of your shift to 

enable reordering of stock in sufficient time 

JOIN US 

BEFORE YOU LEAVE 

n Mop the floor on the way out 

n Once finished look back inside to see if everything is 

where it is meant to be and there is that ‘wow’ factor for 

guests! 

Feature your property 

on The Wanderlist 

We would have this check 

list on a sheet that the cleaning 

team would take around 

with them. They would sign 

and date it for each unit per 

clean and tick each individual 

element off. There would be 

initial training that took place 

when they started employment 

so they understood the nature 

of the role and what was 

required. There is huge value 

in these sorts of sheets. They 

provide many benefits, from a 

structure for staff, to a process 

for training new people at 

a required base level, and 

achieving compliance while 

delivering risk management 

procedures. 

Do you own an amazing 

escape with indulgent interiors, 

inspiring scenery or just that 

special something? We shout 

about impressive UK escapes 

and get properties the 

exposure and interest 

they deserve. 

LET'S CHAT! 

Get in touch with 

our friendly and 

approachable 

team today on 

info@thewanderlist.uk 

ZERO % COMMISSION, 

ONE-OFF ANNUAL FEE 

www.thewanderlist.uk 


GLAMPSITES 

The Magic 

Greg Watt discusses the 

importance of ‘experience’ 

within the glamping mix 

Ingredient 

WHY DO tourists choose the places they 

go to? What is it about a glamping site that 

appeals? What is the point of difference 

possessed by a site that grabs attention 

and pulls potential guests towards it? 

Surely, something about ‘going glamping’ 

makes it different from just being another 

form of accommodation? While glamping 

spaces provide a broad range of amenity 

and comfort, the costs to stay are generally 

higher than competing lodgings. They may 

be different from a B&B, cottage or hotel 

but may not in themselves be distinctive 

enough from these competing alternatives. 

Despite this, many glamping sites only 

dwell on their accommodation structures. 

There are sites where the glamping 

space is exquisite, located in unique, 

beautiful environments, with panoramic 

outlooks that are spectacular and 

distinctive. However, these are few and 

far between, with most merely aspiring 

to this. Therefore, glamping sites must be 

more than a great space and offer more 

than just great hospitality; they must be 

tourism exemplars and provide ‘glamping 

experiences’. 

Experiential tourism has gained 

momentum through tourists' increasing 

desire to participate, learn, be entertained, 

and escape from normality. Moreover, 

tourists demand that such experiences 

should be authentic, original, flowing, and 

collectively holistic. Glamping has gained 

popularity because it provides a vehicle 

where these attributes can empathetically 

unfold during a stay. Further, glamping 

experiences are generally offered in 

more personal, intimate and meaningful 

manifestations than those available 

through conventional resorts and hotels. 

By developing glamping experiences, 

glamping entrepreneurs extend their 

offerings and enhance their appeal to 

tourists. Further, the more that these are 

integrated seamlessly into the overall 

Gestalt, the more sites become a tourist 

destination instead of merely servicing 

tourism. 

LUXURY VS. EXPERIENCE 

In the book ‘The Meaning of Luxury in 

Tourism, Hospitality and Events’ author 

John Swarbrooke suggests that it is the 

overall holistic encounter that is important, 

that is, the feeling of being transported 

away from all the intricacies of modern 

GETTY IMAGES 


GLAMPSITES 

living. This does not imply that glamping 

involves passive relaxation, merely that 

glampers are able, for a time, to empty their 

head of the multitude of things that swirl 

around and instead take time out to dwell 

on the one activity or experience that is 

immediately in front of them. If that activity 

or experience is unusual or eclectic, then 

all the better; glampers become immersed 

and absorbed. 

Swarbrook also says that glamping 

experiences are more consequential to 

a memorable tourist stay than glamping 

space. The implied notion of luxury 

is somewhat shapeless and relative 

rather than absolute. By this reckoning, 

glamping sites providing better than 

standard facilities and comfort, along with 

great glamping experiences, are likely 

to command favourable interest from 

prospective glampers. Swarbrook also 

suggests that exceptional luxury cannot 

substitute for extraordinary experiences. 

MILLENNIALS AND THEIR PARENTS 

Demographics would suggest that 

millennials and their parents, the babyboomers, 

make up the majority of 

glampers. By their nature, millennials 

place importance on experiences and 

living life by exploring and interacting with 

the world. For their part, baby-boomers 

seek to reconnect with nature and to do 

those things they were too busy to do in 

their younger years. Glamping experiences 

are aligned with the perspectives of both 

generations, ready packed to go, and 

require little or no supplementary outlay or 

planning. 

While glampers have the option to 

take time out and unwind, many are 

"active-relaxers" wishing to explore the 

countryside and reconnect with rurality. 

Numerous glamping sites are positioned 

close to sought after leisure activities. This 

model has proved to be successful because 

it gives access to outdoor activities that are 

currently popular such as walking, cycling, 

yoga, cooking/dining outdoors, foraging/ 

bushcraft and partaking a number of other 

outdoor pursuits. Because glamping sites 

can integrate them seamlessly into their 

operations, the energy and flow of any stay 

are organic and authentic. 

Participation in outdoor activities in 

Europe follows regionally specific trends. 

In the UK, walking is the most popular 

outdoor activity, accounting for 76 per cent 

of all outdoor visits (Gordon, Chester, & 

Denton, 2015). Significantly for glamping, 

participants are most likely to hill-walk or 

ramble. As an experience, participants are 

equally captivated by the scenery as they 

are by the walk itself. Searching for and 

travelling to sites where interesting rambles 

GETTY IMAGES 

“PARTICIPATION IN 

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES 

IN EUROPE FOLLOWS 

REGIONALLY SPECIFIC 

TRENDS. IN THE UK, 

WALKING IS THE MOST 

POPULAR OUTDOOR 

ACTIVITY, ACCOUNTING 

FOR 76 PER CENT OF ALL 

OUTDOOR VISITS” 

are located becomes a part of the overall 

experience. While running, mountain 

biking, horse riding, sailing, canoeing, 

mountaineering all have a following, 

participation is considerably less. However, 

specific experiences such as gorge 

scrambling and niche cycling are increasing 

in popularity (Gordon et al., 2015). 

Globally, reconnection with the 

land through trails and tracks allows 

participants to immerse themselves in 

the odyssey, learning or enhancing their 

skill and knowledge, gaining a sense of 

achievement. For many urbanites, any 

participation in rurality, from forays into 

nomadic lifestyles through to modern 

recreational pursuits, is a novel experience. 

Combining this rurality with luxurious 

accommodation at the end of each day 

enhances its memorability. 

CONCLUSION 

At first glance, capital outlay, occupancy 

rates, daily room rates, and return on 

investment appear to provide convincing 

evidence that glamping is a solid business 

model. More astute investigations reveal 

that carrying out financial appraisals 

through a hospitality lens is imprudent. It 

is clear that success in glamping depends 

on being able to answer “What is it that will 

draw people to come?”. On a hospitalitybased 

approach, if the glamping space 

is not superior and the service not better 

than alternative accommodations, then the 

assumptions used in financial appraisals 

become suspect. 

For a very few, the glamping space 

assures success, however, for most, sites 

prove successful because of the empathetic 

combination of spaces and experiences. 

Indeed, it is the experiences that glampers 

crave that makes the assumptions in any 

financial analysis valid. 

ARTICLE NOTE: 

This article is an abbreviated version. The 

original can be found at 

https://watt.nz/2021/03/glamping-experiencesglampings-magic-ingredient/ 

REFERENCES 

• Gordon, K., Chester, M., & Denton, A. (2015). 

Getting Active Outdoors - A Study of Demography, 

motivation, Participation and provision in Outdoor 

Sport and Recreation in England: Sport England. 

• Swarbrooke, J. (2018). The meaning of luxury 

in tourism, hospitality and events: Goodfellow 

Publishers. 


Greg Watt is currently a 

candidate for doctor of 

philosophy at Auckland 

University of Technology. An 

avid traveller and advocate 

for authenticity in travel, Greg’s 

research concerns a global study 

of glamping spaces and experiences. His 

interest stems from an association with 

small boutique and community tourism 

projects within Vanuatu and New Zealand. 

Both countries are blessed with beautiful 

landscapes, along with an outdoor 

presence. Greg also writes informative 

articles about topics, destinations and 

social entrepreneurship within tourism at 

https://watt.nz 


GLAMPSITES 

GETTY IMAGES 

Social Media Strategy 

What, where, and when to post to Instagram and Facebook 

I AM often contacted by campsites or 

glampsites wanting to know how to write a 

social media strategy. 

They are happy with posting on their 

social media platforms but grind to a halt 

and get stuck with ideas for content. They 

revert to posting the same things. More of a 

“one post wonder” approach. 

