These booking conditions apply to all bookings made on or after 5th February 2021 and supercede any previous conditions that may have been in force.

1. BOOKING

A booking may be accepted by us by phone, email, post or via our on-line booking system. When You book with us You are entering into a contract with Knowle Farm LLP a limited liability partnership (hereafter referred to as Knowle Farm) and this contract is subject to your acceptance of our booking conditions. If we agree to take your booking over the phone or from details provided by letter or email You will be deemed to have read and accepted the booking conditions. All bookings are subject to these conditions. Should we request You send us additional confirmation that You have read and accepted the booking conditions, for example where we have taken a booking by phone and agreed to enter your booking details for You via our on-line booking platform, and You fail to do so, or should You subsequently decide you will not accept the booking conditions, the cancellation conditions will apply as if You had given notice to cancel. Once we have accepted a booking You, the person making the booking, are legally bound by the booking and will be responsible for the full cost of the booking. We reserve the right to cancel your booking if for any reason we believe You or anyone in your party may not comply with the booking conditions and in this event the cancellation conditions will apply as if You had given notice to cancel. The person making the booking, You, must be aged 18 or over at the time of booking and is responsible for ensuring all parties named in the booking understand, accept and comply with these booking conditions. The person making the booking, You, is nevertheless the person who will liable for any costs arising from damages caused by any of the party staying under this booking, to the property at Knowle Farm or other extra expenses, such as, but not limited to, extra cleaning that might arise from their booking.

2. PAYMENT

To secure your booking You must use the on-line booking platform to be found on our website or contact us via phone or email, and in any event you will need to make payment prior to your booking being confirmed. In all cases payment must be made of either the full cost of the holiday if within eight weeks of the starting date, or a deposit of 30% of the full cost of the holiday, in accordance with the tariff published at the time of your reservation on our website or as agreed with us and confirmed in writing by us at the time of your reservation. The balance of your payment must be paid to us prior to eight weeks before the starting date. Whereas reminders are normally automatically sent to the email address registered on your booking if for any reason you do not receive a reminder You remain responsible for remembering to pay us on time. We therefore recommend you set a diary reminder of your own of the balance due date which will be specified on your booking summary at the time of your booking confirmation and where there will be a link for payment. Should the balance not be received by its due date You will be deemed to have cancelled the booking and the cancellation conditions herein will apply. You will remain responsible for the balance due for the booking should we be unable to rebook the same period.

3. VAT

If applicable the price published will include VAT. Should the rate of VAT alter or the Government impose any other charge or levy on our business that effects our costs at any time, before or after you have made your booking, then we reserve the right to add these costs onto the cost of the holiday.

VAT no. 854 4972 87.

4. GROUP BOOKINGS and MULTIPLE BOOKINGS OF COTTAGES

We do not automatically accept bookings from groups or parties requiring more than one cottage at a given time and we would stress that our cottages and facilities are most suitable for families with children rather than adult only groups. We must be advised at the time of making a reservation if You are part of any such group or if you have friends or family staying at the same time in another cottage or cottages. We reserve the right to cancel any such booking or require the occupants to leave immediately if we discover they are part of such a booking. We may make exceptions to the multiple cottage booking or group booking but this will be at our sole discretion and when we are told at the time of an enquiry and prior to a reservation. A damage/extra cleaning deposit may be requested at the time of such booking and will be payable in advance for any multiple cottage booking or adult only group. We will make a charge for any such costs arising. When two or more cottages are let together to a group it is conditional that no items within are moved between the cottages during your stay and in the event that we find this has occurred we reserve the right to make a penalty charge of a minimum of £50 per cottage to fully check and rectify the inventory in each cottage.

