Smallholding including orchard and gardens
North Yorkshire
1 acre garden/smallholding in a suburban situation on the outskirts of the historic City of York growing wide range of fruit and vegetables plus ornamental plants. 7 acre field nearby, including woodland planted 20 years ago, managed for wildlife, and large orchard. Also two allotments for additional fruit and veg, plus a few free range hens for eggs. Wide range of vegetables grown throughout year on mixture of row and bed systems. Large greenhouse and polytunnel used for veg. production throughout the year. Many varieties of apple, plus pears, plums etc, plus extensive range of soft fruit. We are self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables with surplus to sell through a box scheme, from our cart on the street, and local wholefood shop/market.
Our aim is to live as sustainably as possible while maintaining an attractive environment suitable for wildlife. We can offer training in a wide variety of organic horticultural techniques based on 30 years experience. We do talks to gardening groups on growing fruit and vegetables organically and are involved in a range of local food/organic initiatives.
Your interest in learning about organic growing and environmental issues is more important than your experience. We are happy to support and teach enthusiastic beginners. This is not a suitable WWOOF for those only wanting to improve their English or travel cheaply.
Please tell us your dietary needs (eg vegan, gluten free etc). We are vegetarian. We have 1 cat.
Organic methods: We basically follow organic practices of rotation, composting, etc. We don't use any powered tools for cultivation - we like digging and every year we incorporate a lot of manure and compost.
Certifications: We use organic methods but are too small scale to justify certification
Current projects: What we can teach WWOOFers will always depend on the season. We have no huge projects ongoing, though we do anything like this over the winter months (November to March) before our growing season really gets busy.
Internet access available
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Fruit or nut farming
Poultry farming
Forestry
Flower farming
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Food justice / sovereignty
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
3.2
Hectares
|
8
Acres
Tony Chalcraft Or Jane
Member since 2009
Languages spoken:
English
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Response rate: 100%
Response time: typically within 2 days
North Yorkshire
Train or Coach to York. We usually meet wwoofers at the railway station. We are on a regular bus route from the City of York. from the City.
Reviews
Jaël
Germany
•
December 2025
My time at Tony and Jane’s was brilliant! They are both extremely knowledgeable and can teach you lots about gardening throughout the year. You will work a few hours a day with a tea and lunch break. You will have your own private room within the house and all meals will be cared for. I very much enjoyed my time there.
Thank you!
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Lara
Germany
•
December 2025
I spent one week with Jane and Tony in York and had a really lovely time. They are both very friendly and fair, concerning work and freetime. And they give great tips on things to do in York. Generally speaking, they are very helpful people. They have quite a bit of land that they cultivate, and you can learn a lot here (especially in the warmer months). I can highly recommend staying here!
Shakquille
United Kingdom
•
November 2025
Welcoming, generous and organised! Thank for letting me stay and learn about your lifestyle, it was a treat - very experienced and relaxed people.
And they have loads going on!
Rosa
United Kingdom
•
October 2025
I had a wonderful week with Jane and Tony (and their incredible 20 year old cat, Anya!) at their beautiful property on the outskirts of York. They are incredibly knowledgeable about organic fruit and vegetable growing, and are always willing to take time to provide thorough explanations.
Their allotment is incredibly large and diverse. The work was very varied, including clearing pepper and courgette plants and preparing beds for the next season, sowing seeds, processing a large manure delivery, harvesting and grading apples in both the allotment and orchard, preparing compost and planting out strawberry runners. I learned a lot during my stay and thoroughly enjoyed working outside and also meeting a couple of other regular volunteers.
I really enjoyed our meaningful conversations during tea breaks in the greenhouse, during which Jane and Tony demonstrated very impressive crossword puzzle solving skills! I was also given plenty of time to explore York and the surrounding area, with insightful recommendations from Tony and Jane.
Jane is a wonderful cook, and we enjoyed a delicious homemade vegetarian meal and pudding every night with fresh produce from the smallholding. I enjoyed the fun conversations with Tony during washing up duties!
The bedroom in which I stayed was also wonderfully comfortable and cosy.
Jane and Tony are very inspiring, and their sustainable lifestyle and self-sufficiency are very admirable. I would highly recommend a visit.
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Jess
Canada
•
September 2025
I couldn’t have asked for a better experience for my first WWOOFing stay. Tony and Jane are incredibly knowledgeable and have an amazing, productive smallholding along with their allotment and beautiful orchard. I learned so much during my stay here as they were very kind and generous with their time and knowledge about both their gardens as well as the local area, plus Jane is an amazing cook! I would highly recommend [Host] to anyone who is keen to learn and enjoy the beautiful area of Yorkshire.
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Sarah
Switzerland
•
August 2025
The 10 days we spent WWOOFing in [Host] in York were fantastic. We immediately fell in love with the garden.
Tony and Jane are very good teachers. They take the time to explain the working tasks well and answer questions. We were able to benefit from their broad knowledge of horticulture, learnt about new apple varieties and how to make chutney.
[Host] is huge and incredibly diverse: The garden is home to numerous fruit trees, vegetables of all kinds, berries, flowers, chickens and squirrels.
As varied as the garden is, so is the work. We sowed, harvested, watered, made onion bunches, weeded, spread compost, cut grass with a scythe and picked apples from the ground.
There was also plenty of free time: Tony and Jane gave us great recommendations for York and the area on our days off.
We will fondly remember the tea breaks, during which you proved your skills in solving crossword puzzles. We will also remember the interesting conversations over the delicious meals with vegetables and fruit from the garden and the music albums you recommended. We will miss [Host].
Thank you Tony and Jane for making this wonderful and educational stay possible!
We wish you all the best for the future!
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