Beaminster Bottom Farm

Tracy and James bought land in 1998 to pursue their dreams of holistic farming with their growing family. Since then they have observed and developed the land into the beautiful farm it is today, working in harmony with nature.

In 2008 they built their home designed to be heated passively from the sun. The South-facing side of the house has large double-glazed windows with argon Gas filling. The curved roof forms an overhang, so that when the Sun is high in summer, the windows are shaded and the house remains cool; when the Sun is lower in winter it heats up the house, including the stone floor which stores the heat overnight. Along with high standards of insulation the house only needs a single wood-burning stove to heat it, and this is only lit on sustained periods of cold or cloudy weather. The roof is covered with sedum grown from cuttings on the farm.
The out-houses have solar photovoltaic panels and solar thermal tubes.

The farm is a test-bed for several sustainable ideas, using permaculture ideas to integrate farming into a sustainable model. See their website for details. You can we also hire holiday shepherds' huts here. These are off grid with their own solar panels (a mini eco home!)

Additional information

How to find Dorset Forest Garden (PDF, 247kB)