Our holiday farm
Welcome to our farm, which has been run by our family since the 15th century.
The farm is located in Ober Ochtenhausen, a picturesque village with remarkably well-preserved timbered houses and a large population of old oaks. The village is surrounded by meadows, fields, forest, heath and moorland. Directly adjacent is a nature reserve with many rare animals and plants. Cranes travel through this area year after year, and can be observed from the nearby lookout tower. Moor lakes, the Oste and the Hude offer opportunities for leisure activities at the waterside.
Our holiday farm is home to some of the most beautiful locations in the village: the Hude with its idyllic areas, the adjacent Beek meadow with about 100 apple trees, and our farm and vegetable garden. These areas cannot to be used economically or agriculturally without removing the large old oaks. We appreciate these wonderful and valuable "secret places", which we like to share with our friends and guests.
Our uncle processes the apples into juice in his fruit press. The mixing ratio of the respective varieties is of great importance for the aroma. The suspense after the harvest is always high: How will the juice taste this year?
We invite you to get to know our life on the farm. Take a look around the farm and discover how we work: We practice modern agriculture with heifer development, suckler cows, pigs, and cultivation of corn and grain.
In autumn and winter, we regularly organize cultural events. Curious? Then click here.
Hosts with distinction
In 2015, the Oste Holiday Farm was honored by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Economic Affairs with the Qualitätszertifikat "KinderFerienLand" Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony Quality Certificate: A vacation paradise for children). Our holiday offer was tested for 50 criteria from the categories service, safety, and facilities, and the results speak for themselves: Families with children are warmly welcome here and well cared for!
The Oste Holiday Farm has also been certified by the German Hiking Association as a „Qualitätsgastgeber Wanderbares Deutschland“ (Quality Host for Hiking in Germany). We offer our hiking guests special services, such as a drying room for equipment and clothes, trays for hiking boots, lunch boxes for your hiking day, reservation service and luggage transport for the next leg of your tour, pick-up and drop-off service to and from hiking trails, and much more. Of course, we are hikers ourselves, and have plenty of information on local hiking opportunities!
The Deutsche Tourismusverband e. V. (DTV)(German Tourism Association) has awarded our holiday farm with 3 stars and the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Urlaub & Freizeit auf dem Lande e.V. Arbeitsgemeinschaft Urlaub & Freizeit auf dem Lande e.V. (Consortium for Holiday & Leisure in the Country) lists us as a "recognized holiday farm" and regularly as "farm of the month".
We want you to feel comfortable with us, and we have always new ideas on how to improve our offer for you!
Your Irma Behnken-Masthoff & Bernd Masthoff
Book publication "Dat littje Hus"
Our farm has been cultivated and continually developed by our family since the 15th century - over 16 generations. If you want to know more about it and are interested in the history of the 240-year-old servant house, you can browse through the book "Dat littje Hus".
Our father, Joachim Behnken, wrote this documentary on the re-opening of the house in 2014. It is the story of the servants and the elderly. Against the background of the village history, the people and their stories come alive. You can also purchase your own personal copy from us.
Picture gallery (click on the photo)
There's a lot to discover at the Oste Holiday Farm. For young and old alike, there is room for playing and romping, for resting or for common activities, for taking a break and dangling your legs. Time for yourself and for your family - any way you like.
Here you will find some colorful impressions of vacation at the Oste Holiday Farm - just click on the photo box.