House and garden
Essex
My husband and I bought this old Victorian building in 2017 and set about renovating and extending it. With the majority of the building work completed we finally moved in in February 2021. Since then we have been working to create a garden from the building site. So far with the help of wwoofs, we have built raised beds, planted a number of fruit trees, erected a polytunnel and a fruit cage. The raised beds and polytunnel are productive supplying us with vegetables and salad. Fruit production is slowly improving. We have chickens that supply eggs for the household.
The house is set in a village in a beautiful part of NE Essex. Accommodation is in a bedroom shared with any other wwoof staying (we only host 2 at any one time). Our large open plan kitchen, dining and sitting areas are shared spaces. Internet access available both via wifi and a wired connection. Meals are taken with us using our own produce as much as possible; plenty of opportunity to practice English!
We have 3 grown-up children and 9 grandchildren, all of whom pay us regular visits so we tend to be a busy active household. Wwoofs are invited to join us on family occasions, share in trips with us and meet our friends. We are both keen runners and welcome wwoofs to join us at local runs. There is also a piano in the house that we love to hear our wwoofs playing.
Organic methods: Sustainable practices largely organic.
Certifications: Not a commercial organisation so no point in certification
Current projects: I am now fully booked for the summer. I am looking for wwoofs in September to help with harvesting vegetables, clearing crops and spreading compost on the raised beds.
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Fruit or nut farming
Poultry farming
Flower farming
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Methods or systems
No-till farming
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
0.2
Hectares
|
0.5
Acres
Lyn
Member since 2009
Languages spoken:
English, French, German
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Response rate: 100%
Response time: typically within 2 days
Essex
Train or bus to Braintree where we can meet you. Nearest airport is London Stansted with a bus to Braintree.
Reviews
Jérôme
France
•
May 2026
Ma première expérience de deux semaines de wwoofing a été parfaite chez Lyn et Colin!
Lyn et Colin ont été parfaits de bout en bout : très gentils, attentionnés et respectueux.
Les repas étaient toujours excellents et variés, la maison et le jardin très agréables.
Ils m'ont proposé de venir avec eux à différentes animations proposées dans le village ce qui a enrichi encore mon expérience.
Ils ont aussi été très arrangeants pour me permettre de visiter la région.
Pour moi, le travail a été une semaine de jardinage et une semaine plutôt consacrée à du bricolage.
Je recommande vivement de ne pas hésiter à venir chez eux pour de bons moments de partage.
Lyn, Colin, merci pour tout.
Jérôme
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Dominique
France
•
May 2026
I had a truly wonderful stay with Lyn and Colins. We did some great work together, quite a bit of DIY and repairs. I appreciated the trust they placed in me for the work and for the use of their home. It's a beautiful house, renovated with great taste – well done! I have a very fond memory of an urban orienteering race in Canterbury. They love to cook, and every day we ate different and delicious dishes. They shared their activities with me, including the local club and a pub reserved for club members. I greatly appreciated their involvement in the village community. It was a lovely encounter, and therefore a pleasure to give the best I could.
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Timothé
France
•
May 2026
Lyn and Colin are incredible hosts. I stayed with them for three weeks and absolutely loved it. Their house is amazing, as well as their garden, where we did some great work together. They didn’t hesitate to include me in their daily life, whether it was through shopping trips or going to the club together. It was an excellent trip, and I’ll keep wonderful memories of the great moments we shared.
Timothé.
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Hadley
United States
•
June 2025
My husband and I stayed with Colin and Lyn for 1 week in their beautiful restored brewery. The accommodations were great and the work was good. Most of the work was in the mornings due to the heat wave in the UK and we learned a lot about planting vegetables, harvesting, and we weeded a lot. They were kind enough to drop us off at bus stations and provide maps for when we desired to explore London and local towns. The visit was pleasant.
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Takaya
Japan
•
September 2024
I WWOOFed at Lynn and Colin's house for a week.The house and garden are really nice, I felt relaxed the whole time.
Especially the meal times made me very happy.Because I got their delicious food with fresh vegetables from the garden.I asked them for their recipes every time I had a meal lol.
And because they are passionate runners, we went running three times during the week.I love running and I have great memories of running with them.
And they are very kind and respectful to others.They listened attentively to my beginner's English and tried to find simple words to talk to me until I understood.
I love them.I believe there is much to be learnt from their healthy lifestyle as well as their gardening skills.
Thank you Lynn and Colin 🙏 I look forward to seeing you again!
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Manon
France
•
August 2024
I stayed with Lyn and Colin for 13 days, and the time flew by.
I was made very welcome in their lovely house. The morning work in the garden wasn't very hard and the results were satisfactory. There was plenty of free time to wander around the beautiful surroundings. Lyn and Colin also included me in their social life and sporting activities.
On top of that, they were very helpful when I was communicating in English, which wasn't always easy.
During my stay, I learnt and discovered a lot of things, which did me a lot of good.
Thank you both so much!
Manon
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