[We are fully booked up with WWOOFers for 2026. If you are interested for next year please do get in touch]
Hi, we are Angus (35) and Leah (28) and we run a croft in the north Highlands of Scotland. On our croft we are all about promoting heritage and endangered skills, nature friendly farming, heritage breeds and grains, and preserving Gaelic crofting culture.
On our 7 acre croft, we have two cows, twelve sheep, and one Munchkin - the cat! We grow vegetables and crops for ourselves, the animals and for market. But don't expect a tractor, power tools or modern animal feed! Think scythes, pitchforks loose hay, a 300 year old footplough, traditional carpentry and shepherding - all while wearing a Scot’s bonnet (optional).
A bit about us: I'm a part time rural skills teacher at the local high school but spend most of my time working the croft. Leah works from home for an environmental agency. Munchkin the cat works as chief mouser, but mostly soaks up heat by the fire.
We welcome individuals, couples (and possibly friends who don't mind sharing a double bed or using a camp bed in the same room). We might be able to accept pets and children, but just get in touch so we can chat about it. Campervans also welcome.
We aim to give you as wide a range of experiences as possible but things vary a lot by the season.
Spring:
This time of year is super busy with lambing, cultivating and planting. A typical day might start with chopping wood, mucking out the byre and feeding the sheep and cows. We might then move on to some team cultivation with a cas chrom (footplough), dig in manure and maybe some turf dyke building. Through the night, Leah and I will be completing lambing checks, which you can choose to get involved with.
Summer:
Early summer is peat cutting and sheep clipping and mid to late summer is dominated by the hay harvest. Peat cutting involves a 30 minute hike up on to the heather moor where you'll learn the millennia old tradition of peat cutting. The hay harvest is all done by hand. I'll teach you to peen and hone a scythe blade so you can work with the scythe effectively. You'll spend hot days turning and raking hay or gathering it up on to racks. When rain threatens, we'll be out loading up the hay cart in a hurry.
Autumn:
Early autumn might involve harvesting our crop patch grains with a sickle. You'll likely get involved in some split rail or nordic pole fencing or other traditional carpentry projects around the croft. The peats will have finished drying on the moor and need carting back down. You'll help move the sheep into a new electric fenced strip as part of their weekly rotational grazing move.
Winter:
The cows are moved into the byre where you'll help with mucking out and filling the manger with hay. The short daylight hours are used to complete projects around the croft such as traditional fencing, dyking and lime pointing outbuildings. There's a chance snow will fall and you'll be helping pulling a toboggan of hay and neeps to the sheep (and riding it back down the hill!). If you feel up for it, you might help with the slaughter and butchery of one of our sheep.
You will spend most of your time with me (Angus) helping outside on the croft. But if you are interested in some of the tasks inside the croft house, Leah might take you under her wing for some baking.
What will your stay look like?
You'll be staying in our croft house in a guest bedroom, sharing a bathroom with us. Essentially you'll be eating with us as part of the family. We eat a lot of the food that we produce on the croft so there will be a lot of traditional Scottish and British cooking with some other dishes for variety. Normal breakfasts will be things like porridge, yoghurt and toast. Our lunches are usually oatcakes, bannock, soup or sandwiches. The nearest small shop is a ten minute drive away. There won't be much in the way of processed food or snacks, but we can always arrange to pick up any special food requests. We will be forever grateful for some help washing up! For longer stays we’ll do a wee review at five days to make sure everyone’s happy.
Leah and I enjoy traditional Scottish and folk music. Leah plays the fiddle and I play the bagpipes and whistle. There are lots of hiking opportunities right from our back door or larger mountains to the west and south. There are several wild swimming spots in the area for those willing to brave cold waters! Many of these spots can also be fished for trout in season with a local permit. Apart from the Rogart shop (10 minute drive) the nearest town with a supermarket is a 40 minute drive or a similar time on the train (Tain).
Read more
Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Grain farming
Cattle farming
Sheep or goat farming
Wild foraging
Seed saving or production
Meat processing
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Traditional crafts
Green Building
Methods or systems
Animal drafting
Regenerative agriculture
Rotational grazing
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
2.8
Hectares
|
7
Acres
