The Oyster Catcher
Norfolk, United Kingdom
Bagthorpe Farm
- Geodome for 2 from £105 per night (read our low price promise)
- 1 double
Not suitable for children
Not suitable for pets
Overview
While you may spot Norfolk’s noisy, wading bird – and your biodome’s namesake – on a jaunt to the coast, from your home for the night you could spot owls, the snowy white sandwich tern and even the impressive marsh harrier. Settle down on deck with a hot chocolate and a birdwatching book to decipher the swooping and calling wildlife – we can’t promise it will help you discern the nocturnal snuffling, however. From your big turquoise bed you can sleep soundly as the warmth of the wood burner keeps the dome toasty until morning. Wake to peace and quiet, a hearty barbecue breakfast (order a hamper of local goodies in advance), cold milk in the ice box and a camping gas stove to heat the kettle in the half-dome next door, where there’s also a flushing loo. You’re off grid, so there’s no TV, Wi-Fi or electricity, but the night sky is bright enough to light your way and a torch will see you back from the car after picking up fish and chips from Eric’s in Thornham, or dinner out at the pub in Stanhoe. Pick up locally-produced supplies for breakfast and lunch, like raw milk at Binham Dairy or a loaf of award-winning Pastonacre sourdough at one of the many farm shops and markets nearby. Forage for samphire or wild garlic (or plunder the pots of herbs on the deck) to season your concoctions.
The hustle and bustle of Burnham Market is a few miles distant, so you’re not totally adrift in the sticks. There’s plenty to do in the area: take a trip to Holkham Hall for the open-air cinema or summer festivals, there’s a great beach café too. Norfolk’s wide, unspoilt beaches are on the doorstep, the broads and marshes offering a watery playground and paddle boarding possible a Burnham Overy Slaithe. Nick and Emily decamped from London to return to Emily’s family home. Nick farms veg, cereals and beef cattle at Bagthorpe – one of Norfolk’s oldest organic farms – while Emily runs a tight ship on the glamping side (she also makes a mean flapjack). It’s a working farm, so watch out for tractors; if you’re really curious, tours can be arranged of the farmyard and Emily can provide you with walks around the estate, so bring your wellies.
Essentials
The important stuff
- Check in time is between 3:30pm and 4:30pm.
- Check out is by 11am.
- Bagthorpe is a working farm. The farm yard is strictly out of bounds and there are tractors and farm machinery in operation daily.
- The wood behind the dome is strictly out of bounds (this is fenced off!)
- There’s lots of wildlife (you might hear strange noises at night! And there is lots of birdsong...but it is beautiful!
- Pets cannot be accommodated at The Oyster Catcher
- Bring wellies!
- Sleeping arrangements
- 1 double
Cooking
- Camping gas stove
- Kettle
- BBQ
- Cool box provided with ice packs which can be changed daily upon request
Washing
- There’s a free-standing bath with wood-burner to provide hot water and free running cold water! There is a flushing loo in the bathroom unit.
- Washing up is with cold water only, running water in the kitchen, butler sink.
Heating, lighting & bedding
- All bed linen and towels provided
- Woodburner in bedroom dome – a basket of logs is provided upon arrival and more logs can be bought if required.
- No electricity so candles, lanterns, torches provided
Entertainment
- Books
- Cards
- Board games
- Where possible organised farm tours will be available and specific farm walks will be mapped out
Getting there
Bagthorpe Farm, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, PE31 6QY
By public transport
King’s Lynn station (25 minutes by car) is the nearest for both buses and trains.
By car
From King's Lynn
Take the A148 towards Cromer/Fakenham. In East Rudham pass The Crown pub on your right and immediately afterwards take the left onto Bagthorpe Road. Folllow for approx 4 miles, into Bagthorpe, past cottages/church and phone box..The Farm House is just on the left before the farm yard.
From Swaffham
Take the A1065 towards Fakenham. At Fakenham roundabout take the 1st exit onto the A148 towards King's Lynn. Turn right onto B1454 towards Docking/Hunstanton. Through woods, turn left towards Bircham. Turn left into Bagthorpe, past farm yard and Farm House is on the right.
Please park oustide the Farm House (which is 30yds from the Church and next to the farm buildings).
