It would be easy to think that campsite owners get a bit of time off in the winter – but lots of exciting things are afoot even when the camping season is over. The cottage and pub continue to trade over the winter, but there’s lots of other work to do as well.

The season draws to a close at the end of October, and we then arrange a small gathering for all the friends who made it all happen in the first place. After that, in early November, we begin the long and arduous task of packing away all of the accommodation so it’s safe from the harsh winter weather.

The canvas from each yurt, the tipi, and the bell tent all have a 3-stage packing away process – first being draped in the shelter, then into the shed or (if possible) the pub near the woodburner, then finally folded away into the indoor storage area. These canvases, and all the soft furnishings, need to be stored indoors to keep them safe from mice over winter. All the wooden items, including furniture and yurt frames etc, get stacked in the sheds. Once you take into account boxing up all the contents, labelling, dismantling – and dodging wet weather (you can’t pack a canvas away wet or it will mould) – it’s no great surprise that this stage takes us up until the beginning of December.

In December we turn our attention to the ‘things to do’ list. During the rest of the year we keep notes of all the things we’d like to do but don’t have time. This may be things we’d like to buy or research for the campsite or cottage, changes we’d like to talk about and new ideas to test out. December is also the month for giving the pub a much-needed boost. We run some festive events and book lots of live music.

Once we’re into the new year we are rushing to get ready to take bookings for the coming season. Before we can do this we need to have updated the websites and amended any policies and prices. With bookings underway we are committed to spending a lot of hours sat at the computer! When we do get away from the desk, we tend to take advantage of dry days for gardening tasks such as pruning and bramble clearing – before the real cold weather comes!

With all of our heating and hot water run on wood this time of year – a lot of time is also devoted to moving & stacking logs in the winter. To keep the cottage and pub warm we seem to be constantly barrowing wood here and there! Once the snow arrives, it’s easy to spend the whole day just keeping ourselves and our ducks warm and fed- digging pathways, breaking ice, defrosting frozen pipes (!) and moving yet more wood..

During the entirety of the coldest months of the year we will also be taking care of the laundry. Each blanket, throw and quilt needs to be washed and packed away ready for the new season. This is no mean feat when you consider we don’t use a tumble drier – so we are drying wool blankets etc one at a time over the woodburner.

By mid February we hope that the worst of the weather is behind us, and on bright days we begin preparations in the garden for the start of the season. Each of the yurt and tipi poles will need a fresh coat of linseed oil – and will need to be laid out in the sun to dry. Decking areas are cleaned, canvases washed, general repairs carried out. As the weather becomes warmer we can begin repainting the toilets and gypsy caravan roof. If there’s a quiet spell in the cottage we tend to give it a bit of a facelift and buy it a few new treats.

The ‘welcome files’ for each of the accommodation need updating with any changes – this is a very time-consuming task – and all of the rugs will need a shampoo ready for the new season too. In the 6 weeks prior to re-opening we are generally running around like headless chickens putting accommodation up, dealing with snags and problems that occur, and dealing with bookings & enquiries.

Then all too quickly opening day is upon us! Well you know what they say – no rest for the wicked…