What it’s like to camp at Pippa Middleton’s farm with zip wires, slides and hundreds of animals

FIRST it was camping, then came glamping – and now, for me, it’s gramping. 

That’s when grandparents brave the elements and get back to nature with those cute grandkids in tow.

And there’s no better — or easier — place to do it than on a Feather Down farm site. 

We told Albie, five, and three-year-old Mila we were sleeping in a tent, but it was actually a canvas lodge with ready-made beds and an en suite shower with hot water.

Hardly basic camping but, then again, we didn’t have electricity, a cooker or fridge. We lit candles and oil lamps, and had a wood stove for cooking and keeping warm. For me, that’s pretty basic.

With no wifi, phones or kids’ tablets, we adults escaped the real world, while the little’uns had a break from Peppa Pig and Blaze and embraced the great outdoors.

Feather Down has hideaways at 32 working farms across the UK.

Our home for three nights was the 70-acre Bucklebury Farm & Deer Safari Park, near Reading.

Grumpy goats and dopey donkeys

It’s a favourite with the Duchess of Cambridge — the Middleton family home is nearby and it is owned by the husband of Kate’s sister Pippa.

Great choice if, like us, you have animal-mad grandkids.

There are more than 160 two and four-legged friends, including cuddly rabbits, grumpy and jumpy goats, dopey donkeys, porky pigs and chirpy chickens.

It’s a wonder they aren’t all obese because most are constantly fed with food pellets bought at the shop.

Albie and Mila poked their laden hands through the wire over and over again, giggling as the food was snuffled in a minute. 

By the end of our stay, they knew their names — Piggywiggy (no guessing what type of animal), Gordon the tortoise, Brenda the goat . . . the list goes on.

We enjoyed farm tours and a pat-a-pet session, but the real highlight was a tractor ride through the 135-strong herd of four breeds of beautiful deer.

Chris Futter, a manager from the farm, says: “It’s an exciting time right through the summer as calves are born every day.

“It doesn’t matter whether you are young or 100, there’s so much to see and do.

“And we are developing the park all the time, including extending our all-weather undercover play areas.”

The park is another great perk of Bucklebury.

It opens to the public every day, but if you are staying, children can use the playground, trampoline mats, zip-wire and indoor slides before anyone else arrives at 9.30am — and when they’ve gone home after 5pm.

No queuing is a kids’ dream. For us grandparents, carrying six rush mats at a time to the top of the slides so they had constant zooms was a complete workout. And I must have stood on the zip-wire platform for hours.

We were all exhausted by 7pm, which meant they were asleep within minutes of being tucked up into the cupboard bed.

It’s a raised bed with two hatch doors opening to the main area and to the adults’ double bed. 

Cosy, but great for safety too because I could keep my eye on them. The hideaway also has another bedroom with bunk beds, so comfortably sleeps up to six. And it’s roomy with a large dining table, sofa, deckchairs and a barbie.

We had taken charcoal, but you can buy it and most other necessities, including wine and craft beer, at the farm shop, where you can also charge your phone if you want to stay in touch with the real world. 

The adjoining cafe is brilliant, with great food such as baked potatoes and toppings, quiche and salad and £6 lunch packages for kids. Plus, good coffee kept our energy levels up for more exhilarating fun at the indoor playground.

If you manage to drag the kids off the farm, close by is Highclere Castle, where Downton Abbey was filmed, and The Nature Discovery Centre.

But to be honest, I didn’t attempt to take Albie and Mila away from the freedom of their fun Feather Down farm.