Hello, Winsham Farm Centre.
Oh, hello. I want to arrange a weekend away for myself and some people from work, and we heard about your centre. I wonder if you could give me some details.
Yes, certainly. We are a residential centre attached to a working farm and we organise educational activities for those guests who want them. What else would you like to know?
Well, firstly, what kind of accommodation have
you got?
We’ve got eight rooms altogether and we can sleep 38 at any one time. Three of the rooms have got six bunks and five of them have got four bunks.
Right, and what other facilities are there?
We have separate toilets and showers for each of the rooms. There’s a large dining room and a large meeting room which can be booked by groups in advance, but I’m afraid we had a flood in there last month and the floor was slightly damaged, so unfortunately it’s out of use just now. We’ve got workmen coming in next week.
When were you thinking of staying?
In three weeks’ time, the 28th of September.
Oh, it should be okay by then.
Oh, well, that’s okay then. Uh, and what about food? Do you provide meals or is it self-catering?
We’re very flexible. As long as you give us enough notice we can cater for you, or if you prefer you can just bring your own food and use the kitchen facilities, and some people prefer to eat out, which is also fine.
Fine. And I heard that your farm is organic. Does that mean that you only have crops and no animals?
It doesn’t actually. A lot of people seem to think that, but we do rear livestock as well. And so we have a wide range of food. Organic means it’s all produced without the use of artificial fertilisers or pesticides.
I see. That sounds good. Um, could you tell me what sort of recreational activities are available, either at the centre or in the area?
Yes. Here at the centre, we offer farm tours. They’re very popular. One of the farm managers shows people around and explains some of the principles of organic farming. And for any visitors who are really keen, you let them drive a tractor, or feed the animals, and so on — with supervision, of course.
I think a lot of our group would be interested in that. It’d make a change from factory work.
Well, if they fancy it, tell them to come prepared. Plenty of old clothing, especially footwear. It can be very messy and wet.
Okay, I’ll warn them. And another type of activity we do is survival courses, but that’s only for groups of five or more, and they’ve got to be acquaintances — they have to co-operate closely. These courses are very popular, especially with school groups, but adults seem to enjoy them too.
What do they involve? Things like map reading?
Well, not exactly. What it is, we’ve got a large area of woodland on the farm and we run this course there. It’s mainly about collecting food and water, lighting a fire without any equipment, that kind of thing.
Hmm, this weekend could be hard work. What about the area around the centre? What is there to do?
If you look at a map you’ll see that we’re very well situated here. Our centre’s about midway between the Exmoor National Park, which is very popular for hill walking, and the South Coast, which has very good beaches.
Are they both within walking distance?
Well, they’re both a bit far, unless you’re very fit, but they’re only about 30 minutes by road, and there’s also a cycle path which starts quite near here, about 10 minutes’ walk away. You can hire bikes at the starting point.
What is there to do if the weather’s bad? I hope it won’t be, but you never know.
Yes, that’s right. Well, on most Saturday evenings we show films here and then once a month a group of local musicians performs in our meeting room. And then Sherbourne is only 14 miles away. It’s only a small town but it’s got a very good museum and an old Abbey which is well worth a visit.
Well, it sounds perfect for our purposes. One last thing, what about prices? I’m not sure yet, but there’ll probably be about 15 of us.
We charge a standard £14 a head for accommodation, whether there are 10 or 20 of you or whatever, and about £7 for cooked meals, depending on the menu you want. Use of the kitchen facilities is extra, as is the hire of the meeting room. It depends really what exactly you want and for how many people.
Right. Well, I’ve made a note of all that, and I’ll discuss it with the rest of the group. Then I’ll get back to you with a firm booking.
Can I do that by phone?
Yes, you can. But once you’ve made a booking, we would need a deposit within five days to secure it. Then you just pay the balance when you’re here.
Oh yes, of course. Uh, could you give me the address, please?
Yes, it’s Winsham Farm, Catill Road — that’s C-O-T-E-H-E-L-E — near Sherbourne, and the postcode is SH12 1LQ.
Thank you.