Putting together a social media strategy, 

or in fact a plan, saves you time and makes 

your social media more targeted. And it 

enables you to connect with your ideal 

customer and nurture them into your world. 

Here are my simple steps to creating a 

strategy for your business on social media: 

1 

FIRST UP, KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE 

Create a fictitious "user persona", 

give them a name, age, and a 

location. Do they have kids or not, where 

do they shop, what will they do when 

they arrive onsite? Will they head off to 

the local organic farm shop or have they 

stocked up from home? Think about 

their potential “pain points'' and how 

you can solve them. Are they going to be 

arriving late on a Friday night? Can you 

suggest some local pubs nearby or book 

them a table? 

When you can identify who your 

visitors are likely to be, then it's easy to 

create social media content (or posts) 

that will talk to them. 

2 

DECIDE WHAT TO POST 

Lots of small businesses get stumped 

here. The proper term for this is 

“content pillars” but I like to call it the 

"content pie". Think of about four to five 

interesting onsite topics (or content) that 

your customers will want to know about. 

These may be: 

› Your local area - the local pub/teashop, 

visitor attraction, great beach, wildlife 

walk. Add your recommendations or top 

local tips 

› Your site news - here you can post about 

developments or changes onsite over the 

last 12 months. Upgraded some facilities, 

added new pitches, replaced or added a 

brilliant safari tent? Post about them! 

› Meet the team - people buy people. 

Introduce yourself and your team. It's 

great to see who is going to be around 

onsite and it gives your site more 

personality 

› Camplife - this is a great source of content. 

Use real behind the scenes content to 

convey your story. Last year I filmed our 

Covid clean taking place in time lapse. The 

aim was to show that we took the clean 

very seriously. It was amusing to watch 

as we filmed it at high speed and, being 

video content, it resulted in many views 

and comments. This moved it higher up 

the algorithm reaping high reach and 

impressions. 

3 

GET ANALYTICAL 

It's important to set aside the 

time to look at your analytics. Not 

everyone's favourite pastime, but it 

does enable you to see which content 

has been popular. You can also find out 

when your audience is online and so 

schedule your posts to tie in with them 

being around. Make a note of your top 

performing three posts so that you can 

start to build up a picture of what's 

performing well. 

4 

GET TO GRIPS WITH HASHTAGS 

Hashtags are a hot topic on social 

media. Facebook and Instagram need 

different hashtag strategies. I recommend 

using about three on Facebook, and the full 

30 on Instagram. Opinion splits on the best 

number to use. Test using different ones to 

see which get good engagement or reach 

(Hashtagify is a good free option). 

Change your hashtags often and do 

not use the same ones ad infinitum. 

Consider using camel text which increases 

accessibility and read by screen readers. 

ie #GlampingCornwall rather than 

#glampingcornwall. 

Saving groups of hashtags on the notes 

section of your phone or in a folder will save 

you time too. Check out www.GravTag.com 

for hashtag suggestions too. 


GLAMPSITES 

5 

STORIES, GUIDES AND REELS 

Ensure that your social media is using both Facebook 

and Instagram Stories as well as grid posts. 

Stories are mobile full screen vertical videos or images 

that appear outside of your regular feed and last for 24 

hours before they disappear. Use them to show real/ 

unfiltered glimpses of life at your site that you may prefer 

to keep off your grid. Think rough around the edges and 

humour! 

Save your Stories into collections (aka Highlights) for 

later viewing. They offer endless features including @ 

mentions, location stickers and pretty much everything 

else. 

Have a look at Instagram Guides. These are essentially 

a collection of some of your pre-published posts. Guides 

straddle the space between a blog post and Instagram 

carousel posts. They may be really useful to showcase a 

particular accommodation feature. Each Guide includes a 

cover image, title, introduction and optional descriptions 

for entries. They appear in a dedicated tab on your profile 

and can be shared in Stories, DM and via email. Very 

useful! 

You may be familiar with the newly launched Instagram 

Reels. These are 15 second multiclip videos that you can 

create to share on Stories, Explore Feed and the new 

Reels tab. 

“BUILDING A STRATEGY IS KEY TO THE SUCCESS 

OF YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT. CONSIDER IT 

AKIN TO BUYING A MAP FOR A HOLIDAY” 

6 

FREQUENCY 

Clients often enquire 

about posting frequency. I 

recommend posting at least three 

times per week on Instagram grid 

posts and stories. For Facebook, two 

posts per week on your page plus 

stories and sharing relevant content 

in the newsfeed. Don't forget to 

adjust your posting frequency to 


Lisa Bullen runs Social Media Sussex, a 

consultancy providing social media training 

and advice for campsites and glampsites. Lisa's 

online short training course has featured in Cool 

Camping. She is also co-founder of The Secret 

Campsite in East Sussex. lisa@socialmediasussex. 

com / www.socialmediasussex.com/courses 

take seasonality into consideration, 

e.g. creating posts for your late 

availability. 

Building a strategy is key to 

the success of your social media 

content. Consider it akin to buying a 

map for a holiday. Yes you can wing 

it short term but in the long term 

creating a strategy will save you 

time and yield great results. 


S2T GRASS 

REINFORCEMENT 

PERFO 

interlocking tiles - effective 

protection for soft ground 

Finman Glamping 

Cabins and BBQ Huts 

Ideal for the reinforcement of 

parking areas, access tracks, 

pitches etc. at: 

- camping & glamping sites 

- open air event venues 

- country & leisure parks 

Tel. 01992 522797 

www.perfo.co.uk 

Our fantastic range includes 

traditional, contemporary, double 

storey and low profile designs to sleep 

or host a range of guests. Glamping Pods 

from £4,992 and Log Cabins from £1,287. 

“We are delighted with the Finman BBQ Hut. The 

quality of build is superb, and Logspan provided a 

very efficient fitting team. Logspan and its product 

have exceeded our expectations.” Alastair 

UNIQUE • QUALITY • CUSTOMISABLE 

01389 887205 info@logspan.com www.logspan.com 


GLAMPSITES 

SUPPLIER PROFILE 

The Pod Bods 

Along with huts for every occasion, The Pod Pods team 

also creates bespoke garden kitchens 

What does your company do? 

At The Pod Bods we specialise in external 

living solutions. From bespoke shepherd 

huts to garden kitchens and everything in 

between, we craft your vision and tailor 

make it to your requirements. 

Our shepherd huts can be transformed 

into anything from additional living 

accommodation to gyms and even saunas! 

The interior of your hut should reflect your 

personality and we like to really push our 

customers to explore design and see what 

can be created. 

How do you do it so well? 

We make every hut bespoke to our clients’ 

every requirements. Our huts can be 

customised and adapted to suit their every 

need. 

Our garden kitchens are also only 

limited by the space you want to use; we 

can create incredible external garden room 

settings and phenomenal places to relax 

with friends and family. 

Please give us a potted company history 

We started The Pod Bods after one of our 

commercial clients started to explore 

the different external options for serving 

customers a simple food and drink offer. 

This quickly evolved within the team in the 

office to varying degrees of commercial 

and domestic applications – and once we 

created our first hut we felt like the sky 

was the limit. The team have a design-led 

background so are all very passionate 

when it comes to the details and 

aesthetics of our huts and garden spaces. 

Describe your brand proposition 

The Pod Bods can provide you with your 

ideal external living solution. From a place 

to sleep over to a quiet but stylish corner 

to relax with a book or a fabulous garden 

kitchen to entertain friends and family, 

there is a Pod Bods solution to suit your 

lifestyle. We also believe our shorter than 

industry standard lead times set us apart 

from the crowd. The unique way our huts 

are designed and manufactured mean that 

we can deliver a completed hut within four 

weeks from client sign off of the design 

process. 

What is your ‘hero’ product/service? 

Our hero product would have to be our 

amazing range of huts. Available in three 

standard sizes, with a multitude of ways 

of adapting and configuring the space, we 

really do feel like we offer the most flexible 

bespoke shepherd hut build service on 

the market. Specifically, the hospitality 

hut, which is adaptable for both food and 

beverage services and can be equipped with 

all the necessary equipment to get a new 

business off the ground. 

Any extra special people? 

The Pod Bods wouldn’t be The Pod Bods 

without the whole team. Each member 

brings a skillset and level of expertise to 

the company that has put us where we 

are today. From details and design to the 

construction and manufacture of the huts 

themselves. It sounds corny but it really 

does take the whole team to produce what 

we do. 

Why should a customer get in touch? 

Our NATURE friendly DWELLINGS team is always | OUTDOOR available LIVING | HOSPITALIT 

to help make a vision a reality – from 

glamping accommodation to alfresco 

cooking/dining to hospitality huts for bars 

and outdoor restaurants, we will help you 

explore all the options. 

