7. Looking for something a bit different?

The Cottage is part of a smallholding of several acres that we are developing, where possible, on permaculture principles. There is a vegetable garden, a bee hive, and plenty of bird activity. We make our own marmalade and other jams. We are keen on recycling, and renewable energy. Our aim is a greener, more self-sufficient way of life.

Farlands Smallholding Tours

Meet the livestock

Chickens, Turkeys, Bees (from a safe distance!)

See the large veg garden and fruit cage

Visit the orchard

Tour the tree projects

Fruit-tree grafting, hazel coppice, walnut trees, 100+ tree foraging hedge

Discuss the green energy systems

Wood pellet boiler, solar panels, non-mains water system

Tours

Highlights (1 hour) - £20

The full tour (2 hours) - £30

(Clockwise from top left: chickens and chicken house, veg garden, turkey poults and orchard.)

In the orchard are apples, a pear, a damson, a mirabelle, sweet chestnut and two hazel trees (a cob and a filbert). Outside the orchard we have also planted walnuts, and a cherry tree. We are experimenting with growing trees from seeds (including walnuts, hazel and elder) and also with fruit-tree grafting.

In 2013 we planted over a 100 trees in a foraging hedge - including hazel, blackthorn (for sloes, and an early source of nectar for bees), elder (for elderberries and elderflowers), crab apples, wild pears, a medlar, willow (an early source of pollen for bees), sea buckthorn and dogrose.

Farlands is set amongst woodland - there are over 250 trees, mainly sycamore and pine but also ash, horse chestnut, oak and silver birch. During the Winter of 2011/12 we planted 20 common hazel saplings, aiming to coppice them in the years to come.