The Farm has been farmed by the family for 100’s of years. Presently the farm is arable and beef, running over the most beautiful South Dorset countryside. Up until last year the farm had a dairy but due to forces of milk prices the dairy was no longer sustainable.
We currently have a beef Suckler herd, sheep and pigs which guests can walk out to see in the day. Arable makes up the main part of the farm of 900 acres which we produce barley, wheat and oil seed rape and grass silage for the stock in the winter.
The farmhouse breakfast sources all its ingredients if not on the farm within a 5 mile radius. We are renowned for our sausages & eggs which are found here. We also source ingredients from the nearby Marcia’s farm shop. Please visit when you stay. Email: marcia@marcias-farm-shop.co.uk
We run a family pheasant shoot in the winter and there are many local shoots in the surrounding areas which use us as we can accommodate up to 8 guests.
We offer guests a farm walk when they stay if they want the history of the farm but this needs to be organised when an enquiry is made and also time of year may change this.
The Little Stables was rebuilt and converted into modern accommodation after severe damage during a heavy storm in 2008. Prior to that the stables had been in working use for many years, and back in 1954, was home to the first locally trained horse to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Alan Strange’s Four Ten was trained in Prestbury by John Roberts and ridden by jockey Tommy Cussack to win the race by four lengths. As well as being of interest in the history of North Farm Stables, the Cheltenham Festival singles out the event in its history pages.
In 1954 an Evening Echo headline read “Four Ten is ‘big gun”. Alan Strange’s horse, Four Ten (named after a shotgun) had won the Gold Cup at Cheltenham, by four lengths, with odds of 100 to 6. Everyone watched on TV and, as the Echo reported, it ‘sent local backers wild with delight’. Betting in Dorset was heavy, and one punter won £2600. (The Book of Spetisbury by Ann Taylor, Halsgrove Publishing)
Please contact us to ask about availability