Heartwood Handbook

Hello, Please take a few minutes to read through this handbook. Thanks, Henry & Ania

If you are feeling organised, here are a few tips to plan ahead:

• Take a break on the drive down (depending on your route) - there’s Stonehenge, Cheddar Gorge, Hauser & Wirth and much more. Here’s a list near the A303.

• After a long drive, book a table in the village pub ‘The Coach & Horses’?

• Book a jewellery making workshop with your host Ania - click here.

• Order a ‘Heddons Farm’ food box delivery if you are arriving on a Friday

• Book a surf lesson with the awesome Mark down at Westward Ho - for all levels and age’s.

• Visit a nearby supermarket: Asda, Sainsburys or Lidl.

We are inviting you down to stay at our home and we have a few house rules:

• No pets I’m afraid. (We have a resident cat and the surrounding farms have livestock).

• Please keep the noise down after 10pm. This is a quiet place not a party place.

• You are responsible for your own safety, and everyone in your groups safety, during your stay at Praktyka. We have taken a lot of care to develop the site but there are uneven surfaces where you may trip or slip.

• Children should not be left unaccompanied to roam around the site.

• Each accommodation has their own private garden onsite, please respect your neighbours privacy.

A few useful things to bring include:

• Towels & beach towels

• Beach equipment - bucket & spade, deckchairs, wetsuit, surfboard, etc…

• Food and kitchen condiments.

• Eco toiletries - we provide eco soap, washing up liquid & body wash.

• Picnic blanket

• Marshmello’s & sticks.

• Drinks bottles and lunchboxes for pack lunches.

• Torch

• Walking boots / wellies / waterproof shoes.

• Wooly hat for sitting by the fire

• Kite

• Waterproofs - jacket, trousers & umbrella.

• Swimming costume

• Books

• Suncream

• Sunglasses

• Thermos

• Hand Sanitizer

• Face Mask

What Three Words: sped.dolls.deck.

Please follow this link on WHAT THREE WORDS to find us directly.

We prefer to use ‘What Three Words’ as our postcode directs you to our neighbours farm ‘Bearah.’ We are the next door property. Up the hill on the left. You will see Thorne Farm on the gate.

Our Address:

Thorne Farm, Buckland Brewer, Nr Bideford, Devon, EX39 5NA

Please take care driving in the lanes, they can be narrow in places. There are plenty of passing places and you never know who you will meet around the corner, dog walker, horse or huge tractor. 

Directions from the Coach & Horses pub in Buckland Brewer village:

Come out of the pub and turn left. After about fifty metres turn right down the lane opposite the primary school. Go all the way down the lane to the bottom of the hill and up the other side. 

As you go up the hill you will pass a farm on the left called ‘Bearah.’ We are the next turning on the left at the top of the hill. You will see some trees, and a driveway on the left with ‘Thorne Farm’ written on the gate.

Please drive in and park up in the car park. 

Pass through the archway and follow signs to Heartwood. 

Please find above a very simple sitemap showing you where to go on arriving.

Heartwood will be available from 4pm on the day of your Arrival. 

We ask all guests to self-check in.

Your accommodation will be clean and ready for you to enjoy.

Please take a few minutes to read all the links in this handbook.

If you have any urgent questions, please send us a message.

Please note that we are continuing to ask guests to practice social distancing during their stays. 

Therefore we ask you to email or message us by phone if you have any questions. We promise to check our messages at least twice a day - normally at the start and end of the day. 

Email - henry@praktyka.co.uk

Telephone - Henry - 07723007644 

Emergency Contacts: 

General Emergency - Fire, Police or Ambulance : Call 999 

Location grid reference: SS 42215 19295 or EX395NA. 

If you need urgent medical advice call 111 or visit: www.111.nhs.uk

A&E Hospital - North Devon District Hospital. Open 24/7.

North Devon District Hospital. 

Raleigh Park, Barnstaple. 

Devon. 

EX314JB 

Tel: 01271 322 577

Please do not smoke or use candles in the Heartwood as it is a flammable structure. 

Please follow the instructions outlined below to use the woodburner. There’s a certain technique required to make it burn smoothly.

Please do not leave it unattended when the door is open.

Please do not flammable materials within one metre of the woodburner. 

In the event of a fire:  

Exit the accommodation as quickly as possible without stopping to gather possessions, and meet in the car park. 

Call the fire brigade on 999. 

Alert your hosts Henry and Ania immediately.

A fire extinguisher is located under the sink in the kitchen. 

Woodburner ‘The Saltfire Peanut 5’ 

We provide you with a pile of seasoned hardwood, kindling and firelighters for your stay. 

