A great value weekend for up to 20, blending bushcraft skills, campfire carousing, luxurious bell tents and fabulous food...

Babes in the Woods is a hen do with a difference. While there’s no shortage of fizz and fine food, you trade in L plates and pink sashes for the chance to bring out your inner girl guide.
Just 2 1/2 hours on the train from London (with a group discount on tickets!), it's handy from Totnes station and in an idyllic Devon location near the river Dart. From your Saturday morning arrival to your Sunday afternoon departure, you will be treated to a fully catered, fun-filled hen party like no other. Learn a bit of bushcraft, walk in the woods or enjoy early morning yoga if you aren’t suffering too much on Sunday. There are two big bell tents for everyone to crash in, but proper beds in case you’re worried about the pamper to camper ratio. If your desired dates aren't free, or the location isn't just right, take a look at Babes in the Woods: Malverns.

For a full itinerary, take a look at the Essentials on the right. For an extra special touch or two, you can have musicians and masseurs brought in to entertain or relax you!

• Esentials
• Getting there
• Eating & Drinking
• Things to do
• Booking terms
• Meet your hosts

The essentials

The important stuff

• Check in time is 9am - 11:30 am, but you might be a little late if you get the train
• Check out time is 4pm on Sunday
• You are welcome to bring your own favourite drinks for the evening, but are requested not to consume alcohol during the day, as your safety during courses and on site is a priority
• The price is £217 per person for the whole experience
• At the risk of labouring the point a little, Babes in the Woods would like to remind you that this IS camping and that you might want to bring:
• No more than one smallish bag
• Nothing that won’t be alright taking a four-wheel drive trip to the site
• A torch
• A towel and flannel
• A water bottle
• Your booking pack
• Any medication you might need
• Closed toe footwear
• Wellies or other walking boots
• Waterproof coat and trousers for inclement weather
• Warm hat for nighttime
• Dresses, feather boas, huge hats (no really)
• Your choice of alcohol
• Camera
• Back-up chocolate

Kids & Pets

Cooking

• Babes in the wood is a fully catered weekend. You won’t want for food

Washing

• The carpeted, shabby chic bathroom tent is equipped with an eclectic collection of Victorian washstands, jugs and ewers and is tended by Babes in the Wood staff.

Heating, lighting & bedding

• All bed linen is provided

Entertainment

• Your full itinerary:
• SATURDAY
• 11am arrival tea party
• Walk to secret site, bags transported
• Woodland tour & settle in
• Lunch
• Bushcraft session one: Fire-making
• Afternoon refreshments
• Bushcraft session two: Survival shelters
• Bubbly & Nibbles evening reception
• Dinner
• Night beside the fire: private group time or night time games
• SUNDAY
• Optional Early-bird yoga or meditation
• Breakfast (in bed if requested)
• Bushcraft session three: make hedgerow lip balm / seasonal jam to take home
• Lunch
• Optional Wildwalk
• Cream Tea & Closing circle
• 4pm departure

Getting there

Babes In The Woods, The Raleigh Estate, Hole Farm, Dartmouth, Devon TQ6 0JG

By Car

The journey from Totnes takes about 30 minutes. Take the A381 towards Kingsbridge / Dartmouth. Go through Harbertonford village and Halwell village and when you pass your second garage, turn left onto the A3122 signed to Dartmouth. Keep heading towards Dartmouth and when you see the pub The Sportsman's Arms, turn left towards Capton. Keep going along this road, past the Capton turn off, until you get to a crossroads called Bozomzeal. Turn right here and keep going until you arrive at the Raleigh Estate.

If you travel by car there are spaces available to park within the grounds of the Raleigh Estate – parking will be on grass next to an orchard.

Public Transport

Totnes is the nearest train station and is on the mainline rail network from London, Bristol and the North. From Totnes you can get a group taxi to Babes in The Woods who are happy to recommend HAPPY CABBY for your group. 01803 559292/07979 044146 or steve@happycabby.net

Eating & drinking

All meals included!

A big part of your hen party will be the delicious food and drink which is included in your stay at Babes in the Woods. They have a

wonderful chef who cooks just about everything, including focaccia bread and Devonshire scones. They can cater for all diets and source food as locally and seasonally as they are able to, often raiding their own garden and local hedgerows for wild garlic and herbs, nettles in the spring and apples in the autumn. They style is "gourmet rustic" and is always hearty and tasty.

