Field Head Old Farm
A natural lakeland hill farm
Field Head Old Farm
A natural lakeland hill farm
Jane's Cottage - Self catering holiday cottage Booking available via Heart of the Lakes
Old Farm
Built from 1827 with some parts of the farm dating as early as the 15th century, and owned by our family since 1954. Field Head Old Farm is a typical Lake District hill farm located not far from the picturesque village of Hawkshead. We keep sheep, goats and horses and offering luxury accommodation in our farm cottage.
We focus on traditional and natural farming methods, using hand tools where possible. Whilst we are not certified as an organic farm at the moment, because the certification would currently be too costly for a small farm like us, we try to do everything in an organic and environmentally friendly way and with as much care for our land and animals as we can.
Goats
We keep several goats for milking and, in addition to drinking their milk, enjoy making various goat milk products which you can read about on our farming page.
SHEEP
Our herd of sheep are mostly shetlands which we rear for their wool and meat using organic methods. Read more about our sheep on our farming page. We're also members of the Shetland Sheep Society.
Horses
We have a variety of different horses on the farm, many of them Exmoor Ponies. With a wide selection of beautiful local rides and on site livery our farm is a great place for those who love horses.
The Family
Farming here for five generations
The Family
Farming here for five generations
Becky
In addition to her day job, Becky is the person most responsible for managing our sheep and goats. Becky moved to the farm when she was 7 and is working on her quarter century of experience in the practical aspects of farming. Her love of the outdoors is matched only by her drive to breed and keep healthy happy animals, her passion for Natural Horsemanship (horse whispering) and handmade homegrown crafts and produce. Becky likes to involve her and Mike's three children, Ethan, Jacob and Lyla, in the daily farm routine as much as possible, so they can grow up with an innate understanding and practical skills in the seasonal rhythm of animal care and food production.
Mike
With degrees in ecology, evolution and a PhD in environmental science, Mike does his best to offer sound scientific guidance and best practice advice for managing the farm in an environmentally friendly way. He is a member of the British Ecological Society and works full time, so his involvement in the day to day running of the farm is mostly administrative & IT based, with occasional odd jobs like repairing dry stone walls, splitting logs and sheep wrangling. In addition to all that, Mike is a martial artist who runs the local aikido dojo, which he finds keeps him fit enough to keep up with the kids.
Lisa
Lisa's grandparents originally bought the Old Farm in the 1950s, so Lisa had the great privilege of a childhood spent running wild in the glorious landscape here. The joy of this is undiminished 50 years on. Lisa's mother Jane was one of the local veterinary surgeons so Lisa grew up watching her mother busily repairing peoples' sick and injured animals, and chose to study biochemistry at university which has proved useful when formulating effective feeding regimes for animals and people. Lisa's passion is the horses on the farm and, like her daughter Becky, she practices Natural Horsemanship and natural farming methods. A lot of her time is spent helping with the other animals on the farm and helping look after her grandchildren.