Who are we?
Farming near beautiful sherborne
WELCOME
Goathill Farm is an organic dairy farm located on the Dorset Somerset border, in the tiny village of Goathill, near Sherborne. Just 7 houses, the farm and a minute church make up our village, and we are proud to be at the centre of it. To share our corner of Dorset, we have created the Shepherd’s Huts!
We have farmed here for three generations, first moving to the farm in 1957 with a motley collection of cows, sheep, pigs, and chickens. Since then, things have changed a bit, and we are now a proud Soil Association Organic Dairy Farm (with a few friendly sheep!).
What does organic mean?
Organic farming focuses not just on producing food, but on protecting the environment we’re responsible for.
We don’t use artifical fertilizers or pesticides, and enrich our soils using legumes. Also, included within our farm areas which are set aside to be wild, as habitats for dormice, birds, small mammals and insects. We plant trees on less used areas to take carbon out of our atmosphere.
Alongside our organic undertaking, we commit ourselves to very high standards of animal care. Because if we look after our animals, they look after us!
And this is us...
Alan: heading up the farm and all carpentry needs. Also in charge of bird, butterfly, wildflower and any other wildlife identification. He has lived at the farm for all of his (nearly!) 60 years!
Alexa: having run Old Orchard Cottage for 20 years, Mum is a fountain of hospitality knowledge. She has a never ending flow of ideas of new projects for us to get stuck into!
Rosie and Sam: our consultant and accountant. Providing much needed outside opinions, crafty expertise, and finincial advice.
And, finally, me, Annabel! The youngest of us three, I’ve come back to the farm to follow my glamping dreams. Following on from a job researching trees, I’ve found Shepherd’s Huts to be much more my niche – and I still get a chance to use my tree knowledge!
Why Shepherd's Huts?
Luckily for me, Mum woke up one morning with a fabulous idea – that the lake was perfect for Shepherd’s Huts! Initially thinking we would just have one, then expanding to two, we bought some run down empty shells and got to work! After working on some empty shells, Dad decided he fancied trying his hand at building one from scratch – so we did! One horsebox coversion later, and our newest project was born! As always, keep your eyes peeled for our next plan…