More than just a Games Room...
What was once home to the farm's cows has become one of Hop Pickers' most-loved spaces. Affectionately known as The Cowshed, our unique games room offers unlimited access to 14 classic games and activities, all included with every stay. Packed with vintage games, family memorabilia and over 20 years of memories, it's a place where guests of all ages can come together to laugh, play and create memories of their own.
If you've stayed at Hop Pickers before, you'll probably have discovered one of our best-kept secrets... The Cowshed.
Tucked away behind the stables is a room that's become a favourite with guests of every age. It's somewhere children disappear to for hours, where adults rediscover games they haven't played in years, and where family competitions often become the highlight of the holiday.
But The Cowshed wasn't always a games room...
A Room Full of Memories
When we first moved to Pigeon House Farm back in 2002, this building served a very different purpose. It was an office and home gym - practical rather than playful!
We’ve always affectionately called it 'The Cowshed', and the name has stuck. Historical photographs of Pigeon House Farm show that this building really was once home to the farm's cows. While it has been transformed over the years, we love that its name still pays tribute to its agricultural past.
Over the last twenty years, it's slowly evolved. Every few years we'd add something new, often after spotting an old game or finding something that reminded us of our own childhood.
Before long it had become the place where our own family celebrated birthdays, anniversaries and New Year's Eve. Friends, family and neighbours from along the lane have all shared evenings in here, laughing over games and making memories.
Today, we're delighted to share it with our guests too.
There's Something for Everyone
One of the things we love most is watching three generations all enjoying the room together.
Grandparents often head straight for the bar billiards, while parents challenge the children to a game of table tennis or darts. Before long someone is trying to beat the high score on our vintage Bally pinball machine, while others gather around the large Scalextric circuit to see whose racing skills are best.
If football is more your thing, there's our classic French café-style foosball table, while younger guests love the mini pool table, Nintendo Wii, DVDs and selection of board games.
Outside, you can play the traditional garden games including croquet and giant Jenga - perfect for sunny afternoons.
Best of all, it's all included with your stay, so whether you're staying for a weekend or a week, you're welcome to enjoy The Cowshed whenever you fancy a game or two.
More Than Games
The room tells the story of our family.
Look closely and you'll spot walls filled with photographs and rosettes from the years Louise and the girls competed their horses across the Midlands. David’s racing memorabilia sits alongside decades of memories we've collected along the way. Every shelf and wall tells a little piece of our family's story.
More recently we've added thousands of tiny fairy lights across the ceiling, giving the room a warm, cosy atmosphere as evening falls.
Our newest addition is a beautifully restored Rock-Ola jukebox, bringing another touch of nostalgia and music to the room. And there's more to come, with another classic pinball machine already on its way.
Like Hop Pickers itself, ‘The Cowshed’ games room is always evolving.
Perfect for Group Gatherings
For larger family stays, The Cowshed becomes much more than a games room…
If the weather isn't kind enough for outdoor dining, we simply wheel the table tennis table to one side and set up long dining tables down the centre of the room.
It's hosted birthday dinners, anniversary celebrations and family reunions, and provides a wonderful communal space where everyone can eat together before the games begin again.
A Holiday Without Screens
Perhaps our favourite thing about the games room is seeing children introduce grandparents to the Wii, grandparents teach grandchildren bar billiards, and parents getting just as competitive over Scalextric as the kids.
It's a reminder that some of the best holiday memories don't need Wi-Fi or expensive attractions.
Sometimes they're made around a pinball machine, a table tennis table or a jukebox playing everyone's favourite songs.
For over twenty years, that's exactly what The Cowshed has been about - bringing people together. Now, we're delighted to share it with our guests.
More than just a Games Room...
What was once home to the farm's cows has become one of Hop Pickers' most-loved spaces. Affectionately known as The Cowshed, our unique games room offers unlimited access to 14 classic games and activities, all included with every stay. Packed with vintage games, family memorabilia and over 20 years of memories, it's a place where guests of all ages can come together to laugh, play and create memories of their own.