A Little Bit About Us
Brook Meadow is a family business and has been run by Mary and Jasper Hart for 30 years. Set in the tranquil Northamptonshire countryside and situated on a working farm, the site is surrounded by 400 acres of grazing and arable land, with 20 acres designated for holidaying around a breath-taking five-acre lake.
Over the past 6 years Mary and Jasper, along with their daughter Claire, have completed an overhaul of Brook Meadow’s accommodation facilities and grounds to offer guests a new and exciting holiday experience. In 2018 we became a multi award-winning site, receiving recognition in particular for our lodges and glamping. We also received a prestigious National Award from The Rural Business Awards, and are thrilled that our adventure to transform Brook Meadow is generating further excitement, interest and recognitions locally and with the National Visit England Tourism awards; winning a Silver Award 2 years running for Best Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year. |
Two original lodges have been refurbished and a third lodge has been added, all of which now boast a high-end English botanical design linking with the peaceful setting and lake views. A safari-themed glamping area has been created, in which visitors can now enjoy a luxury canvas experience in our colonial inspired safari tents. The whole site is available for wedding hire with a new magical woodland ceremony space. Our newest glamping option is the cutest airstream set in an elevated and covered deck under its very own rainbow. The on site shop stocks a wide variety of products including indulgent Thamar farmhouse ice-cream with the best free range eggs. We have a child-centered focus with an organic play area, 'moovies' in the cowshed and foodie offers to make your stay with us as easy as possible. La Fete Fleurie put on a wonderful coffee shop popup under our tipi during summer weekends and also popup with street food Fridays and glamorous Saturday night cocktails as a sidekick to the effervescent Jan with his Pizza horsebox, The Wood Oven.
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the Brook Meadow team
Brook Meadow would not be what it is, without its dedicated team who are always available to help you. Our top priority is to enable guests to have a wonderful time at Brook Meadow, so please do not hesitate to let us know if you need anything. We extend the warmest welcome to all our visitors. Please come and find us at Reception or contact us for information on any aspect of your visit.
OUR story
The farm has been in Jasper’s family since 1913 and has grown from a working farm into what it is today. Jasper inherited the farm from his father when he was very young, he has never wished to do anything else since he was able to work the farm and he has put everything into it. The farm is steeped in history; the fields are named individually with archaic names based on typography and historical events that took place either on or nearby. For example, one field is named Cromwell Corner due to evidence and belief that it was used as a base camp for the decisive civil war Battle of Naseby, which took place 3 miles away.
In 1992 Jasper and Mary built the lake, with the vision of allowing people to fish, camp or stay in a log cabin. Over the years the camping and caravanning business has grown and investments have been made to ensure the facilities are kept up to date and eco principles are maintained. The original Scandinavian log cabins have been up-cycled into picnic benches and a children's play area, and work has been carried out to improve the facilities including new lodges. Other farms have followed Brook Meadow’s example, but Jasper and Mary were true pioneers with their farm diversification vision, and since the lake has now been long established it looks like a place of breathtaking natural beauty that never fails to impress and relax our guests.
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Claire's influence over more recent years is evident too, employing her creative expertise and a vision for Brook Meadow to offer you something very special. You'll find cosy camping areas, an organic play area for children, unique and luxurious accommodation designed with authenticity and a connection to nature. Since 2018 Brook Meadow has reduced numbers of visitors by capping capacity to become quieter so you can relax and appreciate the beautiful setting. Over the recent years the addition of the cowshed cinema and foodie offers have been very well received. We have partnered with local businesses, The Wood Oven and La Fete Fleurie to provide the pop up coffee shop, Friday night pop up street food, Saturday night cocktails, pizza nights, creative retreats, and a nature-based Wellness and Crafting festival. We have also partnered with Mini Meadows, our local petting farm to offer inclusive passes to lodge and Safari lodge guests.
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environmental strategy
As a family and as a business, Brook Meadow is fully committed to being environmentally friendly and conserving wildlife. To ensure we maintain this commitment, we have worked holistically to uphold these ideals on many levels for many years.
We have installed photovoltaics to generate the electricity used on site, solar-powered water heating and a wood chip boiler powers heating and hot water to the lodges and campsite facilities. Water consumption is reduced through rainwater harvesting, and solar-powered lighting has been fitted to the glamping tent; both adding to our sustainable practices. Even Mary's chickens have their own rainwater harvesting system in place, and a solar-powered electric fence to keep the foxes away. Our best-selling items are locally sourced firewood and the farmhouse ice cream; produced locally thus reducing energy consumption with deliveries and supporting the rural economy. |
We've planted extensively to create a fantastic natural habitat for wildlife and we continue to plant hedging, trees and meadow flowers. 50 acres of trees have been planted to date and we are still going!
Camping offers a holiday with a low carbon footprint, and you'll reap the health benefits too; clean air; uplifting sunsets on high ground; hearing and seeing the sights and sounds of leaves rustling and bird song as you immerse in nature; feeling the calming influence of being next to a body of water. Children who are brought up camping are also thought to grow into more intelligent adults; more connected and kind to nature. |
Mary's free rANGE HENS & Egg Collecting!!
Mary has a hen house on the farm with 12 new hens. There are five different special breeds chosen for their hardiness, temperament and the variety of egg colours they produce. The hen house is built on stilts with ramped ladders and a solar-powered electric fence to keep foxes away. They have access to a great paddock and are fed on nutritious foods including their therapeutic corn treat at 3.00pm.
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Mary does nothing short for the happiness and wellbeing than playing them classical music to lay to! Jasper even made them their own swing! As a result they produce the most amazing eggs with deep yellow yolks, which are available to you in our shop. If you would like the experience of collecting eggs from our happy hens where you can learn first hand from Mary all about chicken husbandry with your children please let us know the night before.
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