Wildflower Meadows, New Woodland and Smallholding
North Yorkshire
Hello! We’re Tom and Alwyn, and we live on-site at a conservation project called Forest of Flowers. The project has created 100 acres of natural habitat (new woodland, wildflower meadows and ponds) from old farmland. Since work began in 2016, the site has become a haven for wildlife, with an abundance of pollinators, birds, bats, amphibians and much more.
We manage the site as a nature reserve, with a focus on maximising biodiversity. We also run a small business selling wildflower seeds, plants and running events, the income for which helps to fund the project.
We keep bees, with around 10 hives on-site, producing more than 400 jars of honey each year.
We grow a wide range of fruit and vegetables, mainly for our own consumption, with surplus being sold to locals. We have 2 greenhouses, a polytunnel and a large area of vegetable beds.
Animals on-site include our 3 little pigs, chickens, a small herd of goats for milk, our 3 pet cockapoos and our 2 cats.
Typical Activities
Our day-to-day activities are incredibly varied, with a broad workload, including:
• Growing wildflower plugs in our plant nursery
• Wildflower Seed collecting and processing (June – October)
• Hosting public events (e.g. tours and nature-based training)
• Beekeeping and honey extraction/processing
• Milking goats and making cheese
• Organic fruit and vegetable production (small-scale)
• Keeping chickens
• Hay making (early September)
• Woodland management – coppicing, tree guard removal (November – April)
Each day can be so different, but we try to maintain a similar structure to the day. We will work with WWOOFers to decide on the daily agenda based on priority level, weather and interest. Our main focus of the project is habitat creation, wildflowers and trees, but we’re passionate about the whole project and are happy to teach WWOOFers about any aspect of it while they’re with us.
We have a weekly volunteering session with a group on Monday mornings. We would like any WWOOFers to join in and help with the group’s activities.
Accommodation
We have a recently-build modern cabin, kitted out for the sole purpose of housing volunteers on-site. It can house an individual or a couple, and consists of:
• Main living / bedroom with kitchenette
• En-suite with shower
• Comfy sofa-bed
• Table and chairs
• TV
• Small fridge
• Washing machine
• Hot water, electricity and plumbing
• Heater in each room, plus excellent insulation and double-glazing
• Wifi
• Fully lockable
• Lovely balcony and decking area, with outdoor furniture, overlooking a wildlife pond.
The en-suite has its own external door and is used by visitors during our events. The internal door into the WWOOFer’s living space is fully lockable.
Food and Drink
We to aim to prepare meals with WWOOFers and eat with them wherever possible and practical. WWOOFers will also have the facilities and supplies to prepare their own meals occasionally (including crockery, 2-ring hob, microwave, kettle, toaster). We will discuss meal arrangements with each volunteer to decide a suitable schedule and understand any dietary requirements.
All our meals are vegetarian. From our smallholding we use eggs, milk, yoghurt, honey, apple juice, fruit and vegetables. Organic sourdough bread is supplied by a local baker.
Hobbies and Leisure
While most of our time is taken up by the project and small-holding, we make time for regular leisure activities. These include:
• Running
• Swimming
• Cycling
• Live music
We take part in semi-regular running races and triathlons locally. Alwyn is also a member of the local running club, taking part in two evening runs a week, one of which is available to WWOOFers if interested.
We enjoy a wide variety of music, and love talking about and sharing music with others. Tom also plays piano and is learning the violin (slowly!). We also enjoy films and the odd cinema trip.
There’s lots of opportunity for cultural and nature exploration in the area. We are 20 minutes’ drive from the historic York city, various shopping centres and leisure centres (swimming pools and gyms). We are also perfectly positioned for exploring the North Yorkshire Moors and coastline, with excellent beaches around an hour’s drive away.
Hourly buses run from our village to York, with bus and rail connections to the coast, Leeds and beyond.
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Sheep or goat farming
Forestry
Beekeeping
Flower farming
Seed saving or production
Cheesemaking
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Beer, cider, wine, or juice making
Host type
Production farm
40.5
Hectares
|
100
Acres
Tom
Member since 2025
Languages spoken:
English
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Response rate: 89%
Response time: typically within 8 days
North Yorkshire
York Train Station
Reviews
Yurika
Japan
•
February 2026
I visited this wonderful farm run by Alwyn and Tom in August 2025, and it was genuinely the best decision I could have made! As it was the end of summer, the main tasks were harvesting wild flower seeds and haymaking. I also took part in workshops and even went to a gig with them. It was exactly the sort of authentic WWOOF experience I had hoped for, and the cabin they built for guests was extremely comfortable.
