February now open to book. 12 places.
Come on your own. Leave with eleven new friends.
12 to 14 February · 42 Acres, Somerset
Twelve people, all over 45.
£295 deposit now, £585 six weeks before. Twelve places.
By reserving you accept our terms and conditions.
The company
Nobody arrives knowing anyone. That's the point.
You come on your own. So does everyone else. Twelve people over 45, and we keep the group balanced so it works. The getting-to-know-each-other part happens over the garden, the fire and long meals, not icebreakers.
The place
173 acres, and a walled garden where everything is edible.
173 acres of ancient woodland, rewilded meadows and a lake near Frome. At the heart of it is a walled garden planted only with things you can eat: vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers mixed together, so it is beautiful as well as productive. Beyond the walls, a no-dig market garden, a mushroom farm in the woods, a bee garden and over 3,000 edible hedging plants.
Your room
Your own room and bathroom. Both nights.
King beds, real fires and four buildings around the estate: the 15th-century Hermitage, the Library Barn, Monks Hatch and, for one person, the Tiny Boat on the lake.
The food
Soil to table, from a few hundred yards away.
Almost everything on the table is grown, reared or foraged on the estate. In February that means winter greens, stored roots and squash, and the preserving they did in the autumn. Every meal from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch, at one long table.
The weekend
Gently hosted. Never over scheduled.
What it costs
- Includes
- Your room, every meal, the day on the land, the wild sauna, the fire circle, film night and transfers from Castle Cary
- To secure it
- £295 now, £585 six weeks before the weekend
- Places
- 12, everyone over 45, everyone on their own
- Cancellations
- If we can't offer you a place, your deposit comes back in full. If you cancel, we'll do our best to fill your place and refund what we can.
Reserve, we say hello, you turn up.
- 1
Two minutes. Tell us a little about yourself and pay the £295 deposit. The place is yours.
- 2
We email you within a day to say hello, tell you a bit about who else is coming, and answer anything you're wondering.
- 3
You pay the balance six weeks before, pack wellies and warm layers, and we collect you from Castle Cary.
Questions people ask
I'm coming on my own. Will it be awkward?
No. Everyone arrives solo, so nobody is joining someone else’s group, and by Saturday lunch it feels like one table of friends.
Do I need to be a proper gardener?
No. Some of us have an allotment, some have a windowsill and some just like eating well. The gardeners pitch the day for everyone, and it is as much about the tasting as the growing.
What's the weather like in February?
Cold, and probably wet at some point. That is why the log burners are lit and the sauna is on. The garden sessions move under cover if it pours. Bring wellies.
Do I have to get in the lake?
No. Every activity is optional, very much including the cold dip.
What happens afterwards
The weekend is the start of it, not the end.
The group chat stays open
Everyone keeps talking after Sunday lunch.
A reunion dinner
Within a month, same people, one long table.
First pick of the next one
And everyone from your weekend is in Your People on PLY.
October sold out, then December. The thing people kept telling me about was the garden. So this one is for anyone who would rather be outside in a garden in February than indoors anywhere else.
Karen, founder of PLY