Bed and Breakfast on a Working Farm

If staying on a working dairy farm sounds like your idea of holiday pleasure, then

Lower Claverham Farm should be your destination. Owner Rachel Rossi, who has run the b and b for 18 years, says guests love waking to the sound of birds and the cows coming in for milking. ‘The cows even come past the house on some days,’ she adds.

This bed and breakfast in Berwick, near Polegate, began as it was an easy option to fit in with being on the farm and at home with two small children, explains Rachel. ‘The boys were three and five when we started,’ she says, adding that, ‘It has been an education for our children meeting so many interesting people from all over the world.’

Lower Claverham Farm offers two rooms in the 16th-century farmhouse, one a double and one a twin. ‘We have an informal approach to guests staying – we treat them as friends not paying guests,’ says Rachel, who finds running the bed and breakfast satisfying, ‘ because many of our guests are now our friends. In fact, last week we got invited to Glyndebourne by guests who have been staying with us for the past 10 years because their friends were unable to attend.’

The farm welcomes lots of visitors to Glyndebourne, which is a 15-minute drive away. ‘Guests can make picnics for Glyndebourne in our farmhouse kitchen.’ Visitors also come to walk in the South Downs National Park, which is just a five-minute drive away, but there are footpaths straight from the farmhouse. Arlington Bluebell Woods are only five minutes away too by car. ‘We are close to Charleston, Michelham Priory, Sheffield Park, Herstmonceux Castle, Arlington Speedway, The Clergy House and Anne of Cleves House,’ continues Rachel, all of which attract visitors to the area. Lewes, Eastbourne, Brighton, Seaford are also easily accessible, as are the picturesque villages of Alfriston, Chiddingly and Berwick.

A recent comment from guests staying at the farm is: ‘Love being here and watching the ducks on the pond.’ Sums up the peaceful place that is Lower Claverham Farm.