The project on this farm is truly worthwhile and left a deep impression on me. I’d love to tell all my friends about my experience here. When Alwyn told me how the North Yorkshire moors came to exist, I was shocked (especially as I love the UK and yet hadn’t known about it), but it inspired me to learn much more about old-growth forests. Tom kindly looked after me and made sure I had everything I needed.
Thank you both so so much! I hope the farm continues to thrive for many years to come. I would highly recommend to visiting them to everyone!
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Ian
United Kingdom
•
February 2026
We had a great 10 days working with Tom and Alwyn. [Host] is an amazing project and we learnt a huge amount. They are so knowledgeable and passionate about the project, which was infectious!
The tasks we were involved with were varied and included: Feeding some of the animals, tree guard removal, coppicing trees, some clearing/ weed removal round the vegetable beds and helping prep for a volunteer day by making and laying down woodchip.
The accommodation is really comfortable, even in the middle of winter! We ate most lunches and dinners all together. We arranged our days off around what be work was going on that week, but Tom & Alwyn were happy to be flexible with this.
Overall this was a great wwoofing experience, we would recommend anyone to volunteer here and we have been inspired to get involved with more conservation projects in the future!
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Lisa
France
•
December 2025
We stayed with Tom and Alwyn for ten days in a very comfortable wooden cabin. We loved meeting them and sharing meals while discussing English culture, films, music, and our respective lives. Winter tasks included removing tree tubes, building a fence for the pigs, cleaning the goat enclosure, and creating a bed for vegetables. We worked in a cheerful and friendly atmosphere, surrounded by adorable animals (we already miss their three little dogs!). We highly recommend this experience with Tom and Alwyn, who are lovely people! It also gives you the opportunity to visit the beautiful city of York, which is very easy to get to! Thanks you again for this beautiful stay :)
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Nancy
United Kingdom
•
October 2025
What an amazing time I had with Tom and Alwyn! They were both extremely welcoming and did whatever they could to make my time interesting and comfortable. It was really nice to have my own cabin, which had everything I needed. I did a range of tasks and learned a lot about how they run their small farm. It was a real exchange of ideas and information, we were all excited to learn from each other. Their animals are all treated with masses of love and it shows in how affectionate and approachable they all are. What a treat it was to eat homegrown vegetables and farm-made goat cheeses all week. I hope to return soon!
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Daisy
United Kingdom
•
October 2025
My time at [Host] was great, I got hands on experience working with wildflowers, which included collecting their seeds and preparing them for being sold. I also was able to help with the goats, Jason their new sheep, go apple picking, help prepare orders, feed the chickens, help out/take part in their wildflower education event... in short, the work was varied and never boring for me. They also host volunteering sessions on Monday mornings which I enjoyed a lot. The accommodation is in a lovely separate cabin which has everything you need, while most meals were shared apart from breakfast, so I found it a nice balance of alone time and spending quality time together getting to know each other. I also enjoyed exploring the surrounding villages and York in my free time.
The best part of the experience is Tom and Alwyn themselves who are brilliant and genuine people. I would love to come back.:)
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Lewis
United Kingdom
•
September 2025
What an amazing first WWOOFing experience! [Host] is a truly special place, and Tom and Alwyn are wonderful hosts. They were incredibly welcoming from the start, and we quickly felt like part of the family, sharing meals most nights.
The work was hard but so rewarding. Over the course of the week, we took part in a huge variety of tasks, including harvesting honey from the bees, cutting grass, and clearing trees from the goat pen. We also fed the chickens, organized tree casings, and used the wood chipper to make bedding for the chicken enclosures. A highlight was spending a morning harvesting seeds with other volunteers and participating in a moth and bat event on Saturday night.
The cabin was comfortable and cozy, and the hosts generously supplied us with everything we could have wanted, from fresh goat's milk to delicious homemade jam, bread, and honey. Tom and Alwyn were also kind enough to let my girlfriend stay for a night and were very welcoming to her.
I can't recommend [Host]enough. If you want a rewarding and memorable WWOOFing experience, this is the place to go. I hope to visit again soon!
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