Sustainable Activities near Coombe Farm in Devon

There are plenty of fun activities at Coombe that do not involve driving for miles, excessive consumption, or other unsustainable use of resources. Coming to Coombe is about leaving the busy world behind anyway and an added bonus is that most of the things you will do while you are here are sustainable and result in zero or low CO2 emissions.

Green Daze at Coombe - give your car a brake

Now you're here why not spend some time at Coombe so you don't have to think about venturing back out into the so-called real world - traffic, crowds, queues, exhaust fumes. But what can you do on your doorstep, children as well as the adults and teenagers?

For a sunny day:

We'd recommend a day of complete relaxation by the solar heated pool with the energy efficient luxurious "hot tub"  alongside it - fantastic for all but especially for those who cannot swim.

Then if you're feeling particularly energetic, try our pool side badminton. If the children start to get bored there's always the trampoline and swings.

You can order a local picnic basket and have it by the pool, or make your own to carry down  (picnic baskets can be found in the main house). In our woods, there is (approximately) a 3 minute walk to our newly made picnic tables in the Goyle area, or a further 10 minute walk to the oak tree site, which has plenty of wooden benches where you can enjoy picnicing under the ancient oak tree, surrounded by the amazing array of wooden chainsaw sculptures - dragons, owls, castles to mention but a few.

For a rainy day:

The  renovated thatch cider barn awaits you! It's so cosy in there with its thick walls (rebuilt with clay from the farm) and warm slated underfloor heating under your feet. A great place just to hang out if you are a teenager, and get into the spirit of the pool table competitions, table tennis tournaments and table soccer games- we have seen families involved in major league competitions for the entire week with a prize giving night at the end.

The younger ones might like to take over the other end of the barn as a performing arts studio for putting on a show for their elders - they use the dressing up boxes from the house for their costumes. Chairs similar to a theatre are set up and the spot lights go on.

There are numerous board games in the library of the farmhouse to play, together with an endless variety of books to read.

The piano is tuned to concert pitch in the farmhouse and we just love to hear music wafting out of it. Any other instruments are most welcome. Tim likes to play a bit of Irish fiddle, Sofia is learning the flute and you may sometimes hear us on our drums. Please do not hesitate to join in with us if you play an instrument (we don't demand high standards it's just for fun)- we are open to unplugged music sessions in the barn as it has great acoustics.

For even deeper relaxation you can contact our local mobile Thai Massage therapists, Paul and Lucy, to come to the farmhouse and treat you on site in the luxury of your own space.

Lucy instructs Yoga for beginners and Paul instructs intermediate/advanced Yoga . They will teach a group here in the barn or can also do a yoga lesson as a one to one.

Wednesday evenings at 6.30 pm we have Yoga classes open to everyone held in the barn and run by our local sustainable villages group.

Read more in the Massage & Therapy section.

Coombe Farm woods Walking

1. The closest area 2-3 mins walk from the house

Walk down the track through the farm and first of all on your right you'll see the old farm well, protected by a glass door and aligned (through ley lines)with St Michael's Mount in Cornwall and nearby Huntsham Castle. Go through the first gate and please close behind you and onto the next gate and please close behind you. It's on your right as you enter the woods beyond the swimming pool and the well.

This being the closest site for toddlers to walk - you can have your very own teddy bears picnic (there are plenty of teddy bears in the toy boxes) Outdoor rugs are with the picnic baskets in the cupboard/room adjoining the lounge.

2.  Turn right onto the footpath above the stream/pond continue until you see steps take the first set of steps up to the left. At the top take a right onto a broader track and then the next left. Keeping going for a few hundred yards through a very beautiful larch plantation where thinning has been completed and the wooden stumps are converted into magical mushrooms and castles etc. and then cross a tiny tiny foot bridge and you are there. You know you are there when you see all the wooden sculptures surrounding the oak tree and the wooden benches

The "Old man" which is the name of the old oak tree is approx a 10 min easy walk. He is a huge very powerful oak tree approx 400 years old and very special - we have held wonderful moving wedding blessings here. There are swings which hang from the old branches and an old face stares down at you. We think the adults enjoy it as much as the kids as there is a double swing which holds two people. It is an excellent picnic site - especially if it is very hot and sunny and you are looking for shade.

3. Opposite the little bridge at the oak tree is another path which follows down to the collapsing pianos - believe it or not we have pianos in our woods which are now sadly falling apart but good fun, from there carry on down  to the main track, turn right and follow it all the way through up to the turning circle where we stack out timber. We have built two massive barns in that area this winter 2010/2011. Keep going past that until you come to the next roadside map and an old quarry on the right side. Follow up along a footpath through a beautiful stand of mixed woodland until you get to the top and a field. Turn right and keep going up until you arrive at Huntsham Castle.