GET IN TOUCH 

The Pod Bods 

01924 677 002 

info@thepodbods.com 

www.thepodbods.com 

THE POD BODS 

GUEST 

THE POD BODS 

HOME O 

WWW.OPENAIRBUSINESS.COM 47 

CHALET 

HOSPIT

GLAMPSITES 


Bookings & Promotion 

Glampsites 

nationwide 

Service: Marketing agency 

Supplier: The Wanderlist, 

info@thewanderlist.uk / www. 

thewanderlist.uk 

Details: The Wanderlist’s 

aim is to provide guests with 

luxury, unique and inspiring 

accommodation from across 

the UK while providing owners 

with an innovative platform to 

advertise their properties and 

gain lots of direct enquiries 

through professional and social 

media marketing. 

In a world of hungry 

commission driven travel 

websites The Wanderlist strives 

to be personal, passionate and 

always commission free, helping 

owners to promote their unique 

spaces. 

Owners can sign up to one 

of two packages, gold or silver. 

These packages showcase 

the best of British self-catered 

accommodation via social media 

channels, the Wanderlist 

website, blogs, newsletters 

and national coverage in 

well-known newspapers and 

magazines. 

A key value at The 

Wanderlist is ensuring that 

owners feel seen and heard, 

and that’s why the team prefers 

to have a proper chat (tea and 

biscuits optional) about the 

accommodation before drawing 

up a bespoke listing. This way 

a true relationship is built at an 

individual level. 

Customer feedback: Kerena 

Pugh, owner of Lon Lodges, said: 

“The Wanderlist has provided 

our accommodation at Lon 

Lodges with a professional portal 

for marketing our properties to 

potential guests. With years of 

experience, The Wanderlist has 

been able to give advice and 

showcase our lodges as part of 

their online presence. Thank 

you.” 

Amy and Tom Jones, owners 

of The Burrow and The Warren 

at Dolassey, said: “Working with 

The Wanderlist has been so 

simple. We have had constant 

booking enquiries and some 

fantastic press coverage. Nothing 

is too much trouble for Laura and 

the team.” 

Parklife Campers, Buckinghamshire 

Product: Social media training and strategy 

Supplier: Social Media Sussex, lisa@socialmediasussex. 

com, www.socialmediasussex.com 

Details: Parklife Campers is an exciting new business 

hiring out VW California Oceans for holidaymakers. 

Founded by Katie and Ali Park, their beautifully specced 

and kitted out vans are perfect for those who wish to 

experience van life to the fullest. 

Katie enrolled on Lisa Bullen’s (Social Media Sussex) 

online course ‘How you can use social media to grow 

your campsite or glamping business’ followed by a oneto-one 

training session. 

Katie was full of ideas but struggling to organise them 

into an effective and logical strategy. She had a working 

knowledge of Facebook as a personal user, but not from 

a business point of view. Additionally, she was keen 

to learn how to use Instagram and maximise its newer 

features including Stories and Guides. 

Instagram offers Parklife a great opportunity to build 

their brand and create a community. By encouraging 

customers to use their hashtag #ParklifeCampers in their 

own Instagram Posts and Stories, Parklife can share user 

generated content of their VW vans out on the road on 

their own social account. This really complements and 

supports their own social Posts, Stories and Guides. 

Customer feedback: Katie Park, co-director of Parklife 

Campers, said: “The timing was perfect and from an 

initial intro with Lisa, it became apparent that she could 

help translate the numerous ideas I had and organise 

them into an order and create an effective plan. I needed 

a tried and tested format and an understanding of what 

was required to build a social media presence.” 


GLAMPSITES 

WE LOVE… 

Stainless steel fire pits from Firewok 

DETAILS 

For over 25 years Firewok has specialised in 

supplying fire pits to a broad range of customers. 

The range includes different sizes of Firewok for 

events, including festivals and weddings, and the 

tiny, super portable Camper Firewok for smaller 

glamping gatherings. The Camper Firewok even 

packs away into its own 16” bag. Every Firewok 

has removable legs for easy, no fuss storage. 

Firewok keeps its designs simple and 

beautifully made in stainless steel, 

which lasts a lifetime. Also, by 

handmaking everything at its 

Bristol workshop, including a 

range of cooking accessories, 

Firewok has developed a 

strong, loyal customer base, 

backed up by excellent after 

sales service. 

CONTACT 

Firewok 

info@firewok.co.uk 

www.firewok.co.uk 

OAB Loves 

Alfresco 

Dining 

WE LOVE… 

Recycled plastic seating and picnic tables 

from Glasdon 

DETAILS 

These seats, benches and picnic tables from 

Glasdon are made from the company’s Enviropol 

material, which is predominantly produced from 

post-consumer polyethylene and polypropylene. This means that 

the Enviropol slats on one of these seating products could contain as 

many as 102,420 recycled bottle caps! 

At Glasdon, the team has 60 years’ experience in designing, 

manufacturing and supplying essential products to improve outdoor 

spaces, enhance site safety and help support waste management 

systems. The range includes seating, litter bins, recycling bins and dog 

waste bins. 

CONTACT 

Glasdon UK 

sales@glasdon-uk.co.uk, www.glasdon.com 


GLAMPSITES 

WE LOVE… 

Finman BBQ Huts from Logspan 

DETAILS 

A Finman BBQ Hut allows guests to 

barbecue any time, whatever the weather. 

An optional extractor fan can be fitted 

making these cabins social, clean, safe, 

and practical glamping dining rooms which 

can be rented to guests as an additional 

revenue stream. 

Logspan is a family owned business 

that is dedicated to selling affordable, 

quality timber products, from BBQ huts 

to log cabin houses. Custom builds are a 

speciality and the team can design to your 

specification at no extra cost. 

The Finman range offers great value for 

money, with a BBQ hut expecting to return 

a profit within two years based on it being 

rented to guests. 

CONTACT 

Logspan 

01389 887419, info@logspan.com 

www.logspan.com 

WE LOVE… 

Outdoor fireplaces from Schiedel 

DETAILS 

The natural pumice gives this outdoor 

fireplace all the insulation needed to 

create a safe and spectacular focal 

point in any area. The relatively small 

footprint also means fireplaces can 

be placed against any wall in even 

the tiniest of outdoor spaces. The 

structure can be painted and custom 

designed, and can even include 

company branding. 

The volcanic pumice blocks are 

sourced from the Hekla Volcano in 

Iceland and the fireplace kit includes 

everything for an easy build and 

rendered finish. The smaller model 

includes a barbecue grill. 

Packages are now priced to include 

log stores, VAT and delivery to 

anywhere in the UK and Ireland. 

CONTACT 

Schiedel 

0191 4161150 

davinder.sangha@schiedel.com 

www.schiedel.com 

WE LOVE… 

The smoke free Solo Stove from Lyon 

DETAILS 

The Solo Stove Bonfire is unlike any other 

fire pit you’ve ever seen. It uses patented 

technology to create a portable fire pit perfect 

for glamping. 

The best part? Nearly no smoke and minimal 

ash left over, making the Bonfire not only easy 

to clean up, but it won’t leave guests smelling like 

campfire. 

The Bonfire gets its power from logs, larger sticks or woody debris while the 

air intake holes on the bottom pull air in towards the fuel source. While air is 

being pulled in, the double-wall construction allows it to be heated up and fed 

through the top vents providing an extra boost of pre-heated oxygen, creating a 

secondary combustion and a beautiful flame. 

CONTACT 

Lyon Equipment 

015396 26340, support@lyon.co.uk, www.lyonequipment.com 


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EVENTS 

CASE STUDY 

ALSO Festival 

One of the few festivals to happen in 2020, 

ALSO has maintained its profitability since 

it started eight years ago 

PICS BY THEBANFIELD, DEBBIE_BUTTERFIELD, NINARANGOYPHOTOGRAPHY 

With a backdrop courtesy 

of Capability Brown, this 

festival of music, comedy, 

arts and experiences 

makes its home at the 

Compton Verney estate in 

Warwickshire. 

We talk to Diccon Towns 

about keeping things niche 

and intimate. 

Describe your event and how many 

people it attracts? 

ALSO Festival is an eclectic mix of 

talks, music, comedy and food that 

attracts an up-for-it audience of 

around 1,500 in July. We are now in 

our eighth year and the theme for 

2021 is ‘You Animal!’ Our academics, 

authors and experts are the spine 

of ALSO and this year they’re 

exploring how animals can teach us 

to live, understand place, reset our 

Circadian rhythms and discover our 

mythological spirit – plus everyone 

looks good in bunny ears, right? 

