About the farm

We first found our farm in April 2007 whilst we were looking extensively for a house with land for our horses and to realise a life long dream to set up a business working with animals.

Unfortunatley we have never been lottery winners so to say that our search was limited is a HUGE understatement!

We spent hours on the internet looking for properties and viewed what seemed like hundreds of potentials which turned out to be no good or far too expensive!

I was shopping for horse feed one particular day in our local tack shop and during a chance conversation I was told about the sale of Windy Bank Farm with 4 acres of land and buildings.

As it was just down the road we thought we should go and at least look!

It turns out the farm was just within our price range and there had to be a reason why! I was right, it needed a HUGE amount of work in fact so much work, most people maybe would have been put off, but to us it was perfect.

So started a very anxious 8 month wait till we finally sold our house.

Once we had sold our house we came for a second viewing. I remember it well as the weather was awful and we were stood up on top of the hill in the pouring rain, but the excitement was still there so we made an offer, then just over 6 weeks later we picked up the keys to our farm!.

Taking on a project of this size is really not for the faint hearted!. Oh when I think back to that first day! Well Windy Bank certainly lived up to its name! It was like a force ten gale outside!

It was certainly a BIG change to the new house we had come from, no heating, no hot water and no loft insluation. I have memories of my two girls eating breakfast most mornings in hat, scarves and gloves- FREEZING

My mum travelled up from further south the first weekend to help us clean up and move in , I wanted her to say, ' dont worry it will clean up or, you have done the right thing here' but the expression of total shock on her face was only too apparent and the fact they stayed in a local hotel........ need I say more!

Anyway since then we have worked full time in our day jobs and worked like slaves in our spare time on evenings and weekends to get somewhere near , we have fenced, weeded , guttered, built stables, installed a new boiler, and lots more, slowly the hard work is beginning to pay off!

With everybrush stroke or bag of cement mixed we feel a real sense of achievement and are a step nearer to the vision we have in our minds of this house finished.

At the beginning of 2009 we purchased 6 acres of land next door so now we have 10 acres!

2010 also has seen the opening of our new 'Purpose Built Dog Cat and Small Animal Grooming Salon' we are very proud of our Salon and the work we do, we know your pets will leave looking and feeling their very best! . I am a City and Guilds Qualified Groomer and take my commitment to your animals very seriously!. We offer a one on one grooming experience to minimise stress to the animal and provide a positive experience while they are with us. We have many happy returning customers and we look forward to welcoming any new customers too. Please contact us to reserve an appointment, we look forward to meeting you and your furry friends!

Finally we now also offer small animal boarding where you can board your Rabbit, Rat, Mice, Guinea Pig and other small animals while you are away from home or on holiday- why not let them have a holiday too, as part of our family at the farm?

2012 will see the launch of our own free range rare breed pork sauages, an exciting development, all our stock will be raised here on the farm and also butchered here, we are very proud to offer our customers meat from animals we have a whole life history on- we will keep you posted with developments!

A farm in general is never for the faint hearted, its a relentless slog 365 days a year, usually from very early morning to very late at night so the dedication really does need to be there, behind the scenes there is many anti social hours worked, it was a huge shock to us I think, but years later we are getting used to things!

All in all its been a very hard slog, but on a summers day when we sit on the hill with a beer its all worth it, and we will get there............eventually!!