We list about 200 Devon stays on a working farm, and 135 of them take dogs. A farm stay means animals within sight, tractors on the lane and mud on the boots, and on some farms it also means a shared pool or a games barn. Decide whether you want the farm as a backdrop or the main event, then check the lane, the dog rules and any shared facility’s opening months.
Dartmoor-edge farms: walking from the gate
Lydford has The Coach House, which sleeps 11 at the end of a private lane on a 250-acre working farm. It has its own indoor pool and sauna, a boot room with a shower for muddy days, parking for five cars and room for three dogs. The farm’s shared outdoor heated pool runs from late May to mid September.
Near Ashburton, Higher Whiddon Farm Whiddon Well is a two-bedroom cottage attached to the owners’ farmhouse, inside the national park. Steps lead down to it and the double bedroom sits under sloping eaves. A separate secure dog area suits the two dogs allowed, but horses, chickens, sheep and cows share the farm, so dogs stay on a lead outside the cottage.
For a quiet couple’s base, Forestoke Linhay is a barn conversion on a working farm at Holne. It is let to two guests only, with no children under 12, no pets and no WiFi.
Hartland: cattle and sheep near the coast
Lower Firebeacon Barn stands on the owners’ 260-acre cattle and sheep farm, 3 miles from Hartland. It sleeps eight in four bedrooms, footpaths run from the farm to the coast, and guests can meet some animals by arrangement. Children have a slide, trampoline and football goal, and two dogs are allowed. The shop and beach are 3 miles away and the pub 2 miles, so plan on driving.
On the same farm, Firebeacon is a single-storey barn for four that takes three dogs. Dogs are banned from the beach at Hartland Quay from April to September.
Farms with shared pools and games barns
We list 33 stays at Berrynarbor, 11 of them on a working farm. Ruggaton Cottage is one of nine on a small farm complex, with a shared indoor heated pool and sunken hot tub open 9am to 6pm. The sauna runs in the off-peak season only. Children have an enclosed play area and a games barn, and two dogs are welcome. It is not a secluded stay.
Shared outdoor pools close outside the summer months. Twelve Oaks Farmhouse at Teigngrace, 2 miles from Newton Abbot, sleeps 10 and shares an outdoor heated pool open 8am to 8pm from May to September, plus a farm shop and fishing lake. It takes one dog, and children need supervising at all times. Country Life Casscade Cottage near Westward Ho! shares a 40ft pool open from the last May bank holiday week until 1 September.
Near Beaworthy, Apple Tree Cottage has a heated indoor pool and sauna booked through a guest app for a two-hour daily slot, plus a games room and soft-play area. It does not accept dogs. For a wider choice, see our cottages with swimming pools in Devon.
Farms where children meet the animals
Rolling Bramble Cottage is one of seven on a farm near Langtree. Each morning guests can join the owners to feed animals, collect eggs and ride on a tractor, with alpacas, pygmy goats, pigs and a miniature donkey on the farm. It sleeps four and has parking for one car, with more on request.
At Orchard Meadow Cottage near Colyton, guests can feed lambs, collect eggs and watch milking from a viewing gallery. It is the only holiday cottage on its farm, but the orchard has an unfenced pond, and the garden walls stand about a metre high with no fence above, so young children and dogs need watching. For a bigger group, Barn Owl Cottage at West Down sleeps 10, takes five dogs and shares a play barn and farm animals with four other properties.
If your farm has no animals to meet, Pennywell Farm near Buckfastleigh is a day out aimed at children aged roughly 1 to 8.
South Hams farm barns
The Hayloft - Burton Farmhouse is a reverse-living barn for two on a working farm near Galmpton, under a mile from Hope Cove. The living space is upstairs, reached by outside steps or an internal staircase, and a pizza oven and barbecue area is shared with other guests on the farm. The beach is about 1.6 miles away. Dogs are not accepted.
The Barn at Aveton Gifford sleeps four on a working farm about a mile from the village, with six acres of farmland and a fenced wildlife pond to share. Its living space is also upstairs, and pets are not allowed.
Farm stays for couples
Owls Roost Escape at Eggesford is a wooden cabin for two next to the Tarka Trail, with footpaths and bridleways from the gate and an enclosed deck. Two dogs are welcome, parking is for one car and the nearest shop is 4 miles away.
Fritillary Cottage is a one-level former store barn near Bradworthy, with fresh eggs from the farm yard and a pub under a mile away. It takes no pets. The Hayloft at Lowton sits beside a small farm inside Dartmoor National Park, a short walk from Moretonhampstead, and allows one dog with an enclosed wildflower meadow to exercise it in.
Final checks before you book
Use each property page to narrow the choice, then confirm dates, price, access and any critical facility on the booking site it links to, which handles the booking and payment. Our links may earn a commission when you book.
On a farm, ask what is grazing and whether dogs must be on a lead everywhere: East Mill Barn at Bish Mill requires one beyond its enclosed garden. Check the lane and where the car goes, because some farm stays have space for one car. Ask whether a shared pool, sauna or games barn is open on your dates, since the outdoor pools above open only in summer, and expect to supervise children closely near ponds, lakes and machinery.