Explain a bit about your venue and 

its history 

The venue is part of the Capability 

Brown designed Compton Verney 

estate. Think a 20 acre lake nestling in 

arcadian landscape. 

What is the event’s history? 

The event grew out of Salon London, 

a monthly event held in the capital, 

bringing cutting edge ideas from 

science, academia and the creative 

world to a more general audience. 

We decided to start the festival after 

finding an evening wasn’t enough 

time to explore some of the ideas we 

were covering. Plus we thought it 

would be fun. 

How about you? 

I've spent my working life flitting 

between live events and software 

development, always trying to learn 

something new. I'm also not afraid to 

put my hand down a blocked toilet. 

Career highlights: ALSO 2020 – 

delivering a fun, social, festival in the 

midst of a global pandemic. ALSO’s 

Disco Bunker – a hidden disco made 

of straw. It was the first ALSO folly; we 

add one crazy thing each year which 

really stretches us. 

How does the relationship work 

with your venue? 

We have the incredible fortune to be 


EVENTS 

related to the land owners who show 

phenomenal generosity in giving the 

land over once a year to the festival. 

What permissions have you needed? 

We run the event on an event licence 

from Stratford Upon Avon District 

Council. Initially we only had to make 

compromises to comply with noise 

restrictions. Last year (we were one 

of the few festivals to go ahead in 

2020) we had to produce a detailed 

event plan demonstrating the Covidsecurity 

of what we were planning. 

This included a move to outdoors from 

under canvas, physical distancing, 

an increased number of toilets, 

sanitisation stations and private toilets. 

How have you planned the layout 

of the event and what structures do 

you use? 

The layout has evolved over the years 

as content and requirements change. 

Since the pandemic, we’ve moved from 

hosting most content under canvas 

to staging a lot of it outdoors. We hire 

marquees, build temporary structures

EVENTS 

and have a couple of semi-permanent 

structures, all sourced via local 

recommendation. 

What entertainment do you offer and 

how did you choose and source it? 

Talks, music, comedy, workshops – the 

festival is run by a co-operative that 

counts talent bookers in these areas 

among its numbers. 

Music on ALSO’s main stage is all 

about discovery with new bands, 

up and coming acts and ‘audio 

adventures.’ For those that want to 

party, the Rum Shack has DJs from 

the afternoon into the evening, with 

dancing and cocktails by the lake then 

on to the Bunker till the early hours. 

Away from the madness, the Lake 

Stage plays host to the spiritual and 

the sublime. 

ALSO is packed with comedy in the 

form of workshops, improv, topical 

discussions and site-specific pieces, 

plus exciting new work from seasoned 

performers, wild late-night cabaret, 

courtesy of festival favourite Marcel 

Lucont, and our new woodland 

comedy stage. 

Food is a big part of ALSO. We’re 

already taking bookings for the 

Saturday’s picnic which takes place 

by the lake and is accompanied by a 

string orchestra. We work creatively 

with fabulous local suppliers, ones 

who take the best care of their 

produce and who, like us, are all 

about sustainability. 

ALSO is all-about trying something 

new – be it contemplative, creative 

or challenging. From tree walks to 

chocolate and whisky matching, 

open water swimming to building 

huge animal lanterns, many activities 

cost little to nothing to encourage 

participation. 

For wellness we offer a 5k run, cold 

water swims and a safe space in the 

woods to talk. 


EVENTS 

What provisions do you make for 

power, lights and sound? 

We generally have up to three 

generators, on-site lighting and 

amplification on all stages. 

How do you manage visitors? 

For admissions we use wristbands and 

visitor safety is undertaken via friendly 

stewarding. 

We have the best prices for glamping 

and there’s a hotel next door for those 

who don’t want to camp. 

How do you publicise the event? 

The usual, social media and PR. We’ve 

also had coverage in The Guardian, 

Independent, The Week, The Sunday 

Times, i, The Telegraph and Metro. 

What challenges have you faced? 

Our main challenge has been growing 

the festival while maintaining its 

intimate nature. 

“OUR MAIN 

CHALLENGE HAS 

BEEN GROWING THE 

FESTIVAL WHILE 

MAINTAINING ITS 

INTIMATE NATURE” 

How have you financed the event? 

ALSO is self-financed and, touch wood, 

is yet to make a loss. 

What are your plans for next year? 

Let’s get 2021 out of the way first! 

Otherwise, bigger and better! 


someone coming into the outdoor 

event industry? 

Find your niche and the right channel 

to communicate with your audience. 

ADDRESS BOOK 

MARQUEES 

Artisan Marquees 

www.artisanmarquees.com 

Cotswold Marquees 

www.cotswoldmarquees.co.uk 

STAGES & AV 

The Sound and Light Guys 

www.soundandlightguys.co.uk 

HEAT & POWER 

Woodlands Generators 

www.woodlandspower.com 

TOILETS 

B&W Toilet Hire www.bwhire.co.uk 

MERCHANT TERMINALS 

iZettle www.zettle.com 

DETAILS 

Also Festival 

2-4 July 2021 

Park Farm, Compton Verney 

Warwickshire 

www.also-festival.com 


Temporary Roadways Temporary Walkways Seating & Structures 

FULL INSTALLATION SERVICE ~ NATIONWIDECOVERAGE 

OVER 15 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN THE EVENT INDUSTRY 

E:info@gttrax T:@GTTrax 

WWW.GTTRAX.CO.UK 


EVENTS 

A Point of Difference 

We Are The Fair’s Rob Dudley shares two complex and bespoke 

builds created as differentiators in a crowded festival landscape 

AS LARGE-scale event and festival 

producers we have plenty of experience 

at We Are The Fair in delivering complex 

projects on behalf of our clients yearround. 

The pre-pandemic festival calendar 

(and, fingers crossed, the post pandemic 

landscape) was getting busier and 

more competitive meaning that many 

of our clients were keen to differentiate 

themselves from their competitors. 

These differences can span many aspects 

of the event such as the line-up and talent, 

the location (although once a great location 

has been established, it’s a hard decision 

to move), the ancillary entertainment 

(wellbeing activities, screening, talks and 

discussions, workshops and so on), the 

food and beverage offerings and the event’s 

overall look and feel. 

We have helped many of our clients 

achieve these differences for their festivals 

and events and of these a few really stand 

out in our minds for the unique challenges 

they presented and the successful impact 

they had on the audience. Here are two of 

my favourite examples. 

KISSTORY ON THE COMMON 

Kisstory is the sister station to Kiss FM, 

playing non-stop Old Skool anthems. In 

2018 we produced their first large scale 

festival, Kisstory on the Common (Streatham 

Common, London). Acting as the focal 

point of the show, the client wanted to 

make an impact with their main stage. 

We worked with our set build partners to 

design and produce the iconic ‘Boombox’ 

stage. This structure was made using Layher 

scaffold which was then clad with wooden 

panels, integrated with LED screens and 


EVENTS 

“WE WERE REALLY PLEASED 

WITH THE OUTCOME; THE 

STAGE LOOKED GREAT, THE 

DJS AND DANCERS REALLY 

ENJOYED PERFORMING ON 

THE STRUCTURE AND IT 

MADE FOR A GREAT PHOTO 

OPPORTUNITY” 

artistically set-painted. The finished 

structure acted not only as the DJ booth 

but a performance stage for live PAs and 

dancers, even allowing for safe dancing on 

the top. 

The whole project was overseen by 

one of our production managers working 

closely with one of our event safety 

advisors and was delivered in conjunction 

with our set builders to an enthusiastic 

reception, from both client and audience 

alike. We were really pleased with the 

outcome; the stage looked great, the DJs 

and dancers really enjoyed performing on 

the structure and it made for a great photo 

opportunity. The process was lengthy, 

intricate and involved multiple client 

meetings, site visits with suppliers and 

discussions with local authority building 

control and structural engineers. 

As the structural elements of the 

Boombox were delivered using Layher, 

once the show was over these were 

dismantled and then used again on other 

events. The scenic panels were carefully 

removed and placed in storage, ready for 

future events. These were successfully reused 

for 2019 but as we all know, unable to 

be used in 2020. We are currently planning 

to bring them out of storage for a return to 

action this Summer… fingers crossed! 

EASTERN ELECTRICS 

The Eastern Electrics brand is well 

established and in 2019 the festival was 

in its tenth year. Our team has been 

producing the show since 2017 and, during 

that time, the event had firmly established 

itself in its then home of Morden Park. 

To make it stand out in 2019, the 

client drew inspiration from Ibiza Rocks 

and decided they wanted a pool party 

at the London day festival… Well, why 

wouldn’t you? We subsequently rose to 

the challenge, and what a challenge it 

was; uneven ground, nervousness from 

the local authority, considerations for 

capacity management, changing facilities 

and overall health and safety as well as the 

practicalities of delivering 30,000 litres of 

water each day (and then chlorinating and 

testing). 

