Meet the Robinsons
An unusual family who live life to love, give and serve. A family dedicated to helping you find space to create moments in your life that define who you are and where you are going.
About us
If escaping to somewhere “wildly serene” appeals to you, then you have Joe to thank.
As a family who looks out for people and has anyone in need at the table eating roast with us on a Sunday, we have spent the better part of 20 years in community work in Wales and Malawi, Africa. We know that rest and disconnection from life are important - scrap that - they are essential.
Life has hard seasons, sticky situations and challenges that test our mental and physical strength, resilience, and relationships. Retreats exist for a reason, and the word retreat exists because we need rest and precious concentrated time to tend to our loving relationships.
Resting your weariness allows you to regain your strength, and replenish your soul, so you can get back up and be there for the people in your life you love. You need rest to live life well and love more. In fact, rest allows you to live life on your terms. To be intentional and leave the chaos of firefighting behind.
Over a decade ago, when planning our first tipi, Joe couldn't shake the words “wildly serene”. The feelings of rest and romance we wanted to evoke on a stay at the farm.
We see how hard you work and invite you to rest well and love more this year.
A fundamental attraction
Beth was brought up in Malawi, Africa, by her family. A family intent on building up communities in some of the poorest parts of the planet. They did this through small business startups, loans, and spiritual and emotional support.
"You don't walk out of a childhood experience like that without caring infinitely about the world around you". - Beth
Joe took a life-changing trip to Romania when he was nine years old.
"I was nine years old, going to Romania and visiting Ceausescu's palace, and right outside the gates was a different world. An extreme and unfair disparity, poverty like nothing I'd ever seen. People were living in makeshift shelters, struggling to survive as shepherds. The picture of the gates is imprinted in my mind. Something in me changed" - Joe.
We had no idea who the other was until thirteen years later. We met, and our worlds collided. We both wanted to travel, and we were terrified of being stuck in a 9-5 and, therefore, hell-bent on figuring out how to make our own money. We yearned to move freely across continents and invest in community development programmes.
We knew we were soul mates. We became Joe and Beth vs the world.
Row and John (Joe's parents) have been determined to show their children that family extends beyond their four walls. They have always had an open home, been active Church community members, worked with families, and ran kids camps for years.
Their beautiful farm has always been a place for people to escape and reset.
A brave boy and a wild girl
In 2010 Joe and Beth were rookie glampers, and Row and John, none the wiser about our mad plans. We took our student heads out of books and lectures for a weekend and escaped to a pretty wagon parked up in a garden in West Wales. Back then, you could only adventure to rustic tipis, wagons and the odd basic yurt.
And guess what? That little wagon oozed potential and charm; immediately, we knew what we wanted to do.
Unemployed uni grads broke and naive, we started to dream!
With the idea taking shape and firmly planted in our minds, we had a deep conviction we could create something beautiful. We started looking for ways and means to find financial support to make our dream a reality.
The Princes Trust Young Enterprise Programme came up in our research, and we started the application process. The Prince's Trust took a punt on us, booked us onto courses, whipped us into shape and gave us training, a startup grant and small business loan.
In 2014, we won the start up business of the year award.
We had yet to learn how popular glamping would become.
At that moment, we simply knew we loved it, and others would too. Glamping would give us two precious freedoms: time to travel off-season and finance to help support our community development work in Malawi.
We had a sense it would be the key to extraordinary adventures. Not just ours, but each guest who stays with us.
The Haven
From humble beginnings, we offer three beautiful glamping sites, two yurts: Joe and Beth's, and the Chestnut Cabin, Row and John's. Each is nestled in their own pockets of privacy on the farm to help heart-centred, sustainably-minded, adventure-loving humans escape the pressures and demands of everyday life and fan love and connection into flame.
Life is stormy and unpredictable, throwing us our fair share of curve balls, and the best way through has always been to keep looking after each other. We all need to make time to reset, to build and grow our relationships, and share experiences that bring us closer. Sometimes that calls for something different, something new, to re-focus on gratitude and the little things in life.
We have always wanted to give more than we receive.
We have always wanted to give out more than we receive. That ethos flows from your stay at The Welsh Farm to financially supporting projects in Malawi.
Right now, things are hotting up across the planet and taking care of ourselves means taking care of the earth too. We plant over 2000 trees in Malawi, offsetting all our carbon. We also fund ten school sponsorship places and fund a community centre in Malawi, making your stay even more valuable than a weekend reset.
And we won't stop there. We will keep creating, moulding and shaping our glamping hideaways, so there is a new surprise or delight to explore each time you stay.
Our wild and adventurous mission
Feeling good in nature is not just a concept but a well-researched given. Spending time outdoors boosts your immune system, lowers your blood pressure, decreases your anxiety and enhances your feelings of well-being.
So we are on a mission to raise the bar in glamping, to make nature accessible to everyone and blaze the way in guest-centred planet-friendly stays that leave you with a beautiful sense of hiraeth - longing for more.
Because you, a heart-centred, sustainably-minded, adventure-loving human, deserve to experience a dreamy romantic disconnect from the world now and then. And a short glamping break will hit your reset button perfectly. A no-compromise environment to strip back stress, give you rest and let you embrace a wild whirlwind of romance and adventure for a weekend.
Here is how you escape
The Chestnut Cabin
Our exclusive cabin and hot tub overlooks the valley. Sleeps a family of 5, plus pets.
The Country Yurt
Our private Country Yurt and hot tub set in a sweeping orchard. Sleeps 4, plus pets.
The Yurt Hideaway
Tucked away, the Yurt Hideaway and hot tub is truly a romantic escape. Sleep 2, plus pets.