Food & Drink
At The Oyster Catcher
In the kitchen dome, you'll find all the self-catering basics, tea, coffee, sugar, salt, pepper and lots of fresh herbs in pots. Breakfast hampers can be ordered by arrangement with Emily.
At The Woodcock
Tea, Coffee, Sugar, S&P, cooking oils are all in the kitchen – essential condiments
Fresh herbs can be cut from the pot outside – add mint to freshly boiled new potatoes or rosemary for a BBQ side dish
*A breakfast hamper or BBQ hamper of locally produced goodies is available to order in advance (please give 24hrs notice)
Getting supplies in
There are lots of fantastic farm shops nearby, a butcher/local shop 4 miles away to stock up your cool box (ice packs provided on arrival and can be swapped daily if necessary)
Pubs & restaurants
The King’s Head, Bircham (2 miles)
The Duck Inn, Stanhoe (3.5 miles)
The Crown, Rudham (4 miles)
The Hoste Arms, Burnham Market (8 miles)
The Dabbling Duck, Massingham (8 miles)
The Ship, Brancaster (9 miles)
The Jolly Sailor, Brancaster (9 miles)
The White Horse, Bancaster (9 miles)
The Orange Tree, Thornham (10 miles)
The Yurt Restaurant (& Farm Shop), Thornham (10 miles)
The Victoria Holkham (12 miles)
Morston Hall, Morston (18 miles)
Burnham Deepdale Cafe (and shops) (9 mile)
Wiveton Cafe (and farm shop/coastal walks) (21 miles)
Activities
Festivals & events
The Cromer & Sheringham Crab & Lobster festival takes place in May, where you can experience the finest in crustacean gustation!
Nearby Houghton Hall holds Houghton International, equestrian events in a magnificent setting
Courses & classes
At Bagthorpe Farm
There are great country walks stretching out from your door at The Oyster Catcher and The Woodcock as well as organic farm tours, bikes for hire nearby and some good berry foraging!
If you're thinking of getting out and about, ask Emily & Nick about the following:
Places to visit
Houghton Hall (3 miles)
The village of Burnham Market (boutiques & The Hoste Arms 8 miles)
Sandringham Estate (9 miles)
North Norfolk Coast 9 miles (Brancaster, Wells, Hunstanton)
Norfolk Lavender (Heacham, 9 miles)
Holkham Hall (12 miles)
Pensthorpe Wildlife Reserve (12 miles)
Castle Acre Priory (15 miles)
Holt (Georgian Market town 20 miles)
Outdoor & Active (walks, watersports)
Sailing (Brancaster)
Horse riding
Clay Shooting (Mid Norfolk Shooting School)
Seals (Blakeney & Morston)
Cycling (everywhere, Norfolk is fairly flat!)
Fishing (North Norfolk Coast)
Kite Surfing (Brancaster)
Walking (Peddars Way, National Trail which runs from Suffolk to Cromer via Hunstanton), Coastal trails
Bird-watching (RSPB Titchwell Marsh)
Meet your hosts
Bagthorpe Farm has been in Emily's family for 50yrs. It's in a hamlet consisting of one road, 10 houses, a church, a rarely used red telephone box and a post box. The property is a collection of traditional Norfolk farm buildings built after the Napaleonic Wars.
The farm is situated in the beautiful unspoilt countryside of rural North Norfolk, close to Sandringham and Houghton Hall estates. Bagthorpe is a family-run 300 hectare mixed farm, growing vegetables, cereals and beef cattle organically whilst a small acreage is still farmed conventionally for onions, sugar beet and barley. The soils are light free draining sandy loams which are ideal for growing onions and root crops. No one farming year is the same, especially with organic growing, so you really do learn from your mistakes! Bagthorpe is blessed with a wonderful natural environment, which they (and Emily's dad Tid before them) have strived to enhance with their farming methods and schemes over the last 30 years.
Emily grew up at Bagthorpe then left Norfolk to work in the music business. After meeting her husband Nick (a trained accountant, who speaks 3 languages!) in London and living there for 10 years, they both felt they needed a change and agreed to take Tid up on the offer to come and help run the family farm in January 2008. Emily loves the countryside and cooking (she is a Prue Leith trained cook) whilst Nick has thrown himself into farming and 3 years on is slightly more in control after a very sharp learning curve.
