Welcome to Blackdown Yurts...

​We moved to Halsbeer Farm in March 2016 with our children Mia and Felix, after searching all over Devon to find the right property to share with holidaymakers wishing to escape the hustle and bustle of daily life.
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After falling in love with the Blackdown Hills, we quickly realised that this beautiful, untouched valley, standing in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty would be a haven for wildlife and plants.

We take our role as custodians of this beautiful landscape seriously. So called ‘weeds’ help bring more wildlife for people to enjoy and we have planted our Devon banks with wildflowers.

The four yurts are located in a predominantly flat field at the bottom of a gently sloping pasture where sheep can often be seen grazing. A wildlife habitat has been created on the side of the hill behind the yurts, which in 1841 (according to the tithe maps) and still in 1915 (according to auction particulars of the farm) was known by the rather charming name of Yonder Hill. If you are lucky you might spot deer, fox, owls, buzzards and the occasional badger.

Katie has a wealth of wildlife knowledge, having studied zoology and later specialising in bats (ask if you can borrow a bat detector or join her on a bat walk). Mark is an adventurer who has travelled all over the world creating programmes for television.

Blackdown Yurts has deliberately been kept as a small site, and we realise that people need time to relax in such peaceful surroundings. Children can roam free in a safe environment, make camps, play games and make new friends.

​Most people like to just sit by the fire and watch the moon and stars while enjoying a glass of wine. But if you want to get out and about we can recommend lots of beautiful walks, cycles and visits to various attractions. 

​We look forward to meeting you,

Katie & Mark

"We really enjoyed the wonderful facilities and gorgeous Yurts here. Someone has clearly spent a lot of time and money making this place simply gorgeous! So many little clever and thoughtful touches make this place so special. The night sky was simply breathtaking as there is very little light pollution. My brother in law and I spent half an hour arguing over whether we were looking at the international space station or the North Star only to find out we were in fact looking at Mars! The shower rooms were perfect and the barn is really special.

Sleeping in a Yurt is a great experience, the bedding and soft furnishings were very nice inside the yurts and it’s really cosy with the little log burner going. Blackdown Yurts are fantastic and they deserve all the success in the world for what they have put together. We will be back with the family 100%."