Winters Tale Country Barn

About the venue

A family-run barn venue near Steeple Claydon in rural Buckinghamshire, built in 2018 where an old hay barn once stood. It seats 135, holds 215 in total and comes with a marquee, secret garden, gallery cocktail bar and two on-site cottages.

A bookcase on the gallery at Winters Tale Country Barn swings open onto a secret lounge. It sits beside the Antlers Cocktail Bar, where a mixologist serves drinks while the party carries on in the barn below.

The venue opened in 2018 in the grounds of a 17th-century farmhouse near Steeple Claydon. Owner Christine built it on the spot where a hay barn stood a century ago, after hosting several weddings on the farm.

The main Hay Barn has a vaulted, heavily timbered ceiling, fairy lights and a mood lighting system that colours the beams. It seats 135, and the total capacity reaches 215 once evening guests arrive.

A large semi-permanent marquee joins the barn and opens onto a third of an acre of garden. There is also a festoon-lit courtyard with an antique hay wagon, an orchard, a back meadow and a secret garden.

Several spots are licensed for ceremonies indoors and out. They include the barn, the marquee, the courtyard, the orchard and either cottage. All Saints Church on the Claydon Estate is a few fields away for couples marrying in church.

Food comes from an approved list of wedding breakfast caterers, while evening caterers can be chosen more freely. The venue runs its own bar and sells drinks packages.

Two converted barns on site, Ember Eve and Harvest Moon, sleep six between them. Ember Eve has a four-poster bed and a spiral stair up to a small door that opens onto a balcony.

The barn also hosts birthdays, christenings and anniversaries. Celebrations of life, Christmas parties and corporate functions are on the list too.

Family-run barn venue opened in 2018 near Steeple Claydon, Buckinghamshire

Seats 135, with a total capacity of 215

Semi-permanent marquee, courtyard, orchard and secret garden

Licensed ceremony spaces indoors and outdoors

Gallery cocktail bar with a secret lounge behind a bookcase

Two on-site cottages sleeping six, included for the wedding night

One wedding per day, with set-up access the afternoon before

Also hosts birthdays, anniversaries, christenings and corporate events