The pool was designed around an 

existing temporary swimming pool 

product which was then engineered to 

incorporate a steel deck surround and 

dressed with astro turf. We installed 

changing rooms and sourced a competent 

team of first aid trained life guards. 

We developed and implemented 

comprehensive operational and safety 

management plans and managed 

to achieve agreement from the local 

authority that the pool could be included 

at the festival. 

The pool went down a storm with the 

festivalgoers. Luckily the weather was on 

our side and the pool was busy throughout 

the event! 


Rob Dudley is a director 

at We Are The Fair, 

a specialist festival 

production and event 

safety agency. Rob has 

over 19 years of event 

production experience and 

heads up The Fair’s Health 

and Safety and Licensing division. 

His experience in managing and producing 

both large scale live events, festivals and 

exhibitions spans the UK, Europe and the 

US. Rob specialises in event and festival 

Health and Safety, helping a wide range of 

clients deliver their sometimes challenging 

events safely, in venues ranging from civic 

squares and private estates to green fields 

and London parks. 

www.wearethefair.com 


EVENTS 

Breaking Bread 

Impact Study 

How a pop-up tipi village in Bristol provided work for 100 

hospitality and event industry workers during the summer of Covid 

A RECENT impact report undertaken by 

the team behind pioneering Bristol tipi 

village, Breaking Bread, has highlighted 

the socio-economic and environmental 

impact of the project within the local 

hospitality industry. 

Breaking Bread was created by festival 

and event producers Team Love in 

response to the Covid-19 emergency 

regulations for the event and hospitality 

industries. At the beginning of 2020 these 

industries were worth £100bn (events) and 

£133.5bn (hospitality), both key players 

in the UK’s economy and vital to social 

cohesion. However, reports suggest that at 

the end of the pandemic we will likely see 

an estimated 700 000 job losses across the 

UK's pub and events industry, with 61 per 

cent of event businesses believing they’ll 

cease trading by spring 2021 without any 

directed help. 

The emphasis of this project was to 

provide a safe outdoor dining experience 

for people to reconnect with their 

social environment while keeping the 

hospitality and event sectors afloat in 

these challenging times. With resilience at 

its heart, Team Love re-engaged with its 

established clientele and invested directly 

into local partnerships to strengthen 

an existing chain of local suppliers, 

contractors, workers and producers. 

Breaking Bread launched in July 2020 

and featured some of Bristol’s most 

established hospitality venues; The Pony 

& Trap, Pasta Loco, The Love Inn and The 

Pipe and Slippers. It ran up until October 

of 2020, providing much needed activity 

for the region’s hospitality industry and 

supply chains. 

Team Love spent the winter months 

analysing the project impact, ahead of 

reopening for a 2021 edition with targets 

for improvements in all areas. 

KEY FINDINGS 

Throughout the three months of Breaking 

Bread’s operation, the project provided 

work for over 100 hospitality and event 

industry workers. Working with a supply 

chain of around 50 organisations – 36 of 

which were directly based in Bristol across 

the food, drink and events industries. 

One of the most illuminating statistics of 

the report however, is that by taking these 

100 staff out of the furlough and Universal 

Credit process, Breaking Bread saved 

the government an estimated £220,000 

through direct employment. 

The project was also a huge benefit to 

local suppliers with a direct spend with 

local contractors and suppliers sitting at 

£561,000. 

Project co-founder Josh Eggleton said: 

“The whole premise of Breaking Bread 

was to provide a circular economic boost 

for the region. These kinds of numbers 

show the potential here. At a time when 

the UK had nearly 10 million people on 

furlough, it was crucial financially as well 

as emotionally to do everything we could 

to bring that number down.” 

Breaking Bread also provided a 

significant boost for the city's residents. 

37,000 people visited the outdoor 

restaurants on Bristol’s famous Downs, 

with Breaking Bread selling out tables for 

its restaurant and pub gardens months in 

advance. 

Sustainability also played a huge factor 

in the project. Within the report the team 

highlighted that of the 16.4 tonnes of CO2 

the event emitted, was entirely balanced 

through global tree planting and land 

protection initiatives. With the team 

choosing to work alongside Ecolibrium to 

achieve this. 

Stringent waste management policies 

saw general waste handled by experts 


EVENTS 

impact, but to also understand how to 

improve in the future, we had to collect as 

much data as possible about the project. 

“This report is just the start of how we 

plan to operate our events in the future, 

tracking our environmental, community 

and economic impact so we can put in 

a process of continual improvement. 

We’re all passionate about producing 

experiences which also offer benefit to our 

city of Bristol, reducing food poverty and 

creating opportunities for our customers 

to engage with community projects in a 

meaningful way.” 

The report was authored by Pauline 

Bourdon, Team Love sustainability 

coordinator. To view the full results, 

visit www.breakingbreadbristol.co.uk/ 

impactreport 

Bristol Waste and food waste managed 

by Geneco, where waste was sent to an 

anaerobic digestion plant to be processed 

and into renewable energy sources and 

agricultural bio-fertiliser. 

CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT 

Breaking Bread is scheduled for a return 

in Spring of 2021, with the introduction of 

more community initiatives including The 

Team Canteen. Josh explains: “The Team 

Canteen will be a way of bringing people 

together through food. A centralised space 

amongst the tipis which will form the 

hub of a newly created CIC. It’ll be a fully 

equipped kitchen capable of providing 

education, training and food production, 

which we’ll be making available to local 

community groups and charities.” 

Penny Warner, production lead for the 

project, said: “Whilst the collaboration 

came around because of the Covid-19 

pandemic, all partners agreed that it was 

crucial that the operations benefited 

not just those directly involved but also 

other partners and people across the city. 

We realised that in order to evaluate our 

THE FIGURES 

• £220,000 – the estimated figure 

the project saved the government 

furlough schemes and universal 

credit process 

• 100 – the number of people the 

project employed 

• £561,000 – the amount paid to local 

suppliers and contractors within the 

project supply chain 

• 16.4 tonnes of CO2 balanced 

through numerous offsetting 

initiatives 

• 36,000 – the number of attendees 

over three months 


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EVENTS 

What Towersey Did… 

In 2020, the 57 year old Towersey Festival raised over £46,000 to keep itself afloat 

while maintaining audience engagement and income for artists. Now it’s planning 

how best to tackle the unknowns of 2021 

BACK IN March 2020, when the 

world got flipped on its axis, 

Towersey Festival was one of the 

very first events to cancel its live 

festival and move online for the 

year. 

“We felt we had to be 

proactive and take our audience 

with us on a digital journey 

through the year,” said festival 

director Joe Heap. “It was vital 

for us, for our audience and for 

the artists to have something 

to hold on to and to keep the 

unique Towersey spirit alive.” 

It wasn’t long before many 

others followed suit of course. 

Without any income for the 

foreseeable future, Towersey 

took the plunge and began 

a very active Crowdfunder 

campaign based around real 

rewards for exclusive festival 

goodies and access packages. 

Their audience embraced 

it and were rewarded with a 

year-round programme of online 

activity that featured ‘at-home’ 

festival weekends including over 

24 interactive workshops, three 

kitchen Ceilidhs (barn dances) 

and 15 gigs, with over 40 artists 

taking part. 

Towersey Festival’s online 

programme has now had over 

10,000 streams and all the 

content is still available to enjoy 

for free from the festival website. 

The Crowdfunder has had over 

1,000 supporters and raised 

£46,000, enough money to keep 

the festival alive and pay artists 

and freelancers for their work. 

“I want to thank our incredible 

audience, amazing artists and 

contributors and our team who 

supported and led this huge 

effort,” says Joe. “Towersey has 

always been ground-breaking in 

the way we approach our event, 

and this move to creative digital 

events has been no different.” 

A ‘PINT SIZED’ TOWERSEY 

The festival is now focusing 

on what the future might 

look like. Unlike many bigger 

events, the Towersey approach 

is “cautiously optimistic” 

according to Joe. Plans are in 

place for a smaller scale “pint 

sized” Towersey which it is 

hoped can go ahead, although 

much will depend on the success 

of the government’s Covid 

roadmap. 

“We are planning for a 

number of different scenarios for 

the 2021 festival depending on 

how the year pans out and we 

have some really robust socially 

distanced, reduced capacity 

plans in place if needed. Our 

smaller event is based on 

rules as they stand now with 

social distancing measures but 

hopefully this can be relaxed 

in the months to come. We 

also plan to stream from the 

mainstage so those at home can 

watch.” 

Fallback plans include 

another completely digital event 

with some large scale streaming 

as well as lots of workshops and 

interactive content. 

