In November 2017 we appeared in the Channel 4 TV programme "Four In a Bed" (daytime tv) to feature our new glamping site (Cledan Valley) - even though we do not own a television and have never watched the programme itself. In fact we are the least interested family in daytime television, that I have ever come across and no doubt our kids will harangue us about it when they are teenagers stating violation of human rights etc None the less, the experience of seeing the programme in the making was interesting, slightly alarming how removed from the truth it is, and most of all the best holiday we have had in years!
We had received a fishing email asking us if we wanted to take part. Our initial response was a big fat "no" but actually when we thought about it - national television coverage was a priceless opportunity! So with some trepidation, we got in touch and before we knew it, we were "auditioning" for the show. They must have liked us, because only a few months later, we were in the car en-route for sunny Torquay. We stayed in a hotel overnight before the shoot began and the camera crew came to pick us up early next morning. We got accustomed to the microphones and were briefed on what was about to happen, and then we were off, being filmed driving to the first B&B in our episode, and interviewed over a walkie-talkie regarding our expectations etc. We stayed in a pleasant family-run B&B, got to know the other contestants, enjoyed the surprise afternoon wall-climbing challenge, and began to appreciate how many takes it really takes to capture "reality" television. Although being filmed going to bed was a little surprising!
The next morning after our filmed waking up and breakfast, and a brief but oh so pleasant dip in the pool (this was that really hot week in June 2017 - the only good bit of our whole summer), we set off for Worcester, now already clued into the film industry linguo and excited about the contestants and show. Once more we stayed in a B&B before we headed for the second featured establishment which turned out to be a brilliant pub with rooms in Worcester, the Cardinal's Hat, oldest pub in Worcester with the wonderful Nigel, our fellow contestant. We had a thoroughly pleasant stay including some hilarity over the bedside lighting in our room which the camera man took great delight in filming (with a lot of camera shake as he tried to suppress his own laughs). After a superb breakfast, we were free to enjoy a weekend off before filming at our site and the final venue for the show. As we live in Mid-Wales far from most retail chains, and inspired by our experiences on Four In a Bed, we decided on some last-minute improvements to make at our own site in preparation for the filming. So we dashed off to a local retail park before returning to Wales with some new furniture, linen sets, knick-knacks and pots of paint.
We had decided, having met the contestants, that there were some small alterations we could make that would improve their perceptions of our site as we were a little dismayed that none of the other contestants seemed to be people who would greatly appreciate glamping and more specifically the adventure and time away from technology that we offer. We had somewhat rashly decided that the Shepherds Hut that we bought with the land and is a fairly basic, though very pleasant little couple's retreat, could do with a bit of an upgrade as it had few finishing touches to raise it up to the extraordinary. And so Friday night, with 3 nights before the camera crews arrived, we bedded the kids down in a ten outside and set to re-decorating. Unfortunately our one-night job turned into a 3-night job when we discovered our paint colour choices were not what we had expected, and other minor disasters. Tuesday morning as we waited for the first participant to arrive, we were desperately still trying to air the hut to get the paint smell out! But it was worth it because the new two-tone paint job, cupboard doors to enclose the under-bed space, the comfier furniture and new bedding had definitely given it a pleasant and plusher feel.
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| Before its make-over |
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| After its make-over |
The contestants arrived and we threw ourselves into host mode. Unfortunately, the weather was particularly unkind after the fantastic hot sunny weather of the previous week, and our site was a little squelchy and cool, with a midge problem during the dry spells. The inside of the tents looked fab but the guests did not get to appreciate the beauty of our corner of Wales, nor did they appreciate the outdoor living that was sprung on them by complete surprise and for which they were mentally and materially severely under-equipped despite the packing list we had been provided.
One of the contestants complained about the lack of lights on site and we pointed out that guests are reminded to bring torches. She replied that she didn't need to bring a torch because she had her phone, but it had run out of charge. We felt sorry for her really, because despite being frustrated that she had not brought a torch as instructed, unlike our usual guests who know they have booked to come to our site, she hadn't known where she was going until she arrived. We did however take her complaints to heart as in 2018 we significantly expanded the solar-powered lighting available around our site.
The surprise afternoon activity that had been picked for us (and which we were very dismayed about) was for Karen to deliver a brief PT session. This was doubly troublesome, as she had literally just the day we left for Torquay in week 1, seriously injured herself and was barely able to hobble around. The weather also ruined the scheduled evening barbecue which we then had to head down to the pub to have. So we had BBQ food whilst sitting inside a pub side-room.
The next morning dawned a little dryer but still very cold and we hung around (there is an incredible amount of waiting during filming - hours and hours and hours) whilst our guests were filmed breakfasting on their breakfast hampers that we had had to start offering in order to qualify for the show. We still offer Breakfast hampers on our website and they are hugely popular. The night before, one of the contestants had invited the others to join them at the Honeymoon yurt for a communal breakfast which we were thrilled at, seeing this as Cledan bringing people together in the way that we want it to. However from the feedback and the filming footage we saw, the same contestants complained about having to cook and wash-up from their breakfast hamper. I guess you can't win with some people!
The rest of the day passed in an exhausting blurr with copious amounts of waiting around, and we wrapped up filming at 9pm which left us to clean our site in the damp darkness before jumping in the car to head for Barnstaple where filming would start the next day for the final contestants' establishment.
The final establishment was everything a country house B&B should be in a lovely little village and we would have thoroughly enjoyed it if we hadn't been so exhausted from our 2am arrival at our B&B the night before. By now well-accustomed to the filming routine, we got through the day as cheerfully as we could! The next morning we squeezed in a pre-breakfast run before another fabulous breakfast, more filming and then en-route for a hotel where we stayed the night before the final day of filming.
The final day of filming was a painful feedback and confrontation day with many repeats of the same comments from different angles, but it was very sad when it was all over. Sad to say goodbye to the film crew, sad to say goodbye to the fellow contestants, and sad retrospectively to say goodbye to this unusual, surreal experience away from the hassles of kids and businesses. Would definitely do it again given a chance and although the footage of our site on the show was not as good as it could have been, the feedback and comments we have had have reassured us we do have something special here!