5. USE OF THE COTTAGE PREMISES and FACILITIES

Whilst You are paying a fee to stay at Knowle Farm which includes the use of the cottage premises stated on the booking form along with the facilities and services provided at Knowle Farm, the cottage premises and all the facilities remain under the direct control of the owners of Knowle Farm and you accept that you do not acquire any legal interest in the cottage premises or the facilities at any time. You further accept that we remain in legal occupation of the cottage premises and retain control over them, whilst we in turn agree to provide the use of the cottage premises, the facilities and services we offer to you but always subject to these booking conditions. We reserve the right to enter the cottage premises at any time should we require to do so and where we consider it necessary. We will of course endeavour not to intrude upon your privacy but this will be at our sole discretion. Some services will be charged for separately and these are detailed within our website or within the information contained in the cottage. Guests are not permitted to bring PETS onto the farm or into the cottages. Should we discover that a pet or pets have been brought onto the farm You will be in breach of the booking conditions and your booking will be cancelled and your party will be required to leave immediately without refund. There will be no exceptions to this apart from registered Guide Dogs for the Blind or other registered 'Care/Assistance' Dogs for the physically impaired. Should you be dependent upon such a dog it is conditional that you tell us at the time you make your booking as this may impact upon our future guests and our cleaning regime for the cottage.

6. CANCELLATION

6.1 By accepting your booking we are agreeing to reserve a cottage for You for a given period. This prevents us from letting that cottage to others. If You wish or need to cancel your booking for any reason You must ensure You are adequately insured against such possibility.

We therefore recommend in the strongest possible terms that You purchase cancellation insurance to cover the cost of your holiday with us. Whilst we cannot make this conditional, failure to purchase suitable insurance or of that insurance to cover the circumstances of your cancellation, will have no bearing on your liability to us for the full cost of the holiday accommodation. Should you or anyone in your party or family become ill prior to arrival for any reason and you are unable to take your holiday or should other circumstances arise that might necessitate you cancelling your holiday we are not liable to offer you any refund in those circumstances other than as detailed below under 6.2. This includes but is not limited to illness of any kind including Covid-19 or its variants, the necessity to self isolate or quarantine, shielding, change in your work circumstances, change in your personal circumstances, incarceration, illness or death of a close relative, family emergency, jury duty, military service and travel problems/delays. These remain at your risk and do not give rise to a right to cancel and receive a refund should You cancel, other than as detailed in 6.2 below. Cancellation insurance is available to protect against many such circumstances and it is your responsibility to ensure you and your party are adequately insured against such risks. Should You choose not to take out adequate travel/cancellation insurance then You accept the responsibility for any loss You or those in your party may incur due to your cancellation.

Please refer to our Covid Cancellation Guarantee below (para 7.).

6.2 Should You wish to cancel your holiday for the dates booked then you must send us written notice to this effect and it is your responsibility to ensure we have received this notice (we will acknowledge any such request). In any event You will remain liable for the full cost of your holiday for the period booked. Should we be successful in re-letting the same period or part in your cottage then a refund will be made less any additional administration expenses and less any difference in the price we re-let the cottage at. These administration expenses will be charged at a minimum of £50 but may exceed this amount. In order to secure a new booking we reserve the right to reduce the price we re-let the cottage at. This will be at our sole discretion and any shortfall from the original price will be deducted from the refund made in addition to our administration expenses. Any request to change the dates or postpone your holiday or to change the cottage You have reserved will be treated as if You are cancelling the original holiday booked and the above conditions will apply.

6.3 Should We have to cancel your booking with us due to circumstances beyond our control we will offer you at our discretion either a full refund or a credit note that may be held against a future booking with us to be taken within 12 months of the original booked dates, but only in accordance with our legal obligations to you. Should it be necessary for us to terminate your holiday early during your stay for the above reasons, but not where we consider your behaviour does not comply with these booking conditions, we will offer a refund or credit based on the time remaining for your holiday. In these circumstances the amount of refund or credit will be calculated using our normal short break calculations applicable for the period you have stayed at the time for that cottage and will be at our discretion. No additional compensation, expenses or costs will payable.

7. COVID CANCELLATION GUARANTEE

If You are unable to travel to take your holiday because of a national lockdown, or because the address given on the booking form is put into a local or regional lockdown by law, we will give you a full refund. Please note that the refund guarantee applies only to the address given on the booking at the time the address is placed under travel restrictions, and when the travel restriction coincides with the period of your holiday. This will not apply should part of your party booked to come with you be from a different post code address that is placed into lockdown.

The refund guarantee covers lockdowns and tier restrictions that by law prevent You from travelling, but does NOT cover you (or members of your party) being unable to travel because you (or a member of your party) fall ill with Covid, or are required to quarantine or self-isolate. These events can often be covered by taking out travel insurance.

