Sunset over our Mill pond
We hope your stay is comfortable and tranquil
We are Mark and Polly Baines and we welcome you to the Shepherd's Hide.
Located on our family farm, the Shepherds Hide huts "Wigeon" and "Teal" are luxurious, unique and secluded self-catering shepherds huts, tucked away on the heart of the Essex coast, just outside Colchester. They are perfect for short breaks, romantic getaways or for longer self-catering holidays in the countryside with excellent bird watching and walking on site and a range of tourist attractions nearby. Mill Farm, is about 60 acres of a mixture of vineyard, grassland, salt marsh, tidal creeks and inland waters and is the home of the only fully restored tide mill in Essex, Thorrington Tide Mill.
Awards and recognitions
In April 2021, we were featured in the Condé Nast Traveller article 'Glamping near London: 5 of the best sites.' In February 2018 we were voted as one of Essex's top 10 most romantic spots by Essex Life Magazine and we are very proud to have been featured as Number 3 in Adventure Travel Magazine's round-up of the 10 most incredible winter glamping sites in the UK in October 2017. We are also proud to have been featured as Number 25 in The Daily Telegraph's Summer 2016 Top 40 Glamping Campsites in the UK and Europe. We were delighted to be awarded Regional Finalist in The Rural Business Awards in 2018/2019.