They now live in the farmhouse, which dates back to Tudor times, where Emily grew up. They have a young family and an excitable black Labrador (who is harder work). They are looking forward to sharing the wonderful place where they live in the hope that they can put people back in touch with nature and the simple pleasures in life.
Wildlife & Environment
A major advantage of the type of farm system operated at Bagthorpe is that the rotation creates a mosaic of crops that support a rich diversity of plants, invertebrates, bird and mammals. The presence of grass leys with is key to the success of many farmland bird species, particularly grey partridge and finch species such as linnets; also brown hares, bats and a broad range of soil invertebrate species are hosted on our farm. Grey partridge coveys, for example, utilise grass leys in winter months, whilst bats are drawn to high numbers of insects using grassland within their life cycles. The presence of clover is also crucial to many pollinating insects, particularly bees in their complex life cycles.
In addition the organic management of leys ensures an increased number of soil invertebrates including earthworms, thus providing a sustained food resource for species higher up the food chain such as song birds, small mammals, bats and birds of prey. These all prey on invertebrates that would otherwise be pests within the organic cycle thus keeping a natural balance of these populations.
Other species of birds commonly found at Bagthorpe include oyster catchers (hence the name!) and lapwings. Indeed we often have to leave bits of land unplanted with crops to avoid disturbing these birds nesting!
There are several fields in ‘arable reversion to grassland’ schemes (Countryside Stewardship Scheme) meaning that they are not cropped, rather they are allowed to undergo a natural regeneration to grassland.
As well as maintaining extensive field margins Nick & Emily have also established beetle banks in the centre of a couple of the large fields. This allows predatory insects to spread from the over-wintering sites on the field margins into the centre to prevent the build up of pests. They are also utilised by grey partridge, skylarks and corn bunting both for nesting and feeding.
They are also blessed at Bagthorpe with 150 acres of woodland, made up of over twenty different sites. The woodland is a mixture of deciduous trees and some areas of conifer. There are many ancient Oaks, Beech and Ash trees, as well as Chestnuts and Sycamores.
The woodland, as well as providing natural habitat for many species, acts as a carbon sink, ensuring that Bagthorpe has a positive carbon footprint. A recently undertaken Carbon Footprint audit discovered that the total emissions of CO2 (including the methane and nitrous oxide equivalent tonnage) was 307 tonnes annually, whereas thanks to farming practices (reduction of artificial fertilisers on the organically farmed area) and the woodland the farm actually sequesters 669 tonnes of CO2 annually, meaning they are in credit!
Our guests say...
Ideal place to ‘get away from it all’ Very comfortable and the woodburner was a godsend on a very stormy weekend.. we also ordered campfire chilli from Emily for the first night/ superb!
27/09/2019Louise
We thoroughly enjoyed the stay and really liked the experience!
18/09/2019Sarah
A beautiful second stay at Oyster Catcher. A real idyll away from noise and bustle. We could press the pause button and just unwind in our outdoor haven beneath the stars or stay tucked up playing Trivial Pursuit as the rain pattered down on our geodome tent. We also enjoyed country side walks and a seaside explorations along the North Norfolk Coast. A blissful second stay!
26/07/2019Marion
Beautiful stay, beautiful location and perfectly kept and managed!
25/07/2019Jessica
Beautiful surroundings, the Oyster Catcher itself is quirky and stunning in its own right, everything you need to enjoy a perfectly relaxing glamping experience.
22/06/2019Michelle
Love this place? Tell everyone!
Booking Terms
Canopy & Stars low price promise
Book with us in confidence knowing you won’t find that place cheaper elsewhere. All of the prices we display are set and matched by our Owners. (In this world of foreign currency, we do have to say 'subject to exchange rates' for some of our European places.)
What does ‘from price’ mean?
Our ‘from price’ is based on a four night stay in low season and designed to help you to compare different prices across our collection. Some of our Owners vary their nightly rates and check in days throughout the year, so it may differ from the rate quoted below the calendar. It is quite common (although by no means universal) for places to charge a little more in peak season or for shorter stays, to cover changeover costs. Consider booking longer stays during the cooler months if you’re looking for the lowest nightly rates.