 Your Babes in the Woods experience includes a 3-course main meal on Saturday evening and 2 courses for both the lunchtimes. Fried egg butties are the breakfast staple, served with red onion and rocket and delivered into the bedroom tents if requested. Of course muesli and yogurt are offered as a healthier alternative if you'd prefer. 

Another delicious event of the weekend is the cream tea served on Sunday before your departure.

Organic coffee and teas are available throughout the weekend.

Things to do

Your two days

A Babes in the Woods hen weekend comes with everything you could need. Not just food and fun, but skills and a real sense ofhaving experienced the woodland to take away with you too. There's bushcraft and walking on offer, but the odd indulgence as well. Here's the full itinerary:

Saturday

• 11am arrival tea party
• Walk to secret site, bags transported
• Woodland tour & settle in
• Lunch
• Bushcraft session one: Fire-making
• Afternoon refreshments
• Bushcraft session two: Survival shelters
• Bubbly & Nibbles evening reception
• Dinner
• Night beside the fire: private group time or night time games

Sunday

• Optional Early-bird yoga or meditation
• Breakfast (in bed if requested)
• Bushcraft session three: make a spoon / seasonal jam to take home
• Lunch
• Optional Wildwalk
• Cream Tea & Closing circle
• 4pm departure

Babes in the Woods welcome you bringing your favourite drinks for the evening and will provide glasses. They request that no alcohol is consumed prior to the evening as your safety on the courses and on the site in general is a priority.

There are also optional extras such as musicians or story tellers for the Saturday night. You can also arrange pampering treatments and therapies, right there in your tents.

Meet your hosts

About The Raleigh Estate and a little history

Babes in the Woods is located within a 1,000 acre private estate once owned by Sir Walter Raleigh which has now been passed down to his descendants.

As you enter into the estate you’ll see an Elizabethan fire beacon. This falls on the footpath from Dartmouth to Dittisham (or vice versa) and is situated on the high ground up above Bozomzeal. With wide ranging views across to Dartmouth, Dartmoor, Torbay and even Portland on a clear day it's not difficult to see why the original beacon was located here. It was part of the system devised by Sir Walter Raleigh to warn of an impending invasion by the Spanish.
Raleigh's part in the defeat of the Spanish Armada was considerable. Indeed, the flagship of Lord Howard's navy was the 'Ark Royal', a ship designed and built by Raleigh.
During his time as favourite to Queen Elizabeth I Raleigh amassed large estates in England and Ireland. However, after his execution in 1618 Sir Walter Raleigh's property and estates were sequestered by James 1st, and the family left virtually destitute. The Raleigh family fortunes rose and fell during the 17th and 18th centuries, but by the middle of the 18th century things began to improve and a military and minor diplomatic tradition was established. There were Raleighs serving in both the 11th and 13th Regiment of Foot (the county regiments of both Devon and Cornwall) and as Military Secretary to the Government of Gibraltar and on the staff of the Duke of Wellington. And it was actually one of these later descendents of Sir Walter Raleigh who purchased the current estate from Sir Henry Seale in the late 1800s. 

Environmental Policy at Babes in the Woods

The Babes in the Woods ethos is to offer a luxury camping experience, set within a low impact environment. This allows women to celebrate their hen-do in style without damaging the precious and beautiful natural world. In fact, the day after your celebration, apart from the semi-permanent structures, you wouldn’t know anyone had been there as we operate a leave no trace policy.

At the site they recycle bottles, plastics and paper and use a (not at all scary) compost toilet. Food is sourced as locally and seasonally as possible, and during foraging for wild food they emphasize the importance of gathering from many areas rather than depleting one source. The idea is very much that people are the visitors and guests of the woodland, and that the native plants and animals are the true host.

Wildlife

Typically for this area the terrain consists of steep wooded valleys, rolling countryside and fertile farmland. Much of the Estate lies within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and there are also sections designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

At its lowest point the Estate enjoys considerable river frontage along the River Dart and Old Mill Creek. The highest point is at Coronation Copse some 163m above sea level. The woodland on the estate is a mixture of broad-leaved trees such as Oak, Ash, Beech, Elm, Hazel, and softwood plantations of Larch, Douglas Fir and Norwegian Spruce. River birds, badgers, foxes, owls and deer are just some of the wildlife that dwell within the estate.