Group Getaway Ideas

En route to your large luxury holiday home for your group getaway at the weekend make sure you make a trip to Mainsgill Farm Shop. This family-run farm is only 5 minutes away from Greenbank Barns and offers a vast selection of award-winning local produce. 

If you can tear yourself away from meeting Doris, Delilah and Camelot the camels at the farm get inside to the foodhall. Choose from a huge selection of treats including home reared meats, a delicatessen and an award-winning bakery… 

These three gorgeous Yorkshire holiday barns are set within acres of stunning private gardens with glorious views across the Holmedale valley and beyond. The jacuzzi style hot tubs are perfect for an evening dip. Make sure you stay up late enough to see the most picturesque sunsets and starry nights sky to make this trip even more memorable. 

Start your morning enjoying the picturesque morning views of gorgeous Yorkshire countryside with a coffee before you get ready for today’s adventure.  

Barnard Castle is only a 20 minutes drive away from the barns and is a treasure trove for visitors. Discover antique shops as well as shops selling gorgeous interiors, (make sure you visit Niche Living at the top of the high street who designed the stunning interiors at the barns). This unique market town is also full of history, heritage and beauty with plenty to do for all ages with impressive ruins of a fine medieval monastery, Egglestone Abbey, and Barnard Castles main attraction – The Bowes Museum. An impressive French-style chateau, surrounded by gardens and parkland. 

After all that shopping and exploring, when you start feeling peckish why not enjoy a sandwich and homemade cake at any of the boutique local tea rooms on the high street but make sure you save room for your evening meal as we have big plans…  

If you are visiting for a special occasion we recommend getting dressed up and heading to the Coach House at Middleton Lodge for some fine dining, offering a ‘Mediterranean chargrill menu, inspired by the Yorkshire countryside.’ Explore the beautiful gardens and have a walk around the gorgeous setting before tucking into a three–course meal and enjoy carefully crafted cocktails and handpicked wines. Our favourite is the refreshing ‘Coach House Garden’ which is filled with gin, apple liqueur and elderflower cordial.  

If you would prefer to keep the weekend more casual, why not get some fish and chips from the Fox Hall Inn nearby or bring home some local produce from Barnard Castle to eat in front of the log burning stove in Dexter or outside on the comfy garden furniture.  

After a well deserved Sunday morning lie-in, get your walking boots on and explore the local area… Have a walk to Ravensworth, turn right at the bottom of the drive, past the nurseries and you can see the old abbey ruins in the village of Ravensworth before enjoying a local ale at the Bay Horse, a local friendly pub less than a mile down the road from the barns so within walking distance if you fancy more than a couple!  

After walking up an appetite why not make plans for one of our private chefs to spoil your group and prepare a Sunday lunch of your choice back at the barns, they even do the washing up! If you would prefer to jump in the car, book a table at the Black Bull in Moulton, only 10 minutes away, an award–winning traditional Yorkshire pub with cosy fires, a great menu and a true Yorkshire welcome. We recommend the grand reserve sirloin of beef and sticky toffee pudding!  

Make sure you get home in time for a late-night dip in the hot tub back at the barns and get competitive in the games room at The Farmhouse with a pool table, as well as a cocktail bar to get practising making your own fancy flavours!