“There’s still so much up in 

the air for larger scale events but 

we feel like we have all bases 

covered.” 

The festival has been lucky 

enough to have recently received 

funding via the government’s 

Culture Recovery Fund. “This 

vital support will mean we 

are here for our audiences, 

community and artists as soon 

as it is safe to return and be 

#HereForCulture,” says Joe. 

“Thank you to Arts Council 

England and to the government 

for recognising the importance 

of our great festival and so 

many other vital cultural 

organisations who have been 

unable to operate for 13 months 

now. Thanks also to all of our 

wonderful customers and team 

for their continued support 

through 2020 and into 2021. We 

are not out of the woods yet, but 

we are certainly in a better place 

than we were.” 

ABOUT TOWERSEY FESTIVAL 

Towersey Festival is a 57 year old 

event celebrating everything a 

family festival should be. Now 

in the hands of third generation 

family member Joe Heap, 

Towersey has grown from a few 

music fans in his grandad’s back 

garden to an 8,000 attendee 

event now held at the Claydon 

Estate, Buckinghamshire, 

over the August bank holiday 

weekend. 


EVENTS 


Toilets & Showers 

Roskilde Festival 

Description: The Roskilde 

Festival is a Danish music 

festival held annually. It is 

one of the largest music 

festivals in Europe and 

the largest in Northern 

Europe 

Product: Peefence urinals 

Company: Peefence 

Telephone: +45 22 20 48 07 

Website: www.peefence.com 

Details: Peefence provides an easy-access 

sanitary 

alternative for men to simply ‘going’ in the fence. It works just like a 

regular urinal but is easy to install everywhere, leading away urine 

and smell alike. Roskilde Festival has been the perfect testing ground 

and Peefence continues to help the festival counteract their sanitary 

problems. 

The Peefence was successfully introduced at Roskilde Festival 

2015. Since then the urinals have hung there every year in increasing 

quantities. In 2018, 650 units were placed, and even more are 

planned for 2019. Meanwhile, Peefence has been increasingly 

used across multiple other sites in Denmark, from street events in 

downtown Copenhagen, to construction sites and football stadiums. 

2019 will be the year where Peefence goes international! 

Feedback: Christina Bilde, Roskilde Festival, said: “Peefence helps 

us eliminate urine problems and has thus improved the atmosphere 

for our guests significantly, in an engaging and environmentally 

friendly way.” 

Festival Wedding at The Wild 

Meadow Kent 

Description: Two day festival style wedding 

(www.thewildmeadowkent.co.uk) 

Product: Luxury toilet and shower trailers 

Company: GigLoo 

Telephone: 0345 333 8777 

Website: www.getgigloo.co.uk 

Details: The Wild Meadow Kent is a magical venue 

surrounded by beautiful ancient woodland with a 14 

acre level meadow perfect for structures. 

The GigLoo trailer units were ideal for this festival 

wedding - easily positioned with 4x4 vehicles and set up 

with simplicity and performance in mind. 

With areas to cater for campers, a stunning blessing 

area in the woods and a main party area with a fab tree 

maze, Gigloo set out the facilities to complement the 

activities during the weekend, working together with the 

organiser to ensure everybody looked and felt at their 

best throughout! 

Feedback: “Customers to the Wild Meadow are welcome 

to use their own suppliers, however for toilet and 

shower requirements we only work with GigLoo Hire. We 

started working with them last year due to the quality of 

their products, competitive price and great service.” 


EVENTS 

MTV Presents Ocean 

City Sounds 

Description: During the summer of 2018, 

MTV Presents Ocean City sounds hit 

Plymouth Hoe for two nights of live music 

with acts including Bastille and Pete Tong 

Products: Portable toilets, urinals, 

Pee-Pods, disabled toilets, barriers, 

fencing, and lighting towers 

Company: Brandon Hire 

Station 

Telephone: 03456 045337 

Website: www.hirestation. 

co.uk 

Details: Brandon Hire 

Station has a strong standing 

relationship with the events 

team at Plymouth City Council and 

provides the infrastructure for events 

and concerts across the city. 

Brandon Hire Station supplies several 

aspects of the infrastructure for the 

concerts including toilets. Most of the 

infrastructure is delivered and built 

within a two week period and delivered 

over several dates 

meeting scheduling 

requirements. It 

supplies 200 toilets, 

15 disabled units 

and 20 urinals/Pee 

pods, split evenly 

across two toilet sites. 

Single Plastic Units are 

used and a mix of Polyportable 

and Satellite brands. The Pee-pods are 

provided by Plastic Solutions. 

It also provides a Toilet Crew during the 

live events to keep on top of cleanliness 

and consumable supplies. Following the 

first evening concert, a full site sweep 

of servicing is carried out ready for the 

second evening of live events. 

After these events have taken place, the 

exit begins starting with the removal of 

toilets, meeting requirements that they 

must be off site the following day. The 

remaining infrastructure is dismantled 

and removed during the following week. 

Feedback: “Brandon Hire Station has 

always proven to go the extra mile 

for Plymouth City Council. The event 

officer always comments that nothing 

is too much trouble for last minute 

extras and changes of plan, they always 

accommodate.” 

The Big Feastival 

Description: A three-day 

festival welcoming some of 

the world’s top chefs and 

musical acts 

Product/service: Supply 

and management of over 600 

toilets and 80 showers 

Company: Prestige Toilet Hire 

Telephone: 01386 462554 

Website: www. 

prestigetoilethire.co.uk 

Details: The Big Feastival 

is a family friendly festival 

and the organisers need a 

company that will provide 

first class facilities and on-site 

management throughout the 

festival. 

Big Feastival not only 

expects Prestige to provide 

the toilet/shower hire and 

servicing, it also expects 

delivery and collection 

schedules to be adhered to, 

and Prestige has a dedicated 

transport and site-manager 

for larger scale events. 

Although festival goers 

attend The Big Feastival for 

culinary delights and fantastic 

music, they also expect a 

high standard of toilet and 

shower facilities. People 

always remember bad loos 

so the management of waste, 

servicing and cleaning is of 

top priority to Prestige Toilet 

Hire. 

The toilets and showers 

are arranged in the arena 

and campsites with luxury 

vacuum units in the boutique 

glamping area. Prestige offers 

individual toilets, luxury 

trailers and vacuum pods to 

the festival to ensure a good 

choice of facilities on-site. For 

families with young children 

it provides festival toilets with 

baby changing facilities. 

Feedback: “Our staff at 

Prestige Toilet Hire are a 

friendly crew and come rain 

or shine are always in good 

spirits and happy to help 

despite the weather. We are 

lucky to have a fabulous team 

working with us and our 

success at The Big Feastival 

and other events is down to 

their sheer hard work and 

determination to provide a 

top-class service.” 


EVENTS 

OAB Loves 

Marquees & Structures 

WE LOVE… 

The Magic Tea Pot by Qorone 

DETAILS 

Billed as the ‘friendliest festival venue’ and perfect for 

acoustic music and singalongs, the kettle is always on in the 

Magic Tea Pot! An intimate pop-up venue with a fireplace 

at its centre, the 12 sided structure measures 8m across 

and features built in bench seating all the way around, with 

further seating around the fire. Seen at festivals across the UK, 

the pop-up venue is hosted by a friendly crew of musicians, 

fire keepers and tea makers. 

Instruments come included with the hire package, with a 

tuned acoustic piano, guitars, trombone and saxophone – and 

anyone is welcome to play, creating an ever-changing vibe. 

The structure, called a Qorone, is also available to buy. 

Perfect for all sorts of fun times and new experiences whether 

it be to glamp, attend a workshop, celebrate with old friends, 

or make new friends around the campfire. 

CONTACT 

The Magic Tea Pot / Qorone 

magicteapotvenue@gmail.com 

07798 902209, www.qorone.com (purchase) 

www.magicteapot.co.uk (hire) 

WE LOVE… 

Stretch tents from Intent Productions 

DETAILS 

Founded in 2006, Intent Productions was 

the first company to introduce the stretch 

tent to the UK. Intent specialises in stretch 

tents and only stretch tents, offering tent 

hire, purchase and management packages 

to suit anyone's needs. 

As well as working on large scale 

structures for temporary events, Intent also 

provides bespoke and custom tents for the 

brewing and hospitality industry as part of 

its MyTent service. 

Intent Productions is a MUTA Member, 

committed to maintaining industry 

standards. Full health and safety 

documentation for all work is supplied both 

before rigging and after completion. 

