North Wessex Downs Walking Festival -11th to 26th June
To mark the 50th Anniversary of the designation of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the second North Wessex Downs Walking Festival will be held from 11th to 26th June.
Built in the 15th Century, Tichborne’s Farm near Devizes was part of a larger estate owned by the Tichborne family. By the early 19th Century, if you had visited the farmyard, you would have seen the milking byres of a dairy farm, which would eventually become our four star holiday cottages. Dominating the farmyard was a large Granary built of wood under a tiled roof standing raised up on large saddle stones, which were eventually used in the construction of the present-day cottages.
Drawn by the peace, quiet and stunning surroundings, Jon and Judy Nash bought Tichborne’s in 1972. They quickly realised that the old farmhouse, barn and tumble-down cowsheds all needed immediate attention. Since that day, the Nash family has been continually building and renovating.
First, alongside restoring the farmhouse, landscaping the gardens, improving the 50-acres of farmland and bringing up their family, Jon and Judy tackled the old milking byres, rebuilding and converting them into stables for breeding horses.
Their long-held ambition, to share the farm and the local countryside with others by creating self-catering holiday cottage accommodation, was realised in 2002. After a great deal of planning, they finally took the plunge and transformed the stables, creating Linnet, Swallow and Kestrel.
The Nashes didn’t stop there! In late 2011 they added three solar panel systems to reduce Tichborne’s carbon footprint. The panels are located away from the holiday cottages on another farm building roof and give power to all the cottages, the farm and the farmhouse. In addition, all the farm’s water comes from a borehole which provides wonderful, chemical-free water that has been filtered through the chalk downs of Salisbury Plain. Our water is tested by Wiltshire Council annually to confirm it remains in perfect condition and is suitable for us and the guests to drink.
The farm is the perfect location for a quiet break – far from the road with plenty of space for youngsters to run around safely while the adults relax on the patio with a glass or two of wine.
I’m a stickler for standards so we didn’t cut any corners when we converted the holiday cottages. I was determined that the accommodation should feel like a home away from home, somewhere I’d be delighted to stay myself. I think we’ve achieved this objective.
To mark the 50th Anniversary of the designation of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the second North Wessex Downs Walking Festival will be held from 11th to 26th June.
Wiltshire has been awarded "Best UK destination" at the annual Group Leisure and Awards ceremony.
We are proud to announce that we have Tichbornes has successfully applied for the We’re Good To Go Industry Standard.