Diversification' is the buzzword in the farming industry. It's shorthand for ‘there's no profit in farming any more, so let's do something else instead'. That's exactly what the Fairmans have done at South Penquite, a 200-acre farm on the edge of Bodmin Moor.
They built a website to promote their attractions: camping, fishing, school field trips and art days. And they transformed the farm: it achieved full organic status in 2001. The Fairmans care as much about their site as they do their farm. The well-maintained camping fields have restricted numbers so they never get overly busy. The unmarked pitches are huge and there's plenty of room for kids to run around. Solar panels on the pine-clad shower block deliver heated rainwater into four family-sized bathrooms, lined with recycled plastic bottles and yoghurt pots, so you're doing your bit for the environment just by keeping clean!
The innovation doesn't stop there. Three authentic Mongolian yurts sit in an adjacent field. Named Daddy Bear (the largest; sleeps six), Mummy Bear (sleeps four) and Baby Bear (sleeps two), the round-top tents are fully equipped to provide an agreeable balance between ‘back to nature' and ‘home comforts'.
There is a spiritual quality in the moorland around here; you can almost feel ancient pagan forces at work as the light wind rustles through the trees. If diversification allows us to rediscover such beauty in our countryside, we're all for it.