Agency Terms & Conditions
Except where otherwise specified, we Sawday’s Canopy & Stars Ltd Company No 09088366 of Merchants House, Wapping Road, Bristol, BS1 4RW act only as an Agent in respect of all bookings we take and/or make on your behalf. Sawday’s Canopy & Stars is part of the Alastair Sawday’s Group of Companies. We accept no liability in relation to any contract you enter into or for any services or arrangements you purchase (“Booking(s)”) or for the acts or omissions of any supplier(s) or other person(s) or party(ies) connected with any Booking. For all Bookings, your contract will be with the supplier of the Booking in question, and in most cases this will be the owner of the property you’ll be staying at (“Owner(s)”). When making your Booking we will arrange for you to enter into a contract with the Owner of the Booking. Your Booking with us is subject to these Agency Terms & Conditions and any specific booking conditions of the relevant Owner(s) you contract with. The Owner’s booking conditions may limit and/or exclude the Owner’s liability to you.
You may decide to make more than one Booking with us at the same time. The price charged in total for more than one Booking will always equal the prices charged separately for each individual Booking. All Bookings are available to be purchased separately at the same price as they are when more than one Booking is made. This means that any multiple Bookings do not constitute a package as defined in the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992.
By making a booking, you agree that:-
- you have read these Agency Terms & Conditions and agree to be bound by them;
- you consent to our use of your information in accordance with our Privacy Policy;
and
- you are over 18 years of age and where there may be age restrictions in place, you declare that you and all members of your party are of the appropriate age.
The Canopy & Stars online booking system enables Guests to make Bookings 24 hours a day. A Booking is confirmed on receipt of a 25% non-refundable deposit for all Bookings with check in dates of more than 10 weeks away. For all Bookings that have a check in date of less than 10 weeks before check in, payment for the Booking will be required in full and the entire Booking will be non-refundable. The Canopy & Stars telephone booking line is open Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm. When using the online enquiry form, for those Properties without online booking, please allow 24 working hours for us to contact you by telephone to confirm the Booking. If we are unable to reach you by phone we will attempt to contact you by email. We will contact you during Canopy & Stars working hours (Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm). Online or email enquiries will be dealt with in the order they are received, but please be aware that we cannot guarantee reservation of your selected dates until the receipt of suitable payment. Therefore, if possible, we do recommend that you book on the Canopy & Stars website using the online booking system.
1. Booking and payments
1.1 In order to confirm your chosen Booking, you must pay a non-refundable deposit as required by the Owner of the Booking in question (or full payment if booking within 10 weeks of the date of your check-in).
1.2 Your Booking is confirmed and a contract between you and the Owner will exist when we receive payment of the deposit and send you a booking confirmation on the Owner’s behalf. This booking confirmation will normally be sent out within 24 hours in the case of email and seven working days in the case of post, and will contain the details of your Booking and of payments made and due. If you have not received your booking confirmation within the specified time, please notify us as soon as possible by email (bookings@canopyandstars.co.uk). Please check your confirmation carefully and report any incorrect or incomplete information to us immediately. As we act only as booking Agent, we have no responsibility for any errors in any documentation except where an error is made by us.
1.3 Where a deposit has been paid, full balance payment will be due 10 weeks in advance of your check in date and a reminder will be sent to you two weeks prior to this date, where applicable, by email. We automatically take the balance payment using the same card as used to make the deposit payment. It is your reponsibility to advise us if we should use a different card and to contact us by telephone (0117 204 7830) to arrange for alternative payment method. If the balance payment does not successfully go through as there is a problem with your card, such as it expiring, then we will contact you to try and take alternative payment. If we have been unable to take payment after two weeks of the balance due date, then with regret, we will notify the Owner who may cancel your Booking.
1.4 Except where otherwise advised or stated in the booking conditions of the Owner concerned, all monies you pay to us for a Booking will be held on behalf of the Owner(s) concerned.
1.5 Credit Card payments are processed via Alastair Sawday’s Publishing Co. Ltd who provide merchants services facilities to Sawday’s Canopy & Stars Ltd.