More logs and kindling can be purchased on request if needed at cost price.

Please take a moment to read these instructions - even if you are very used to using woodburners,

Here is a ‘quick guide’.

(You can find the comprehensive manual here if you are that way inclined.)

1. How to light the woodburner? 

Ignition

Make sure all the air vents are fully open. 

Primary Air - pull this knob out to increase air flow.   

Secondary Air - push this knob to the left to be fully open. 

Tertiary Air - pull this knob out to increase air flow. 

Make sure the ash tray is empty and in place. 

Make a stack of kindling in the centre of the fire. 

Light with a single fire lighter. 

Partially shut the door leaivng it cracked open slightly. 

After about five minutes when the fire is well established close the door and add a few more pieces of kindling. 

After a further three minutes or so add 3 logs. 

When the fire is burning well, the primary air vent should be closed. With the secondary and tertiary vents left open. If the fire looks like it needs a boost - re-open the primary vent a little bit. 

2. Refuelling 

As the fire burns down to embers, you can refuel by adding a few more logs. Use the glove to open the door, it will be hot. 

Open the primary air vent for 2 to 3 minutes to establish the new burn. 

Always refuel onto glowing hot embers. 

If the fire has died, you will need to repeat the ignition steps outlined above. 

The burn rate can be reduced by closing the secondary and tertiary air vents. 

All of the woodburner will be hot - please make sure everyone in your group knows this. 

Always use the glove provided to refuel and use the controls. 

Only use very dry hardwood and kindling in the woodburner, otherwise it will not work. 

Do not operate the fire with the door open, apart from as instructed to ignite the fire. 

Hot water for the shower and sink are supplied by an electric water heater - providing continuous hot water.

The kitchen setup:

We provide a small but perfectly formed kitchen with a sink, worktop, induction hob, kettle, toaster, fridge and plenty of storage.

Please bring all condiments and food supplies you require for your stay. And please take them all away with you at the end of your stay.

We suggest using a wedge to keep the door open for ventilation when you are cooking.

Kitchen kit list:

Two ring induction hob.

Small fridge

Kettle

Toaster

Pots & frying pan.

Cafetiere

Plates & bowls

Cutlery & utensils

Glasses, mugs & wine glasses

Please ask if you have any more specific questions.

The Heartwood has it’s own private bathroom facilities:

Toilet

There is a compost toilet 20m away from the accommodation along a footpath. The toilet seat is a ‘bog standard’ sit down toilet setup. When you finished please make sure you put a couple of scoops of woodchip into the container.

Shower

There is a lush outdoor shower on the deck of the Heartwood. At the time of writing (Feb) the shower is very much an outdoor shower that you might find at the beach. We will be adding a more enclosed shower cubicle in coming weeks to provide more privacy.

We provide soap, hand sanitiser, washing up liquid, and a surface cleaner for use during your stay. These will be located under the sink. 

Please do not leave food out un attended or that will attract squirrels and other animals.

Please note that the best way to avoid the spread of Coronavirus is by washing hands and surfaces thoroughly with hot soapy water. 

Under the sink you will find two bins - the front one for general waste and the rear one for ‘mixed recycling’ the following: 

• Paper 

• Cardboard 

• Glass bottles 

• Plastic bottles 

• Tins 

Please rinse any containers thoroughly and remove lids to the general waste bins. Please compact any plastic bottles or cartons. 

When your kitchen bin bag is full, please empty it to one of the large green dustbins in the car park. 

You will see a plastic black box in the car park which is for glass recycling. 

Please remove all food from the kitchens and the fridge at the end of your stay.

We do not provide wi-fi. We are at the top of a hill and there is good mobile signal. This is also a chance to to unplug and have a digital detox.

We provide a kadai firebowl and all the tools for an outdoor fire or BBQ. You can use logs or charcoal on the fire. Please cover the fire with the lid when it is not in use.

There is no lock for the dome or the Heartwood, please keep any items of high value you are concerned about secure or locked away in your car.

Our changeover days are particularly busy. We greatly appreciate any help you can offer to keep the place tidy during your stay: 

Remove all the food from the accommodation that you have brought with you - from fridges, cupboards and accommodation. 

Please ensure all the kitchen items you have used have been cleaned. 

Please empty all bins and recycling. 

Please check the property thoroughly before leaving - including under beds and the garden. 

Please depart promptly by 10am, we need all the time to prepare the space for the next guests.

Thankyou for leaving the Heartwood tidy and we hope to see you again soon at Praktyka, 

Please share any photos, stories or feedback with us. We are trying to improve what we do all the time.

Much love, 

Henry & Ania & Ziggy.

Click here to go to the local recommendations page.