Humble Beginnings
In November 2015, Lara and I (Jenny) left the rat race and started the journey to set up a glamping site and café here in the East Midlands – all in YURTS! Why, I hear you ask? We both wanted something a little different. We wanted to create something that would connect with our passions and interests, connect us to people, and allow us to share this with others. Having enjoyed glamping (glamorous camping) ourselves, it was the perfect way to link our love of the countryside and our love for spending quality time with family and friends. And, of course, the ideal way to enable others to do this too! A glampsite and café is all about peace, people, nature and fun – this is what we wanted for ourselves and for you.
Our first step in Glamping
Lara and I go way back – we met on our first day of school at Little Bowden Primary – and have been friends since then. With a solid friendship as our foundation we had a strong starting point from which to build Country Bumpkin Yurts. On the business side, we had to start from scratch. With previous careers in HR and youth work, neither of us has experience of setting up or running a company. But we are repeatedly and pleasantly, surprised at how our skills from those previous roles transfer to this context and equip us for our challenge. These skills and the countless new ones we have learnt so far, are helping us on the rollercoaster journey to our goal.
Never underestimate what you can do with what you have!
Realising our dream to build a glamping business is going to take work, we had- and still do have, a lot to learn! Step one, right back at the start, was to define our core values – our ethos. We were certain of a few things from the beginning; we wanted it local, eco-friendly, and intimate.
Why local? We have grown up in the area and love it. The endless fields and rolling hills are beautiful and full of walking trails, yet we’re also not far from towns and cities. Market Harborough is a few miles away and Northampton and Leicester are just a bit further. It’s the joy of being away-from-it-all without being isolated.
Why eco-friendly
Why eco-friendly? This matters to us. You can’t love being in the countryside without wanting to look after it. Our dream was to create a business that cared about nature and sustainability. We soon geeked-out on solar panels, composting toilets and funky upcycle projects. You will see these when you visit us.
Why intimate? Every year I go glamping with a group of best friends and love the chance to catch up, go for walks, play board games and eat together. It is important for us to have a space to ourselves so we can create an intimate and relaxed environment. We have chosen to have three yurts on our glamping site so that others can experience this too. Three yurts allow for a group to book the whole site together or for a few individual families or couples to enjoy the space without being surrounded by a small village of tents. Intimacy grows intimacy.
With our core values driving us forward it’s on to the practicalities; planning, ground works, logistics and of course the all important linen and home ware choices! The journey has only just begun. But soon enough there will be Glamping in our beloved East Midlands countryside.
Check back next month for an update. We hope to have exciting news!
You will soon see.