CONTACT 

Intent Productions 

0208 947 2465, www.mytentuk.com 

www.intentproductions.com 


ISSUE 33 | January 2020 | www.openairbusiness.com 

ISSUE 35 | March 2020 | www.openairbusiness.com 

ISSUE 38 | October/November 2020 | www.openairbusiness.com 

ISSUE 39 | January 2021 | www.openairbusiness.com 

ISSUE 40 | February 2021 | www.openairbusiness.com 

EVENTS 

WE LOVE… 

Timber geo domes from Event In A Tent 

DETAILS 

These beautiful structures can be used as 

shelter structures or stages and come in 

two diameters – 12m and 15m diameter. 

Constructed with a timber frame and a textured 

polycotton cover, there is no aluminium frame 

or PVC to look at. 

Developing and designing domes so they are 

both visually stunning and practical has been 

a long process for the team and has been done 

in collaboration with an independent structural 

engineer. They boast an impressive wind 

loading capacity of 50mph and load bearing 

capabilities of 1.5 tonne. 

Event in a Tent also offers a stretch stage 

constructed using truss arches to create 

a variety of sizes dependant on a client’s 

requirements, as well as colours and branding 

options. 

CONTACT 

Event In A Tent 

01978 661449, info@event-in-a-tent.co.uk 

www.event-in-a-tent.co.uk 

BUSINESS 

BUSINESS 

BUSINESS 

BUSINESS 

BUSINESS 

Alfresco Dining 

STAYCATION 

INVESTMENT 

Customer 

First 

SUPPLIER 

SHOWCASE 


EVENTS 

> Legalities 

> Biophilic Design 

> Events Report 

> Seasonal USPs 

> Bespoke Structures 

> Changing Diets 

/ / 

> Wedding Insights 

> Professional Services 

> Marquees 

CASE STUDIES: HEATON HOUSE FARM • BROOK MEADOW • DOGFEST 

OAB Gathering 2020 – Don’t miss our very own conference this March! 


EVENTS 

› Promoting Events 

› Market Research › Testing Times 

/ / 

› Contingency Plans › Booking Channels › Necessary Change 

CASE STUDIES: 

SKIPBRIDGE COUNTRY WEDDINGS • TRECOMBE LAKES • WEEKEND AT THE ASYLUM 


› Venue Searches 

› Customer Excellence 

GLAMPSITES 

EVENTS 

› Tree Advice 

› Event Glamping 

/ / 

› Glamping Show › Coping with Covid 

CASE STUDIES: 

CHILLI BARN • MAD DOGS & VINTAGE VANS • HEVER CRAFT AND DESIGN FAIR 


EVENTS 

› Changing Habits › Casual Excellence › 2021 Predictions 

/ / 

› Industry Taskforce › Planning Exemptions › Marketing Post-Covid 

CASE STUDIES: 

THE ORCHARD AT MUNSLEY • HOLLY WATER HOLIDAYS • LANTERNS AT CHESTER ZOO 


EVENTS 

› Delegation 

› Instagram 1 

› Placemaking 

/ / 

› Start-up Venues › Small Space Design › Covid Insurance 

CASE STUDIES: 

HOUCHINS • THE PADDOCK RAMSBOTTOM • FRINGE BY THE SEA 

Spread the Word 

Open Air Business is now £36 per year 

www.openairbusiness.com/subscribe

Spot light 

A roundup of products for the outdoor hospitality industry 

EVENT EQUIPMENT HIRE 

GT Trax 

01487 823344 

info@gttrax.co.uk 

www.gttrax.co.uk or call 

Established in early 2005, GT Trax 

is one of the UK’s leading suppliers 

of temporary roadways, walkways, 

flooring, seating, fencing and 

structures. They offer a complete 

delivery, install, uplift and collection 

service, with fully trained and 

experienced site personnel. 

Their range encompasses heavy 

duty trackway and hardwearing 

non-slip walkways, alongside 

picket and Heras fencing. They also 

have a line-up of single and double 

Starshades, with seating provided 

by the unique Foldtable. 

So, for your next event, get in touch 

with the GT Trax hire desk and see 

how their equipment can enhance 

your visitor experience. 

BRITISH MANUFACTURE & 

BESPOKE DESIGN 

Bond Fabrications 

01453 767171 



Whether our clients are looking 

for beautiful luxury glamping 

accommodation or a unique outdoor 

event structure, we are passionate 

about creating, high quality, 

British-made beautiful canvas 

structures. Using a variety of frame 

styles, high performance technical 

materials and collaboration with 

structural engineers we can offer a 

personalised CAD supported design 

service for all manner and sizes of 

structures. With an emphasis on 

client-led design and 30 years of 

experience manufacturing bespoke 

tents at our Gloucestershire factory, 

we proudly offer a traditional design 

and supply service throughout the 

outdoor hospitality industry. 

INSTAGRAM @FITFORASUITCASE 

THE STOCK TANK POOL 

REVOLUTION IS HERE! 

Diptanks 

01823 586444 

info@diptanks.co.uk 

www.diptanks.co.uk 

Brand new to the UK market, 

Diptanks has brought stock tank 

pool over from the US, where they 

have long been used as dipping 

pools. 

Originally sold as livestock water 

troughs, these tanks are designed 

to survive outside in all weather for 

many years and have an authentic 

charm. 

Offering an alternative to outdoor 

baths, wood-fired hot tubs and 

paddling pools, these galvanised 

steel tanks are available as oval 

or round and come in a range of 

versatile sizes. They can be filterpumped, 

heated and even painted 

to your chosen RAL colour. 

BESPOKE LOG BUILDINGS 

Log Homes Finland 

01228 577 385 / 07881 921 339 

darryl@loghomesfinland.co.uk 


Buildings are constructed from slow 

grown Finnish pine logs, shipped 

directly from Finnish factories to 

customers throughout the UK. 

Logs range from 88mm-270mm in 

laminated logs and 300mm-500mm 

in hand scribed logs for natural 

character. 

The extensive range of designs 

include mobile log homes, log 

houses and garages, commercial use 

buildings such as cafes, home offices, 

bespoke holiday lets, and mini log 

cabins designed specifically for the 

luxury glamping market. 

Log Homes Finland aims to supply 

log buildings of quality that provide 

a sound investment due to the 

longevity and low maintenance that 

Finnish timber is renowned for. 


LOG CABINS & MOBILE HOMES 

Timberspecs UK 

01580 211800 

office@ecofriendlycabins.com 

www.ecofriendlycabins.com 

Timberspecs UK produces quality 

timber log cabins and mobile 

homes supplied anywhere in 

Europe. All buildings are well 

insulated, double glazed and have 

a range of roof cladding options 

including felt shingles, tiles and 

slate. 

The team of professional craftsmen 

design and build single or double 

storey structures to customers’ 

own designs. All buildings are preconstructed 

at the factory to ensure 

elements fit perfectly and arrive 

on site with a team of specialist 

installers. 

The log cabins can be built in any 

of a wide range of solid log options 

with budget, self-build options 

available. 

PERFO GROUND REINFORCEMENT 

SYSTEM 

S2T Group 

01992 522797 

www.perfo.co.uk 

S2T Group’s PERFO® range of 

ground protection products 

comprises a system of interlocking, 

self-anchoring permeable plastic 

tiles which are embedded into an 

existing surface, eg. a mature grass 

area or prepared base consisting of 

a layer of crushed stone chippings, 

depending on the application. 

A number of light to heavy duty 

solutions are available to suit varied 

ground conditions, traffic profiles 

and loading requirements. 

Unlike other geogrid systems, 

PERFO® tiles are usually installed 

without the need for excavation, 

being compacted directly into the 

existing surface using rollers or 

compactor plates. Installation is 

therefore rapid and planning issues 

less problematic. 

OUTDOOR DINING ALL YEAR LONG 

Astreea Igloo 

info@astreeauk.co.uk 

astreeauk.co.uk 

01884 254 013 

From winter to summer and 

everything in between, the Astreea 

Igloo has got you covered. 

The Astreea Igloo is a 

weatherproof bubble, designed for 

outside use, to protect your guests 

from the elements. But it isn’t an 

ordinary outdoor cover... Made 

in a European aerospace factory, 

the frame is made entirely from 

aerospace aluminium, meaning 

its built to last but without 

compromising on style. Available 

in three sizes to fit up to 16 people. 

Our igloos aren’t just for winter, 

you can use them all year 

round with a range of summer 

accessories allowing you to extend 

your business outside all year 

long. 

ECO TINY HOMES AND MODULAR 

BUILDINGS 

01604 785786 

info@theqube.co.uk 

www.theqube.group 

Northamptonshire based modular 

building experts The Qube has 

launched a range of stylish, 

sustainable, and affordable 

holiday accommodation. Having 

supplied modular buildings 

to the education and leisure 

industry since 2007, The Qube has 

expanded its product and service 

offering to cater for the hospitality 

sector. 

