Meet the Horses & Stable Stay

Written by: Sam

Location: Cartmel
Venues: The Freisian Experience, Greenbank Farm
Duration: Overnight

As part of Cumbria Tourism’s 50th anniversary, the team are trying out 50 different tourism experiences throughout the year – to help inspire your own days out across the Lake District, Cumbria. For this experience, Sam Marsh and Amanda Shaw visited The Friesian Experience for a unique overnight stay...

Sometimes in life you ponder the odd questions, do horses sleep standing up, do they snore and what time do they wake up for breakfast…..there is now an opportunity to find the answers and more thanks to The Friesian Experience near Cartmel, where you can spend the night with a horse - an adventure described by Jack Whitehall, following his stay, as the ‘ultimate equine experience’.

Stable Stays literally does what it says on the tin, it’s a stay in a stable with a horse for company.  However, it’s also so much more than that.  The stable itself is immaculately clean and has been beautifully put together to create a cosy space with everything you need for the night, including an en-suite wet room and toilet, small kitchen area, the warmest and most comfortable bunk beds and pretty little fairy lights to add to the atmosphere.

Our companion for the night was the delightful Hoitze.  He was quite the giant at over 16 hands, but his kind and gentle nature left us with nothing to fear from his stature.  Originally from Holland, he joined the family at three years old (he’s now 22) and is one of the most popular horses for the Stable Stay experience – due to his perfect temperament for bring around humans. He’s a cheeky chappie who knows what he wants, so be prepared for a click of his back leg when he wants a tickle, or a nudge from his nose when he wants attention or a groom.  He’s also quite prone to making it clear when he’s hungry, which for us was a  3.30am wake up call for breakfast!  We managed to hold off until just after 5am though for his ‘official’ breakfast time before we caved in and fed him.

The stable itself is located in a lovely courtyard, with an elevated position overlooking the rolling fields of the Cartmel area and Hampsfell to the east – those lucky enough to have a beautiful clear day as we did, will be able to see as far as the Cumbrian coastline

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We visited on a sunny spring day which was just perfect, however, I could not help but get the sense that this experience would really suit itself to December.  There’s something very ‘away in a manger’ about sleeping in the stable with a horse.  The magic of adding some Christmas carols and if lucky a little snow on the ground outside would create an even more memorable stay.

The Friesian Experience is a true one in a lifetime opportunity, and what is hard to understand without having experienced it for yourself is the sense of calm that comes from it.  For those suffering with stress, anxiety or mental health issues spending time with Hoitze really gives a sense of inner calm and peace.

Learning about the background of the business is fascinating too.  Owner Tracey is passionate about animals and changing perceptions of the purpose of horses in human lives. To encourage people to understand that they are not just for riding or using to haul carts and carriages. The Friesian Experience is essentially acting as a rescue centre for this breed of horse (which we discovered were originally used as war horses).  Stable Stays and their merchandise provides essential revenue to help the animals here not just survive but thrive. 

Find out more about The Friesian Experience and Stable Stays on the website.

Visit the Friesian Experience website

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