Huntsham Castle is approx a 50 min round trip walk from the farm house. The Castle is not a castle but is a prehistoric earthworks, 'a univallate hillfort,' scheduled monument of some archeological importance dating from between late bronze age and early iron age (8th - 5th centuries BC). It was probably used as a stock enclosure, a market, place of refuge or a permanent settlement. The highest point in the area, with stunning views stretching as far as Sidmouth Gap on a clear day, there's an old ordnance survey triangulation point located at the pinnacle, 864ft. Strangely enough there's also a good sweet-water well located right next to Huntsham Castle. The Parish Boundary between Huntsham and Tiverton runs across the castle marked by a line of huge, beautiful, ancient beech trees.

You can walk through the woodland to get to Huntsham Castle and see the amazing views for miles around then walk back through the fields with equally wonderful views.

To make your walk more comfortable with a rest in the castle enclosure we can provide a backpack picnic pack and also a picnic basket.

Woodland entertainment for kids: 10 mins walk

4. For older kids to make their own obstacle courses and huts (and have camp fires, only during wet season, come and talk to Tim/ Angela) that walk is to the left of the pond as you enter the woods - follow the path and cross the stream. This brings you to a pond with 3 little wooden seats at one end and back behind the pond is the more open wooded area, a plantation of Norway Spruce, where there are 2 existing huts and plenty of logs for playing with obstacle courses etc. It's up to you kids - get creative and start building.

Then you can take a stroll down to Lower Coombe to see the horses in livery - bring your own horse if you want - and have a chat with Pam and William Roffe Silvester about horses and the organic beef. We have our own Aberdeen Angus bull for the meat quality and mainly Devon Ruby heifers as the local breed. Most guests have a joint on Sunday for the lunch or in Summer weather permitting, they will BBQ the delicious burgers, sausages, steaks etc. You can take home with you any order of beef and ice pack your eskie for your journey home.

On site cycling

There are 4 bikes here at Coombe for you to use - see Tim. Cycling from the farm house through to the end of the woods is an excellent route. It can be muddy and bumpy for the first 10 mins but once you are through to the 'turning circle' is all good stoned tracks. It takes anything from 30-40 mins to do the round trip. Go past Meredown Coverts, Western Close Copse, Beech Close Copse and Thorney Copse out to the public road, a tiny lane, turn right and it will be a round trip back to the farm by road very pleasant also. We make no charge for use of the bicycles just ask users to let us know if there are any mechanical problems. Don't hesitate to ask us for the forest map with paths and bridleways marked. If more bikes are needed we have an excellent bike hire 8 mins from Coombe Abbots Cycle Hire - who will deliver bikes to our door and very reasonable rates.  You may also drive to them to hire bikes and start from their doorstep directly onto the Tiverton Canal - 12 miles of uninterrupted cycling bliss without any traffic only fellow walkers.

We are a member of Sustrans - you can read more about this on our transport page.

Green days local to Coombe

Tiverton - nothing more than a 20 minutes drive away (most are only 10 minutes away)

The Grand Western Canal good for walking, cycling and horse drawn barge rides.

Knightshayes Court Victorian National Trust house and gardens with shop and cafe.

Tiverton Museum of Mid-Devon Life

Tiverton Castle

Devon Railway Centre - steam and diesel engines.

Bickleigh Mill - working water mill, shop, nice restuarant, local pottery available, trout fishing pond.

Exe Valley Leisure Centre - local indoor heated Swimming Pool for adults and babies.

Tiverton Tourist Office - can be found next to the bus station.

Tiverton Skatepark - next to the Exe Valley Leisure Centre.  Various sized ramps suitable for scooters, skateboards and BMX biking.

Outdoor activities

Wimbleball Lake - A majestic Lake in Exmoor National Park offering newly upgraded first class facilities for both on and off the water. Information can be found at both these sites:
Active Exmoor: Wimbleball Lake
The SW Lakes Trust: Wimbleball Lake

The following websites are members of the Green Business Tourism Scheme and cover many activities within 30 minutes of us.

South West Lakes Trust - the region's largest combined environmental and recreational charity. Its 50 inland water sites, spread across Devon, Cornwall and West Somerset, attract in the region of 2m visits annually.

Active Exmoor - hundreds of ideas to help you get the most out of Exmoor.

ExploreMoor - Car free walks and other information to explore Exmoor without the car.

Tiverton Ramblers Group - Tel: 01823 673348  Find Walks - Click here.  Programme - Click here.

Distances to local towns

Taunton - around 30 minutes drive away
Taunton information - visit this website to find places to go in Taunton.

Exeter - around 35 minutes drive away
Exeter Cathedral
Exeter tourist information

More information on Green days out

For more information on green days out in general why not visit the following websites www.sustrans.org.uk and www.visitsouthwest.co.uk/feelgood