Darvills Hill Farm

We are delighted to be taking part in Agroforestry Open Weekend 2024
Our farm

We are a small (50 acre) family farm of permanent pasture in the Chiltern National Landscape. The farm was historically a mixed farm of orchards, livestock and market garden. Since the 1970’s it had gradually became more of a monoculture, as the orchard was grubbed up, hedgerows flailed annually and fields set stocked causing them to become compacted and full of thistles. In 2019 we started working to regenerate the farm, moving away from a flat monotone landscape towards one reflecting a more dynamic mosaic wood pasture.

We have stopped the annual flail of the hedges and allowed them to become bushy and wilder. We graze livestock through the pasture using an adaptive multi-paddock system to boost biodiversity above and below the ground. We are also developing a community of people on the farm and currently support two other enterprises including bee-keeping and a no-dig edible flower business and are looking to develop this further over the coming years.

Our agroforestry

We have a number of areas of agroforestry on farm and have undertaken the work ourselves, The projects we have completed in the last four years include:

  • A mixed deciduous woodland of 3000 trees over two acres. Planted in the winter of 2019/2020 with the support of our local village, and a grant from the Woodland Trust
  • Silvo-pasture, (trees protected from livestock browsing by cactus guards) including:
    • Mixed orchard over 5 acres – planted in January 2023 with grant funding from Farming in a Protected Landscape (Chilterns National Landscape). The orchard was planted as a traditional orchard with 27 varieties and species of fruit and nut trees planted 10m apart.
    • Tree lines of hardwood and coppice over eight acres – planted in January 2024 (FIPL funded), planted 20m apart. These will also create a ‘living barn’, with shelter, shade and browse for livestock
  • Hedgerow regeneration – the farm has two km of internal hedge which we surveyed in 2022 using the Healthy Hedgerow app. This identified that the hedgerows had outgrown and become rows of trees. We are regenerating the hedges in sections over the next three years. Each section is coppiced and gapped up with mixed native hedging plants and hedgerow trees. Brash is used to create a dead hedge to protect the hedge from livestock and the rest is chipped for mulch in the orchard and no-dig beds.

Here are some photos of what we do:

woodland

Orchard (summer 2023)
Wildflower meadows
Hedgerow coppiced January 2023
Coppiced hedgerow six months later
how to find us

You will find us at Darvills Hill Farm, Flowers Bottom Lane, Princes Risborough, Bucks. HP27 0PZ.

What three words for the field gate is www///jazzy.dummy.elastic

agroforestry open weekend 2024

During the Agroforestry Open Weekend 2024 we will be open on Saturday 18th May at 11am. We will be available to provide a guided walk round the different agroforestry areas and to answer any questions you may have. The walk around the site would cover a distance of around one km, over uneven ground. Outdoor footwear essential!

please don’t just turn up

Parking at the farm is extremely limited, pre-booking is essential.

Please let us know if your planning to visit us by emailing thepantry@darvillshillfarm.co.uk using Agroforestry weekend in the subject heading.

facilities/refreshments

No refreshments or toilet facilities are available at the site.

parking/access

Parking is very restricted and the area we identify for parking will depend on numbers attending. We will let you know parking arrangements when you book.

dogs

Our flock of sheep and new season lambs will be on site, so we would prefer dogs to be left at home.

disability access

If you are a wheelchair user or experience mobility difficulties the site is accessible in dry weather. We will ensure you have a convenient parking space.

more information?

email: thepantry@darvillshillfarm.co.uk

mobile: 07854 249486

Instagram: @darvills_hill_farm