Nethway Farm is among the best holiday cottages in Devon
It’s official! We have been recognised as among the best holiday cottages in Devon after winning two silver awards at the 2021 Devon Tourism Awards. It’s been a whirlwind year for our fledgling Devon holiday business and one of the toughest ever years for tourism. We couldn’t have hoped for a better start to the 2021 season.
Those of you that know us will be aware we bought Nethway Farm between Kingswear and Brixham three years ago. Before taking on these holiday cottages in South Devon we had no experience in the tourism industry.
Now we have found ourselves among a select few to win two awards at the first online ceremony in the Devon Tourism Award’s 11 year history: silver in both the New Tourism Business and Self Catering Accommodation of the Year categories.
This is such a surprise for us. We bought Nethway Farm for a lifestyle change and entered the awards to gain some valuable independent feedback on how we were doing as a new business. We never expected to get to the finals among businesses that we hold in such high regard, let alone win something.
It’s a thrill to have won two silver awards. We have put in a lot of effort and it’s wonderful to have that recognised.
How we came to Nethway Farm Holiday Cottages in Devon
Our journey began back in November 2018. This is when we left our jobs in Hampshire and moved to the South Hams to make a fresh start in our favourite holiday destination.
We wanted to work for ourselves and spend more time with our two children. Nethway Farm came up and we haven’t looked back.
Nethway Farm has five holiday cottages set in 38 acres of land a mile from the coast and within easy reach of the attractions of the English Riviera, Dartmouth and Dartmoor. Our guests include families and couples looking for a rural Devon holiday that they can make as relaxing or action-packed as they like.
Improvements to Nethway Farm
When we arrived we set about updating the holiday cottages and facilities, including bringing in a new high quality linen provider, redecorating the cottages and installing new solar panels. In addition we made improvements around the farm’s orchard and hedgerows to encourage wildlife.
We also re-homed more farm animals for our guests to meet.
Online, we launched this new look website to make it easier for people to book direct, and Instagram and Facebook accounts, which have proved popular with our many returning guests.
After just a year, COVID-19 closed our cottages. It has been really difficult, but we’ve turned it to our advantage ticking even more jobs off our list.
During each lockdown we have done a lot of big, noisy jobs that wouldn’t be possible while guests were here; re-roofing the under 5 play area and installing a new soft play that we can easily clean to make it COVID safe.
When we were able to reopen in 2020 we put in place booking systems for popular facilities, like the swimming pool, so families could have exclusive use.
The reaction from guests was really positive. They really enjoyed having the pool all to themselves. It meant we had to set an alarm for every two hours during the day so we could clean between each session.
It was busy but it meant our guests could still use all our facilities during their stay, which was really important to us. We shall continue this booking system over the coming season to maintain social distancing between guest families.
Devon Tourism Awards
It’s fantastic to find out that it’s not just our guests who have appreciated our efforts. We are very excited that the judges at the Devon Tourism Award judges have recognised all our hard work too.
This has been a team effort and we would like to thank the previous owners, neighbours and local community for their welcome and support, particularly in the past 12 months.
Unsurprisingly, Nethway Farm is almost fully booked up until mid-September 2021 with some of our guests returning for their second, third and even fourth visit in the past few years.
We can’t wait to welcome them back from 12 April. Our regular guests, who have become like extended family, can’t wait to see the improvements we’ve made. And we’re really excited to hear a buzz around the farm again – children laughing and having fun.
To find out more about availability in our cottage holidays in Devon check our online booking system or contact us at info@nethwayfarm.co.uk.