Thistledown Farm

Located in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Thistledown is a family run farm which has been managed organically since we bought it 15 years ago. Thistledown offers an alternative approach to camping: green values are emphasised, campfires are encouraged, the lower fields are car free and we have no allotted pitches.

Our farm offers more than just a spot to pitch a tent: footpaths wind their way through 70 acres of ancient meadow and woodland; past streams, woodland ponds, Roman troughs, animal paddocks, picnic spots and land art. We are planning a farm shop so that visitors have an opportunity to buy local produce from small scale suppliers (ourselves included), as well as local art and crafts.

The farm has a rich and varied history: neolithic hand tools have been found here, a rare iron age storage pit, the remains of various roundhouses, evidence for Roman occupation, and later deer wall enclosures claimed part of the farm for the Woodchester Park estate. After purchasing the farm we re-instated the green-top organic milk and also established the largest elderflower orchard in the world in partnership with Bottle Green Drinks! Our focus is now primarily on camping and environmental education and management. We are keen to establish more courses using the land, and we are a wildlife receptor site, rehoming species that have been disturbed by development.