2. Cancellation and Amendment by You
2.1 Any cancellation or amendment request must be sent to us by email (bookings@canopyandstars.co.uk) and will be considered and responded to within one working day of receipt. You are also advised to confirm all changes to our Customer Services Department by calling 0117 204 7830. Please ensure that you have received written confirmation of any changes to your Booking prior to travel. Whilst we will always try to help, we cannot guarantee that such requests will be met.
2.2 Amendments and cancellations can only be accepted in accordance with the booking conditions of the Owner of your Arrangements. The Owner may charge the cancellation or amendment charges shown in their booking conditions (which may be as much as 100% of the cost of the Arrangements and will normally increase closer to the date of departure). The Owner may charge cancellation or amendment charges in accordance with its own booking conditions, however for the sake of convenience only, we have outlined the Owner’s charges at clause 2.3 and 2.4 below. Please note that these are the Owner’s own cancellation and amendments charges, not Canopy & Stars’, and therefore the Owner may vary their charges as they wish, without notice to us. The correct charges will be notified to you at the time of your cancellation or amendments.
2.3 Owner’s General Cancellation Charges:
2.3.1 Cancellation by you at any time will result in your deposit being forfeited, as all deposits are non-refundable.
2.3.2 All monies paid for a holiday (deposit and balance) are non-refundable within 10 weeks before check in date.
2.3.3 Cancellation of any holiday after it has been paid in full and at a date 10 weeks or more in advance of your check in date, will result in forfeiture of your deposit (or an amount equivalent where one was not paid as the holiday was paid in full) and the balance being returned to you.
2.3.4 Cancellation insurance is available but will be a third party arrangement and not involve Canopy & Stars or the Owner in any way.
2.4 Owner’s General Amendment Charges:
2.4.1 Alterations to your Booking can only be made more than 10 weeks prior to the check in date, after which time alterations will be treated as cancellation. All alterations are subject to availability and may incur a £30 adminstration fee.
2.4.2 Differences in the total amount payable resulting from alterations will be refunded to you in the case of a decrease in price and paid by you in the case of increases in price.
Special note: Generally Owners will charge the above cancellation and amendment charges, however we must stress that these are a guide only and charges may differ from those shown here depending on the Owner. The exact charges will be notified to you by the Owner at the time of cancellation and/or can be found in the Owner’s own booking conditions which are available from the Owner on request.
3. Changes and Cancellations by the Owner
We will inform you as soon as reasonably possible if the Owner needs to make a significant change to your confirmed Arrangements or to cancel them. We will also liaise between you and the Owner in relation to any alternative Booking offered by the Owner but we will have no further liability to you.
4. Complaints
Because the contract for your Booking is between you and the Owner, any queries or concerns should be addressed to them. In the event that you have any complaint about your stay, please notify the Owner as soon as possible. If you don’t follow this procedure there will be less opportunity for the Owner to investigate and resolve your complaint and so make your stay as enjoyable as possible. Delays may also mean that amount of compensation you may be entitled to may be reduced. Whether or not your complaint is dealt with satisfactorily, please also contact us as we appreciate all feedback. It’s important to us and the Owner to know that you’ve enjoyed your stay or if anything could have been improved.
5. Pricing
Canopy & Stars reserve the right to amend advertised prices at any time on behalf of the Owner. We also reserve the right to correct errors in both advertised and confirmed prices.Special note: changes and errors sometimes occur.
6. Information & Accuracy
The information and prices shown on this website are varied from time to time and may change between the time you first view a property and make a Booking. You should check that all the details are as you expect prior to making a Booking. It is always possible that, despite our best efforts, some of the properties (including the features and extras available) may be incorrectly described and/or priced. If we discover this is the case after you have made a Booking, we reserve the right to contact you with details of the correct information and/or pricing and will give you the option to:
(1) proceed with the Booking based on the correct information and/or pricing, which may require the payment of an additional amount by you;
OR
(2) subject to availability, change your booking dates to dates when the pricing can be honoured ad so no additional charge to you. In the event that a lower price can be offered for alternative dates then the difference would be refunded;
OR
(3) cancel the Booking. If we do not receive your instructions within 5 days of contacting you, we reserve the right to cancel your Booking without liability to you.
