10 acre Small holding with a focus on organic practise and biodiversity
Londonderry
Our small holding is situated on the eastern slopes of the Binevenagh upland and is within the Binevenagh Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In 2007 we began the long process of developing it from rough grassland into a range of biodiverse areas including a number of areas of native woodland, two ponds, wet pasture/ marsh, willow plantation for coppicing, sheep pasture, a small orchard, soft fruit trees, household vegetable beds, and a greenhouse. We keep a small flock of welsh black mountain sheep, some chicken, geese and bees.
We aspire to follow organic principles, to waste little and to nurture and build our environment rather than to consume it.
Our goal is to produce organic food for our own consumption, and to exchange or sell any surplus to like minded friends and acquaintances.
Sally is a university lecturer with a background in environmental science and John has a background in education but is now an artisan builder of canoes and kayaks using traditional skills and techniques. Both of us work predominantly from home.
The reality for us is that our ambitions for our holding significantly exceed our time!
WWOOFers coming to stay with us will be able to participate in a wide range of activities depending both on the time of year and the focus of the moment. We have ongoing maintenance tasks relating to food growing, animal care and existing environments. On top of this is the development of new projects. These include additional woodland planting, building of small structures using traditional techniques and materials and further wetland/ pond development. John also teaches traditional boat building other traditional skills and is always keen to pass on this knowledge.
Due to the nature of our employment we both have flexibility in our daily schedule. John predominately works on boat building in the morning and devotes the afternoons to the small holding. Sally's timing is more flexible. On this basis WWOOFers daily hours can also be flexible to fit in with the tasks, the participants and the weather! Depending on the tasks sometimes we work together, sometimes not.
In addition to the smallholding we are both enthusiastic about cooking, foraging, storing/ preserving food, history, traditional music, and trying (and failing) to get away to explore the world around us on foot, bike, sleeping van, kayak and canoe. We are well located to be able to get to Derry and Belfast cities by train. Our local area includes the Giants Causeway, the stunning Causeway Coast and, further afield, the beautiful and wild landscapes of Donegal.
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Sheep or goat farming
Beekeeping
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Beer, cider, wine, or juice making
Traditional crafts
Green Building
Methods or systems
Biological pest control
Holistic management
Permaculture
Regenerative agriculture
Rotational grazing
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
4.1
Hectares
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10
Acres
John
Member since 2025
Languages spoken:
English
Response rate: 100%
Response time: typically within 3 days
November 2025
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Open
Planned visit
Closed
Londonderry
The nearest train station is Castlerock, there is a bus station in Coleraine and the closest airport is Belfast International Airport.
Reviews
Jule
Germany
•
October 2025
We had a truly wonderful time with John and Sally and can highly recommend them as Wwoofers! We stayed two weeks and felt very comfortable. They were both very helpful and
always made sure we had everything we needed. We even got to take part in two of John's courses and learned a lot! We also learned so much during our work during the day! We fed the sheep, looked after the trees, built (willow) fences, gave the sheep medicine and helped repair a boat.
John and Sally always tried to give us as many different tasks as possible so that it wouldn't get boring.
We had our own little kitchen in the barn, where we always had breakfast and lunch. Everything was beautifully and lovingly furnished, and John and Sally gave us all the information we needed in advance. We had dinner at John and Sally's house, and it was always delicious. We had great long conversations. Not to forget: Kutotii, the super cute, slightly crazy dog. Of course, we had a great time with her too ;)
We also visited Derry. Sally took us to and from the train station in Castlerock and gave us a few tips on what to do there. Thank you!
We had a wonderful time and hope to come back soon!
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Reply from John
😎It will be brilliant to see you back one day.👍
Lele
Germany
•
September 2025
I had a lovely stay at John and Sally's place. I slept with the other volunteer in the lovely barn, which is usually used for boat building. It's a very cosy place with a mezzanine with a bed and a kitchen. In the mornings, we started work together with John: building willow fences, taking care of trees, mowing meadows and much more. John and Sally were both very keen to share their skills and knowledge about farm work. I felt that I learnt a lot and could ask anything. In the evenings, we had dinner together and enjoyed delicious food and interesting conversations. I enjoyed my stay a lot, and it was particularly great for me to feel that John and Sally were really interested in us as WWOOFers.
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Marina
United Kingdom
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August 2025
I had a brilliant time at the farm with John and Sally. They have created a very special place, with beautiful sights of the sea from the fields. The work in the farm is very varied, we spend some time looking after a newly planted native Irish forest, I learned to scythe and use traditional woodworking methods to make stakes and then build a hurdle with willow branches. We learned to coppice trees and choose the best branched for the hurdles, and we also set fences up and planted trees. I learned lots about permaculture techniques in their vegetable patches and how to get started growing fruit and veg with organic methods. Myself and another wwoofer were staying a barn that John had made himself, we had a wee kitchen area where we made breakfast and lunch and then a mezzanine with a couple of beds - it was a very nice set up! We then enjoyed a delicioud dinner with John and Sally in the evening. It was a great experience and would definitely recommend this farm to any wwoofers looking to learn new skills and spend time in a beautiful part of the country. Thanks so much John and Sally !!!
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