Specialising in SIP (structural 

insulated panel) construction, 

it offers bespoke solutions for 

modular buildings and tiny 

homes. Whether you are looking 

for a tiny home as an alternative 

accommodation offering, or a 

modular building for a park home, 

office, or small apartment, The 

Qube covers all requirements. Get 

in touch to learn more! 


Classified Directory 

Finman 

Glamping 

Cabins and 

BBQ Huts 

From 

£4,992 

Sewage Treatment 

Sales 

Installation 

UNIQUE • QUALITY • CUSTOMISABLE 

01389 887205 www.logspan.com 

TEAM 

SEPTIC 

01295 236 101 

sales@theseptictankstore.co.uk 

Call 01262 470475 or visit 

www.shepherd-huts.com 

Keeping Things 

Together 

Probably the largest selection of textile fasteners in the UK 

C RE® 

BAR& EVENTHIRE 

STYLISH CUSTOMISABLE BAR RENTAL 

01453 767171 



www.opas.co.uk 

DRY HIRE OR FULL SERVICE 

T: 0845 299 6499 - E: sales@core-barandeventhire.com 

www.core-barandeventhire.com 

70 WWW.OPENAIRBUSINESS.COM 

Advert - small.indd 1 16/04/2021 16:04:43

UK COMPANY SUPPLYING LOG HOMES FROM LAPLAND 

Bespoke Log Buildings 

01228 577 385 / 07881 921 339 


DINING 

DENS 

01654 700030 

07956 878157 

www.topcatbigtops.co.uk 

Colourful 

BIG TOP STYLE MARQUEES 

MANUFACTURE 

FOR SALE OR TO HIRE 

outdoor 

cover 

solutions 

info@event-in-a-tent.co.uk•Tel: 01978 661449 

www.event-in-a-tent.co.uk 

Toilet and Shower 

Manufacturing Services 

If you need help with the 

Safety, Security or 

Stewarding at your events, 

please get in touch 

01483 266486 / 020 8545 2492 

info@theeventpartnership.co.uk 

www.eepsafety.com 

The Green Pod Company 

Warren Farm, Old Down Lane, 

Morestead, Winchester, Hampshire, SO21 1JD 

www.thegreenpodcompany.co.uk | 01962 777362 


10 & 11 NOV 21 

NEC, BIRMINGHAM 

RUNNING 

ALONGSIDE: 

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1,000 

EXHIBITORS 

500 

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REGISTER FOR FREE TICKETS FARMBUSINESSSHOW.CO.UK | #FARMBIZ

PEOPLE 

Behind the Scenes with… 

Victoria Sigsworth 

We meet Victoria, who is 

getting events back up and 

running at the glorious 

Harewood House and 

planning for the first open 

air production of MAMMA 

MIA! this summer 

NO TWO days are the same in my role 

as events manager at Harewood House 

Trust and that’s the thing I love the most 

about my job: the variety. Yes, most of 

my days at the moment are currently 

spent working from home due to the 

pandemic, but in usual times, because I 

oversee such a varied and diverse area 

of the business, one day I could be stood 

in the middle on an event field taking 

sound readings, surrounded by thousands 

of happy, smiling visitors, and the next 

I could be managing an exclusive fine 

dining experience or drinks reception in 

the house for a prestigious brand, or even 

royalty. 

It also helps that I get to work in such 

an incredibly beautiful setting; not 

everyone’s lucky enough to say that their 

place of work was just recently voted as 

Yorkshire’s Large Visitor Attraction of the 

Year, too! 

One of the Treasure Houses of England, 

the historic Georgian house, surrounded 

by acres upon acres of stunning parkland, 

provides the perfect backdrop for any 

event or filming project. We have a 

growing programme of events which 

covers a broad portfolio of both public 

outdoor events and indoor venue hire. 

Events range from music concerts and 

large sporting events to weddings and 

conferences, and we’re always on the 

hunt for more new and innovative event 

opportunities and ideas to bring to 

Harewood. 

My day ordinarily starts just before 9am, 

however, as anyone who works in events 

will know all too well, this can often be 

at the crack of dawn in the midst of the 

events season! Needs must though, as 

it’s always important for me to be one 

of the first people on site to ensure that 

we’re all set and good to go for the day 

ahead (the beautiful sunrises over the 

estate definitely do help with the very 

early starts though, particularly since I 

don’t drink coffee!). At the moment, most 

days are currently spent working from my 

dining room table at home, with views out 

of the window overlooking my garden – I 

often find myself wishing I was back in the 

office with views over the vast Capability 

Brown landscape instead though. 

THE DOWNTON ABBEY FILM 

GEORGE HEATON 


PEOPLE 

SPINNING PLATES 

Whilst my laptop is firing up, I check my 

emails on my work phone in an effort to 

start prioritising the day ahead. I oversee 

commercial event and filming activity 

here at Harewood, so I’m often spinning a 

number of plates at once. I was taught the 

importance of prioritising my workload 

from my previous line manager early on in 

my former role as events and marketing 

coordinator, as managing and coordinating 

so many different elements and events 

alongside each other throughout the year 

can prove to be a bit of a juggling act. She 

also taught me to always wear sun cream 

and wear sunglasses; those long hours 

spent in an event field can play havoc with 

your skin and wrinkles – some of the most 

invaluable advice she ever gave me! 

I’ve certainly seen an increase in emails 

from the night owls since the start of the 

pandemic, possibly as a result from homeworking, 

so I hit the ground running from 

the moment my emails load on a morning. 

Having said that, I think the pandemic 

has seen a shift in the industry as a whole. 

With many of us now predominantly 

working from home for the time being, I 

can certainly say that the length of time sat 

on phone calls (or more so on Zoom right 

now) with clients has definitely increased 

– I think people miss the camaraderie of 

working in the office! 

We’ve changed the way we all work 

over this past year and I’m not going to lie, 

probably at least once or twice a day I find 

myself thinking ahead to later in the year, 

wondering what events are going to look 

like then and what speed bumps, if any, we 

may hit along the way. 

Arguably, the biggest challenge we’re all 

tasked with this year is ensuring the safe 

“THIS HAS MADE ME EVEN PROUDER THAN EVER TO 

WORK IN THIS WONDERFUL INDUSTRY WITH SUCH A 

RESILIENT BUNCH OF INDIVIDUALS” 

delivery of events in these challenging 

times, but having said that, safety is what 

we do best as event professionals, isn’t it?! 

That said, I’ve also seen a positive impact 

come out of the pandemic, namely in the 

way that my clients, colleagues and myself 

are continuously adapting to the changes 

and challenges that are put in front of us, 

on what seems like a regular basis at the 

moment. This has made me even prouder 

than ever to work in this wonderful 

industry with such a resilient bunch of 

individuals. 

JAM PACKED CALENDAR 

Much of my time at the moment is spent 

finalising our, what’s hopefully set to be, 

jam-packed calendar of outdoor events 

for this year. Work is already starting on 

next year too. As you might expect, this 

involves a lot of conversations, meetings 

and paperwork in making sure we 

have all of our ducks in a row, covering 

everything from risk assessments and 

traffic management plans to licensing 

and dealing with the local Safety Advisory 

Group. This does however also mean that 

outdoor site visits are back in business and 

there’s nothing I love more than being on 

site discussing exciting future plans. 

I can’t wait to start delivering live events 

again and I’m lucky that I get to work with 

so many hardworking, dedicated and 

like-minded clients, both new and repeat, 

who are all aiming for the same goal as 

me – to deliver an incredible, successful 

event, all with the best possible customer 

experience. 

One of the events that I’m particularly 

looking forward to this year is MAMMA 

MIA! which is coming to Harewood for its 

first ever open air stage show in August. 

It’s been a lot of hard work behind the 

scenes and is something that has never 

been done before at Harewood, but it feels 

great to be playing our part in getting not 

only the events industry back open for 

business, but also in supporting the arts 

on their return after a difficult year for all. 

We also have a number of other exciting 

event announcements coming up over 

the coming weeks, so do keep your eyes 

peeled for more. 

Nearly every day of my working week 

is spent working on smaller pieces of the 

big jigsaw puzzle and the hours are often 

long, but it all feels like a step in the right 

direction in getting the industry that we 

love back up and running again. 

HAREWOOD HOUSE TRUST 

DETAILS 

CHARLOTTE GRAHAM 

Harewood House 

Harewood 

Leeds LS17 9LG 

0113 218 1094 

victoria.s@harewood.org 

www.harewood.org/hire 


We’ve got you covered. 

The all season outdoor shelter solution. 

From winter to summer and everything in between, the Astreea Igloo 

has got you covered with a range of sizes, shapes and covers 

to suit your space and style. 

astreeauk.co.uk | 01884 254 013

March/April 2021

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