People book glamping for July and then discover the good bit is January. Sitting in a hot tub with cold air on your face and nothing but dark farmland in front of you is a completely different experience to doing the same thing in the sun, and every part of a stay at Ballagan Farm is built to work either way.
The pods are warm, properly
Each pod is lined in warm timber from floor to curved ceiling, with an electric panel heater to keep the chill off, so they're just as cosy on a wet October evening as they are in July. Both have their own electricity and water supply, an en-suite with a walk-in shower, a flat-screen TV in the corner for a lazy evening in, and a proper dining table if you'd rather sit down to eat than balance a plate on your knee. Bedding, towels, robes and slippers are all included, which matters more in winter than it does in August.
The hot tubs are ready before you are
Both tubs are up to temperature and waiting when you arrive, so there's no evening spent watching a thermometer. The Rose Pod's tub sits open to the sky on its own decking with an umbrella and a chiminea alongside, which is the setup you want on a clear, cold night. The Thistle Pod's is under a covered gazebo, which is the setup you want when it's actually raining. Neither is a compromise; they're just two different kinds of good.
Sauna, then cold air, then bed
The Thistle Pod has sole access to our Scandinavian barrel sauna, tucked into a quiet corner with an uninterrupted run of countryside in front of it and a wood-fired heater and stones inside. In winter the contrast between the sauna and the walk back is the whole point.
And you can still cook outside
The BBQ hut is a proper wooden hut with a central charcoal grill, a built-in chimney and fairy lights strung along the beams, so bad weather doesn't cancel dinner. It's exclusive to the Rose Pod and can be added to your stay, which is worth thinking about if you're coming out of season and want somewhere to sit round a fire.
The one thing that does change with the season is the light: short days mean the view south across the fields is doing its best work at about four in the afternoon. Plan the walk for the morning and the tub for the dark.
