House and garden, half an hour’s walk outside town.

Surrey

33 reviews • Updated 1 month ago

3.5 acres, a semi wild garden with a particular interest in creating Land Art - as an imprint on the natural landscape. Surrey is known as AONB (area of outstanding natural beauty). Experience permaculture, some organic food & herb growing, composting, dead hedging, habitats for wildlife. Member of local biodiversity group. Bee hives are being attended by the local beekeeping club. Photo of bothy self built for wwoofers and/or grandchildren.. I prefer one wwoofer at a time and enjoy the exchange with those that come to improve their English language skills in return for helping support my lifestyle of simply living with the land. WWOOF host since 1983, inspired by a TV series called 'The Good Life'. Once actively promoted organics, joined the Soil Association, researched and self published 'The Concise Book of Organic Growing and Small LIfestock'. Now more interested in permaculture and enjoying the smallholding as a retirement project. Find my book on Amazon, paperback or kindle; When I Became English...[see part 2 about setting up the smallholding] by Meike Laurenson We can teach use of tools and the making of compost. Come and harvest in the widest sense of the word and visit the compost loo. visit: www.meikelaurenson.org.uk click on SMALLHOLDING click on Info for WWOOFERS The Victorian park area with lots of trees and stone lined pond is open to the public for the annual Heritage Weekend event and also for charity with other gardens in the village. We offer accommodation away from the house in the purpose-built bothy, a little detached house as shown on the website. All artist designed and rather unconventional. SPECIAL INTERESTS: two artists have workshops in the converted stable block. I have retired from 'creating/felting' - apart from giving 'Show & Tell' talks to groups. After 20 years of caring for breeding ewes, we have taken down most of the fences. Organic methods: Permaculture, composting, leafmould Certifications: Used to take veg to market in the 1980s when we had the Soil Association symbol yrs ago. Internet access available

Learning opportunities

Fruit or nut farming

Forestry

Beekeeping

Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas

Vegetable or fruit preservation

Food justice / sovereignty

Mechanics / tools / technology

Methods or systems

Permaculture

Host type

Nonprofit / Community

Former WWOOFer

1.4 Hectares | 3.5 Acres

Accommodation

1 WWOOFer

Bedroom

Children not accepted

Pets accepted

Meals

Omnivore

Vegetarian

Length of stay

1-2 weeks

Meike

Member since 2009

Languages spoken: English Response rate: 100% Response time: typically within 1 day

December 2025

Open

Planned visit

Closed

MapLibre | Protomaps | © OpenStreetMap

Surrey

From London, take a train to Reigate

Reviews

sanjay

United Kingdom • November 2025

Meike has a wealth of experience about all things to do with gardening and permaculture to share, and I learned a lot in a short time of working with her. She saw to all my needs (accommodation, food etc) well. This place has a good history behind it, as you will know when you get here. Thanks very much Meike!

Reply from Meike

Hope you get better soon, Sanjay. Meike

Cristian

Spain • November 2025

I recommend wwoofing at Meike's place, the accommodation was all you would ask for, all three foods of the day provided were delicious and the work to do wasn't very demanding. Moreover, you can chat with Meike about a lot of things and she will also tell you a lot of interesting stories about her life. Pd, her son was also very nice.

Maja

Germany • September 2025

I spent one week at [Host] and had a very good time. The bothy is a cute accomodation and Meike a friendly and relaxed person with a lot of stories to tell and a sunny disposition. I could practice my English and learned new words every day. Working together in the garden was easy and rich in variety. I had fun. Ich verbrachte eine Woche bei The Bungalow und hatte eine echt gute Zeit. Das Bothy ist eine süße Unterkunft und Meike eine freundliche und entspannte Person mit vielen Geschichten im Repertoire und einem sonnigen Gemüt. Ich konnte mein Englisch üben und lernte jeden Tag neue Wörter dazu. Die gemeinsame Arbeit im Garten war leicht und abwechslungsreich und machte mir Spaß.

Feifei

Germany • August 2025

As a first time Wwoofer I've learnt a lot about composting, dead-hedging and how to use different tools and equipments at the Bungalow. I'm glad that I could help her with gardening works like cutting grass, weeding the weed, raking the edge, harvesting fruits or shredding dead plants. I've enjoyed my stay with Meike as a host, her beautiful garden, her healthy meals and our conversations at the kitchen table! I had a wonderful week there!

Hamish

Australia • April 2025

I had a great time WWOOFing with Meike. She was full of stories as well as being kind, funny and a great cook - even accommodating my dietary requirements with ease. Mornings were typically spent in her amazing garden doing a variety of tasks and afternoons were often free to explore the town. This was my first time WWOOFing and I'd highly recommend staying at The Bungalow Thanks again Meike !

Noelle

United States • April 2025

I had a great time WWOOFING at the Bungalow. I spent the mornings helping meike in her beautiful garden, afternoons walking around exploring the town of Reigate and the surrounding areas, and evenings having nice chats along with home cooked vegetarian meals and playing games of scrabble. Meike is a wonderful host with a nice sense of humor who has much experience with permaculture and always offered to bring me along with her on her outings. While I was here I deadheaded, transplanted, hoed, rotated compost, freshened up some signs, and laid compost. I definitely recommend this place.