The mix of strict bourgeois values and informality personified by the Middleton family was the cornerstone of the love affair between Prince William and his wife Kate.
Also of interest is the former Middletons base in the village of Bucklebury, Berkshire, where the family has run a party accessories business since 1987.
Kate’s younger sister Pippa and multimillionaire James Matthews are hoping to develop a 77-acre Bucklebury Farm Park where they already own a training farm, cafe and restaurant, and now have big plans to expand the family business. . .
Billed as “Pippa’s Playground,” seen by The Mail on Sunday, the site’s detailed plans show its intention to create a dense complex with dazzling cottages, a farm shop, and a restaurant.
Pippa Middleton and her husband, James Matthews, hope to develop the 77-acre Bucklebury Farm Park in Berkshire, which already has a training farm, bar and cabin.
The project includes the renovation of the zoo, the construction of a children’s play center in ecological wooden-floored buildings and the creation of a tree planting, and the display of retro pastel-painted agricultural vehicles.
The entire site will be decorated with sparkling lanterns. Their vision is in line with the current stylish trend of day visit centers and places offering ‘human health activities’.
The couple plans to create a complex with glamping cabins, farm shop and restaurant.
At the forefront of such initiatives was Soho Farmhouse, which spans 100 acres in Oxfordshire and is inspired by American cabin culture.
It offers its guests “a homely and personal atmosphere, like a farmhouse guesthouse”.
Then there’s TV host Jeremy Clarkson selling locally grown vegetables at the Diddly Squat Farm Shop in the Cotswolds and recently opening a restaurant.
In the safari park, visitors can see animals such as llamas, deer, and goats.
Inevitably, some critics would argue that the marketing for Bucklebury Farm Park could cynically attempt to exploit the family’s royal ties.
After Kate Middleton began dating Prince William, her parents were accused of abusing her family ties by selling royal wedding memorabilia to party companies.
These concerns will be exacerbated by the introduction of some existing facilities at the Bucklebury site.
Six wooden cabins with safari-style tent doors are currently available to rent for £1,400 per week.
They are operated in partnership with Feather Down, a small booking company specializing in cabin rentals on boutique farms.
The plans look like a similar development to Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm (pictured)
The “living room” section of Pippa’s recently revamped website redirects visitors to the booking page that highlights Feather Down’s real connection and mocks the “real-life copyright” mention.
It also reads: “The village of Bucklebury, just a 15-minute walk from the farm, was the home of Kate Middleton before she married Prince William.”
Although the website informs readers that “Highclere, the fictional setting of the Downton Abbey TV series” is only a short drive away, naming a future king and queen is undoubtedly a major draw.
Locals say visitors to the safari park will mostly see animals such as llamas, deer, and goats, but the children of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis and George – perhaps can’t be blamed for trying to see them. They play games with their grandparents.
All three children stay with Carole and Michael Middleton in Bucklebury once a month, who often take them to the park’s large children’s playground.
According to locals, teenagers love Bucklebury and like to joke around.
Jeremy Clarkson stands in front of the Diddly Squat farm shop in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire
Plans presented at West Berkshire Council show the new main building is modeled after the massive £5m glass canal bar built by Badger Beers, a Dorset craft brewery in Swindon that offers beer tours, sells goods and welcomes children. “little treasures”.
The Bucklebury space is designed to accommodate more than 20 tables, perfect for a small wedding, as well as a large double-height dining room perfect for a local farm bar and shop.
Although the farm is Pippa’s favorite project, Carole, 67, is the driving force behind a new venture to host children’s parties, something she has been specializing in since the founding of the profitable sales company, according to sources. 35 years ago.
Bucklebury Farm Park is close to the home of Pippa’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton.
He oversaw the installation of an indoor party space made of elegantly woven larch and appointed an event manager responsible for children’s event requests.
A ‘party package’ costs £1,350 for 30 children and includes luxury lunches served in a marquee, homemade cakes, party bags and personalized invitations.
There may also be parties for Ukrainian refugees. A Bucklebury village ticketed event called “Picnic on the Farm”, which took place on July 10, would have been a “hands-on exercise” for Carole’s plan to hold regular farm social gatherings for the refugee community. by Bucklebury.
Ukrainians do not need to pay to visit the park, which normally charges £85 for an adult pass.
Carole is also known for renovating a sparkly temporary makeover of the cafe, which has a roaring trade in oat milk, sandwiches, and craft ice cream.
Some say it was Carole who encouraged Pippa and her husband, 46-year-old James, to invest in the company in 2020 through Mayfair hedge fund Eden Rock Capital.
The move was inspired by Pippa’s passion for the country she has lived in since she was 11 years old.
James named it Pippa’s Playground for business reasons and took local friends Jamie Murray and Oliver Shute on board as co-investors.
They think the company will inject £2.3m into the region and create many jobs.
A draft document submitted in May for the expanding company describes the project as “big” and suggests there will be queues at the entrance.
Prepared by the elegant company Rural Solutions, which specializes in bars, galleries and wedding venues, the document states: “The steeply pitched roof provides shelter to those paying or queuing … the space is between the existing cafe and the new extension of the farm shop.
Emphasis is placed on the use of “renewable energy” [to meet] The challenges of climate change with solar panels and a “native species fence” and remodeling a fence to control deer”.
The illustrations in the glossy 367-page brochure show complete planning plans, area maps and the location of a nearby sewer. Rural Solutions has a number of projects that respond to “consumers demand for gaming experiences”, such as an ice cream shop in Cheshire.
The existing glamping site will be developed as part of a larger development within the plans.
He has worked in other programs that include “wild” hostels, treehouses, wildlife safaris, bird watching and jungle baths. She takes a “holistic approach” and adds: “We are proud to work with such dynamic, diverse and motivated clients.”
Last month, some final details for Pippa’s Playground were signed by the board and full approval is expected soon.
A regular visitor to the farm told MoS: “It will be in full swing until the end of this summer.
“They want to expand the glamping area, the family area, the restaurants and they want to use it as an event space. They will completely transform. Staff describe it as “Pippa’s project”.
Bucklebury is fast becoming a Middleton empire. “So far they have done everything possible to renovate the main hall for visitors within planning constraints and it looks much better. The second stage looks very elegant if it’s what they did before.”
Pippa is also very determined on a personal level. She has just given birth to her third child – a girl named Rose – and is about to move from Chelsea, South West London, to a large Georgian estate 14 miles from the Berkshire farm she bought with James for its proximity to activity. but also for prestigious fishing beats.
Pippa battled what was perceived as an unfair public image as a party animal and once said: “People see me as a privileged person who uses my position to their advantage; that I don’t really work, that I’m a worldly person – that word really bothers me – and that I’m a selfless party animal.
He studied English literature at Edinburgh University and became a “famous” columnist for Waitrose Kitchen and Vanity Fair magazines and a Sunday newspaper.
Earlier this year, a spokesperson told The Mail on Sunday that he was returning to “refocus on his studies” and whispered that he was taking a business administration course.
Ten years ago, he received a £400,000 advance from publishers to write a book on the art of entertainment called Celebrate, and fought bravely by mocking some of his advice, such as the right way to cut sandwiches with a bread knife. ‘with a single cutting motion up and down’.
Undecided, the future queen’s younger sister wants to prove herself an independent businesswoman and take control of Pippa’s Playground with great pleasure.
Source: Daily Mail
