House and garden
Borders
A family house with large garden and 30 acres of mixed woodland. We grow fruit and vegetables and have chickens, cats and four dogs and I have just started to keep bees. I garden organically and prefer the No Dig method. We would like WWOOFers to come and participate in general gardening from March through until October. We hope to help you gain confidence with growing plants and looking after animals. You will also have plenty time to discovery the beautiful Scottish Borders. There is separate accommodation in a very comfortable two bedroom cottage. We will provide all food for WWOOFers to self cater plus sheets, towels etc.
Organic methods: No dig method; companion planting; green manure and compost;
Certifications: we use only organic products in the garden.
Internet access available
Read more
Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Fruit or nut farming
Poultry farming
Forestry
Beekeeping
Methods or systems
Biological pest control
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
20.2
Hectares
|
50
Acres
Jenny
Member since 2011
Languages spoken:
English, Italian
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Response rate: 100%
Response time: typically within 2 days
Borders
5 miles from Galashiels in the Scottish Borders. There is a bus from Galashiels to very close to the house. Just over 1 hour from Edinburgh.
Reviews
Léane
France
•
November 2025
I had a perfect time at [Host]. Being my first woofing experience, everything was a dream come true ! Jenny, the host, is a wonderful and inspiring person : she knows lots about everything and is always willing to share her stories or advice. Jimmy, the garderner, is also a very kind and knowledgeable person and it was always fun to chat with him.
The work day consisted of working from 9-12 and 1-3, with many gardening tasks including weeding, taking out plants bulbs, re potting plants, etc. We always did various tasks during the day so it would not be too repetitive, which was great ! I learned a lot about gardening in general (and vocabulary too!) and working outdoors was wonderful. The house, gardens, surroundings and cottage are just amazing : being here during autumn was a blessing. I had everything I could've needed regarding food and accommodation. I would love to come back again and would highly recommend it !
Read more
Grace
United States
•
October 2025
I had such a lovely time at Jenny’s place. Truly a dream WWOOF. The work was fun and mostly easy and still satisfying! The landscape and surrounding hills are breathtaking and I loved exploring. Jenny is incredible. She’s such a powerhouse and I’m so inspired by her drive and vision. I loved chatting with her and learning about her life experiences. Sadly she was away for a week while I was there but Jimmy did a great job assigning us tasks and keeping us occupied! The accommodation was lovely. It was so cozy and the perfect place to spend an autumn evening! Jenny was always willing to get us whatever food we needed and made sure we always had enough. The dogs were so cute and funny. I loved getting to know them as well. This was such a fantastic WWOOF and I would recommend it to anyone! I really hope I can return one day!!
Read more
Merle
Germany
•
September 2025
It was a lovely stay at Laidlawstiel. Jenny is such a nice host, you can learn a lot from her. The work itself is perfectly fine and times may vary. We had a really nice accommodation. Definitely a valuable experience!
Marlene
Germany
•
July 2025
I stayed at Laidlawstiel Farm for two weeks and couldn't have had a better time there! I was there with a friend of mine and another wwoofer girl and we stayed in a cozy cottage and cooked our on meals with the food Jenny ordered for us every week. The work was good, we worked five hours a day, from 9 to 12 and from 1pm to 3pm. The weekends were free and I explored the beautiful nature around the farm or we catched a bus in the nearest city. Unfortunetely I didnt get to know Jenny, because she was away during my stay, but we often messaged her and if there was a problem, she solved it quickly. I can really recommand this farm and hope I can come back one day!
Read more
Sophie
France
•
July 2025
I just stayed a little longer than a month at [Host], and it was definitely a nice experience.
Jenny is a nice, caring and full-of-knowledge person. It was a pleasure to work with her. Jimmy (the gardener) is also really sweet and always took the time to explain the different tasks we had to do during the day.
I stayed with one and then two other woofers in a very comfortable cottage next to Jenny's house. We would cook our own meals with fruits and vegetables from the garden, as well as the groceries Jenny would buy at our demand once a week.
There is a bus stop 20 minutes away (by foot) from the cottage, which was really helpful to visit the lovely towns in the Borders (especially in June where there are so many festivals going on !).
The work was extremely okay, we would start at 9am, stop at 12am for a 1h lunch break, and then continue until 3pm, which meant a lot of free time in the afternoon. Whenever it was heavy raining, they would try to make us work somewhere dry, which was nice.
To continue on that topic, the only annoying element was the weather, which was quite cold (and wet obviously) sometimes, but that's what you need to expect from Scotland after all !
To sum up, it was a lovely place (the garden and the scenery both being really nice to look at) and I would gladly recommend it to other woofers.
Jeanne
Read more
Aurélie
France
•
June 2025
I spent a total of two weeks at Laidlawstiel House and it was wonderful! I didn't see the time flying by… but when you get to spend part of your day in such a beautiful walled garden with wonderful people, of course your stay goes by in a flash.
Jenny is such a kind and helpful person. She knows so much about gardening and is always happy to share her knowledge. You can ask her anything and be amazed by how much she knows -I finally got my answers about the no-digging method!
Since Jenny’s garden is part of Scotland's Gardens Organisation, I mainly helped with preparations for that. This included a lot of weeding and hoeing, as well as transplanting plants. I also sowed seeds, planted bulbs and tidied up the garden. The working hours were five hours per day, usually finishing at 3 p.m., which left plenty of time to explore the surroundings or simply enjoy a walk.
As for the accommodation, we shared a cosy and comfortable cottage with another WWOOFer. We each had our own bedroom and cooked our own meals. Jenny checked in now and then to make sure we had enough food and always responded to any requests we had. We were also welcome to pick fruits and vegetables from her garden -they were delicious!
I really enjoyed my stay at Laidlawstiel House with Jenny (and Jimmy) and would definitely recommend it!
Read more