8. FACILITIES

The facilities detailed on our website &/or other advertisements will be maintained to the best of our ability. They may alter at any time and circumstances may mean that some facilities may not always be available due to maintenance or breakdown or other reason beyond our control. In this event we will not be liable to you for any refund of any part of the cost of your holiday. For the purpose of this condition we include our land, animals and all livestock under the term 'facilities'.

9. INFORMATION GIVEN ON ARRIVAL

On arrival all guests within your party (with the exception of small children) will be asked to read details relating to your stay at Knowle Farm. These are conditions that we require you to know about, both in respect of safety as well as the conditions of using certain 'facilities'. They are important for everyone’s sake (including the animals) and these conditions must be adhered to.

10. SWIMMING POOL

The pool is unattended and all your party must adhere to the conditions of use contained within the information booklet to be found within your cottage.

11. DAMAGE, BREAKAGES AND CLEANING

You will remain liable for all damage and breakages within the cottage and the 'facilities' of Knowle Farm. It will be your responsibility to report to us immediately details of these and to reimburse us the cost of repair, replacement and any other resulting costs as may be determined by us and at our sole discretion. You are required to ensure that the cottage is kept and left in a clean and tidy condition and are responsible for any extra cleaning expenses we may incur should you fail to do so. Should any items be found to be already damaged or broken at the time of your arrival you must inform us immediately and in any event within 24 hours of arrival and we will endeavour to repair or replace these items.

12. DAMAGE AND EXTRA CLEANING DEPOSIT

Where we require payment of a damage &/or extra cleaning deposit this is payable in addition to and at the time the balance for your holiday is due. This will be advised at the time of your booking and will be held against any such costs arising, to be returned less any such costs only once we have had the opportunity to fully check the cottage after your departure. In the event that we have to make a charge for extra cleaning or any other reason this will be at a minimum of £50 but it may be more and the amount will be commensurate with the additional work involved and time spent.

13. SMOKING

All our cottage premises and facilities are non smoking.

14. PERIOD OF BOOKING

Unless detailed differently in our correspondence with You your booking at Knowle Farm will run from 3.00 pm on the day of arrival until 10.00 am on the day of departure. For instance throughout 2021 we envisage that our Covid cleaning regime will necessitate that these times will be arrival from 5.00 pm and departure by 9.30 am. Should these times change we will always advise you as early as we can of any changes. Entry to the cottage premises prior to the designated time will not be permitted without prior agreement and on the day of departure the cottage must be vacated of all belongings by the set time so that clear access is available for our cleaners at that time.

15. FUEL

We include all reasonable and responsible usage of fuel used within your cottage during your stay and in the interests of the environment and costs ask and expect our guests to minimise their usage and take all measures to avoid wastage. We publish our fuel policy in the information found within each cottage and this includes the allowance given to our guests for usage. If usage does go beyond this allowance we reserve the right to make a charge for usage over and above that allowance. We also reserve the right to enter a cottage where we feel excessive wastage of fuel may be occurring in order to switch off appliances or lighting or heating (for example lights left on whilst the cottage is not occupied during the day or heating left on with windows wide open). We will read the meters in your cottage prior to your departure and it is your responsibility to inform us when you are about to depart. If you wish to leave early you must give us advance notice of this fact.

16. UTILITIES & WIFI

We cannot be held responsible for any interruption or irregularity in the supply of electricity, gas, oil and water or in respect of TV and radio reception or in respect of phone &/or internet availability. Internet access via WiFi is provided on the strict condition that it is not used for any illegal activity such as sharing or downloading copyrighted files or accessing illegal content. We reserve the right to terminate any guests' internet access should we have reason to believe it is being used in this way. We do not guarantee the security of the information which you may transmit or receive using our internet and you accept that it is your responsibility to protect your information and have adequate security (in terms of equipment and procedures) to ensure the security, integrity and confidentiality of your information and data. We have no responsibility for, or control over, the Internet Services you access and do not guarantee that any services are error or virus free.

17. SUPERVISION

You remain responsible for the supervision of your children, or any adult requiring care, at all times. This includes the use of any of the facilities, or around livestock, or whilst walking any of the land at Knowle Farm. We recommend that children are supervised at all times.

