Meadows, streams and old woodland to explore.
Guests at Vine Cottage and Groom Cottage are free to wander walks and paths across about 100 acres of meadow, streams and old woodland. The valley is quiet and well away from the road, with bluebells in spring and space for children to play.
Woodland and wildlife
The farm includes about 65 acres of woodland. The first part, as you walk from the farm, is an old oak plantation, and we believe some of the oaks along the drive and on that side of the valley are up to 400 years old. Elsewhere there is a mix of oak, beech, hazel, birch and other trees, including secondary woodland that has regenerated naturally and a plantation of 2,500 trees from 2010.
In spring the woods fill with bluebells, and there are streams and meadows to explore. Lovehayne is a working farm and a home for a wide range of wildlife, from woodland birds and butterflies to fallow and roe deer.
Flora and fungi
Look out for bluebells, primroses, wild garlic, violets and honeysuckle through the seasons, along with a wide range of fungi and lichens in the woods.
Tennis, basketball and playground
There is a tennis court with a basketball net, with rackets and balls provided. Badminton rackets and shuttlecocks and a basketball are there to use too, and the court is also a good place for little ones to ride their bikes if you have one with you. Please put the equipment back and let us know if anything is broken.
There is also a children’s playground, for children only.
Nanny’s Water
At the southern end of the farm, the boundary is marked by Nanny’s Water, a small tributary of the River Coly. It makes a fun spot to build a dam or have a paddle, and fossils and other treasures have been found in its waters. It can flood during the winter, so please take care near the water.
A little history
The farm sits in a sheltered valley that has been lived in for a very long time. The house and farm buildings originate from Saxon times, when it was typical to build below the brow of a valley for shelter from the wind and for security.
The farm originally had three Bronze Age burial mounds. Finds from the wider Lovehayne area are now owned by Exeter Museum, and a Lovehayne collection is on show at Sidmouth Museum. Nearby Blackbury Camp is Iron Age, and there are the covered remains of a medieval chapel next to Nanny’s Water.
Please take care around farm vehicles, ponds and livestock, stay on the walking routes provided during a stay, and do not approach or feed the horses or other animals.