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Outdoor activity packages recently became part of the offering for guests staying in one Trudi Cueto and Eric Linklater's three holiday cottages on the mixed family farm in East Lothian.

They developed the concept during the first lockdown in 2020 and collaborated with local people who deliver sessions including mindful loch swimming, SUP yoga, bushcraft foraging as well as guided walks in the Lammermuir Hills. 

Trudi says: "Introducing the outdoor activity options was very much driven by the Covid-19 lockdowns. With heavy restrictions on attractions and where people could go, we had the idea of putting our own structured activity packages together to offer people new experiences. 

Wellbeing activities

"People who arrived to stay with us after lockdowns were happy to get away, but also tired and concerned with the Covid situation which was the motivator for introducing some of the wellbeing activities.

Natural

"The Lammermuir area is not traditionally a tourist area, but we have some beautiful natural resources here which make it a peaceful place for people to come where we can show people spaces they may not have otherwise discovered.

"It prompted us to consider what people were looking for from a staycation aside from just accommodation."

Farms guests encouraged to take a slower pace

Slowing down

Slowing down, unwinding and taking in the surroundings is at the fore of the ethos at Boutique Farm Bothies, Aberdeenshire, where guests can say in one of three boutique boltholes on the family sheep and arable farm.

Social connection and taking time to feel closer to nature is encouraged, with guests invited to take a slower pace thanks to features including a wood burning range for heating, cooking and hot water. 

Owner Jane Foad says: "It is really about slowing down; I want people to come here for a rest and to relax. Lighting a fire might be out of the comfort zone of city dwellers who stay with us, but by the end of the stay it has given them a sense of achievement.

Spectate 

"The Bothies are at the end of the farm drive which is far enough away that guests are away from the general melee of the farmyard but close enough that they can spectate on farm life going on around them.

"At lambing time, I give guests the option of a tour around and it is a great opportunity to explain what we do as a working farm and how we care for our animals."