18. DEPARTURE

It is your responsibility to inform us when your party are about to depart as we reserve the right to check the cottage and read the fuel meters prior to departure. If you wish to leave early you must give us advance notice of this fact.

19. PROPERTY LEFT BEHIND ON DEPARTURE

Should your party leave any items behind when you depart we will be happy to return these to you should we find them. You will need to call us first to request this and there will be a charge of a minimum of £5.00 plus the cost of postage to cover our expenses (the minimum of £5 may be higher depending upon the item). We cannot be held responsible for any items lost whilst at Knowle Farm or for any items lost once we have posted them to you.

20. LIABILITY

We cannot accept responsibility or any liability for accidents, injury or sickness to visitors/guests or damage to their property during their stay, unless demonstrably caused by our negligence or wilful misconduct or that of those for whom we are legally responsible. Also you must be aware that many of our animals and birds have free range of the farm and will spend time around the cottages, car park and other buildings as well as elsewhere on the farm. The behaviour of all animals and birds can be unpredictable and when you book with us you accept that this is the case and that any damage or injury caused by them is at your own risk.

If your party wish to engage any third party to perform any service (including by way of example private catering, beauty therapy, childminding or entertainment services) at the site or the Cottage you must obtain our written permission. Such permission should be requested in advance of your stay with details of the entity you intend to use to perform the service, the service to be performed and details of their public and employer’s liability insurance. Consent will only be given where we and our insurers are happy that the appropriate risks have been covered. The use of candles or fireworks is not permitted in any circumstances.

Any recommendation of a supplier made by us be it on the farm or elsewhere will be based on our genuine belief or experience or feedback received by us from other guests or local contacts. A recommendation by us of a supplier does not alleviate your requirement to obtain our written permission as set out above where the service is intended to be provided on the farm.

We will not accept liability for the services provided (or failure to provide such services) by any third party supplier or business used by you in the course of your Stay (regardless of whether they are recommended or referred by us). This will not apply where we have been negligent or dishonest in this regard.

For safety reasons scooting or cycling on the driveways or areas around the cottages is not advised – the surfaces of these may be uneven in places and are not suitable for biking or scooters or the like. We do from time to time have large vehicles visiting and working on the site (such as bin lorries, farm vehicles and delivery trucks).

21. DRONES, FIREWORKS, NIGHT LANTERNS and ANY POWERED FORM OF TRANSPORT ON SITE

The use of drones is not allowed without our prior written permission. The use of Fireworks is expressly forbidden. The use of Night Lanterns is expressly forbidden. Motorised or Powered transport on site and around the cottages and facilities is not allowed other than within the car park or as permitted by us for the unloading or loading of suitcases etc on arrival and on departure. This includes but is not limited to Segways, Hoverboards and the like. This does not include motorised mobility chairs where they are needed for the physically impaired.

22. GENERAL

(i) The cottage premises and the 'facilities' at Knowle Farm are for the use solely of those named in the booking form. You are not permitted to invite others to come to Knowle Farm to use the cottage premises or 'facilities' without agreement from us in advance.

(ii) The number of people occupying a cottage premises must not exceed the number of beds advertised for that cottage.

(iii) The rules and conditions are expressly to protect the cottages and 'facilities' at Knowle Farm from misuse and to try to ensure both the safety of our guests as well as the enjoyment of all our guests. Booking with us, whether on-line via our website, via the phone, via email or via any other manner, means that You have agreed to abide by all the conditions on behalf of yourself and all guests staying in your party, including any conditions stated in the cottage or elsewhere around the farm. We reserve the right to require any guests to leave immediately, without refund, if their conduct is considered by us to infringe these rules and conditions.

23. PRIVACY NOTICE

Knowle Farm is also a member of Premier Cottages Limited, a professional collective of independent luxury cottage owners. Premier Cottages promotes our properties on our behalf as well as other luxury cottages. As members of Premier Cottages we would like to give them your information so that they can contact you about quality properties that you might like. You may unsubscribe from this service at any time as detailed in our Privacy & Cookie Policy.

Knowle Farm LLP is registered OC414784 as a limited liability partnership.