7. Our Responsibility for your Booking
Your contract is with the Owner and its booking conditions apply. As Agent, we accept no responsibility for the actual provision of the Booking. Our responsibilities are limited to making the Booking in accordance with your instructions and acting properly in accordance with our legal duties as an Agent. We accept no responsibility for any information about the Booking that we pass on to you in good faith. However, in the event that we are found liable to you on any basis whatsoever, our maximum liability to you is limited to twice the cost of your Booking (or the appropriate proportion of this if not everyone on the Booking is affected). We do not exclude or limit any liability for death or personal injury that arises as a result of our negligence or that of any of our employees whilst acting in the course of their employment.
8. Pets
Not all properties accept pets. If you wish to take your pet on holiday, please advise us before booking and we can check whether pets are accepted at the property. You must obtain the prior consent of the Owner before taking any pets to the property. A nightly charge may be made by the Owner for each pet and additional terms may apply.
9. VAT
Many of the Owners of properties in the Canopy & Stars portfolio are not registered for VAT in which case no tax is payable. Where VAT is payable, the tax is included in the advertised holiday rental price.
10. Visa, passport and health requirements.
Unless you tell us otherwise, we assume that all members of your party are British citizens who hold or will hold full British passports valid for the entire duration of the Arrangements you chose to purchase. Information on visa, passport and health requirements, where given and applicable, is so given on this basis. Requirements may change and you are therefore strongly recommended to check the up to date position with the Owner of the Booking, Passport Office, appropriate embassy or consulate or your doctor as applicable in good time before the commencement of your holiday.
11. Insurance
You are strongly recommended to take out personal travel insurance for all members of your party. It is your responsibility to ensure that the insurance you purchase is adequate and appropriate for your particular needs. Please read your policy details and take them with you on holiday.
12. Special requests
If you have any special requests (for example dietary requirements, cots or room location), please let us know at the time of booking. We will pass on all such requests to the Owner, but unfortunately, we can't guarantee that they will be met and we will have no liability to you if they are not.
13. Group Bookings
Not all Owners accept Bookings for a single sex group (for example, a stag or hen party). Guests wanting to make such a Booking should check with us beforehand to enable us to check whether the Owner is prepared to accept the Booking. We will then advise you accordingly. In event that an Owner does not accept this type of Booking then it is with regret, that the Booking may be cancelled and cancellation fees may apply. It is the Guest’s responsibility to enquire with Canopy & Stars and/or check on our website beforehand to make sure that this type of booking is permitted.
14. Maximum Numbers
Please note that except by prior arrangement confirmed in writing, only the number of persons specified on a booking confirmation may occupy a property. Most owners reserve the right to refuse admittance or revoke a booking if this condition is not observed and you are unlikely to receive any refund.
15. Your Responsibilities
Please note that you have a contract with the Owner of the property. As such you are under a responsibility to behave in a proper, appropriate and legal manner whilst staying at the property with due respect to the Owner, the Property and other guests and their property. You are responsible for informing the Owner of any losses or damage to the property as soon as possible. Please note that you will be liable to pay the Owner for any losses or damage to the property caused by you or a member of your party (except reasonable wear and tear). Some Owners will also require damage deposits. You must also leave the property by the check-out time specified on your booking. If any guest behaves inappropriately or improperly (of which the Owner will be the final judge on their Property), or illegally, the Owner reserves the right to ask the guest and their party (at their discretion) to leave the Property before the end of the holiday period and/or refuse any future bookings from you. Any refund for so doing will be at the entire discretion of the Owner. In addition, the Owner reserves the right to sue the guest for any loss, damage or injury caused to the Owner, the Property or to other guests and/or their property. As agent, we will have no liability to you in these circumstances.
16. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
These terms and conditions have been drafted in accordance with and are governed by English law and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction in relation to any and all disputes arising out of these Agency Terms & Conditions.
17. Discrepancies
In case of a discrepancy between these Agency Terms & Conditions and any other Canopy & Stars literature, these Agency Terms & Conditions shall prevail.
18. Validity clause
In the event that a court finds that a condition in these Agency Terms & Conditions is illegal or void, the illegal or void provision will be severed from the remainder of the Agency Terms & Conditions, which will continue to be valid and have full force and effect.
Ideal place to ‘get away from it all’ Very comfortable and the woodburner was a godsend on a very stormy weekend.. we also ordered campfire chilli from Emily for the first night/ superb!
27/09/2019