Home and Garden.
Lancashire
Hello. We are Anne and Matthew and live in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty near Lancaster less than half an hour from the Lake District and from the Yorkshire Dales. We have an organic vegetable garden and hens and our aim is to live without using commercial/ factory food sources all year round. We do buy in organic meat and milk but otherwise grow or trade our food. Anne is an avid food preserver using pressure canning, bottling, drying, fermenting, pickling. We are actively involved in working with our community to grow, compost and prevent food waste and we grow vegetable seedlings for distribution in the village. Anne is also a forager. We live with Reggie and Mabel (dogs) and 30 rescue hens (they are pets who provide eggs )in the centre of the village.
We are great for Wwoofers with a keen sustainability, environment and food interest, because we are hosts where the primary interest is to teach our way of life, and the mindset of growing/preserving. You will share our lives and learn a lifestyle centred around growing the food that we eat and living with as small an environmental footprint as we possibly can.
We have two greenhouses and a poly tunnel ( we are in the process of building a poly house as well) a vegetable garden at home and an allotment for potatoes and onions, garlic, beets and shelling beans. We need to grow as much in a small space as possible and waste as little as possible ( even onion/garlic roots are dried for stock powder, pea pods are made into pea juice for soups,) We try to use all parts of the plant. You might help with preparing the land, sowing seed, weeding, watering, repotting, harvesting, preparing beds, pruning, composting, foraging, preserving the harvest (ideally to be preserved without freezing and with minimum energy use) and pet care. There is a lot to do, but it is not back breaking and we totally believe in enjoying the garden, so don’t want our lives to be too much of a chore. We regularly hold open vegetable garden sessions where people can come and ask questions about the plot and we are passionate about passing on skills and knowledge. We are ideal for someone who is interested in learning to grow and gaining skills outside in the garden but also learning and helping with the preparation and culinary skills needed to preserve everything you grow. At certain times of year we forage a lot - hogweed, herbs/medicinals, nettles for cordage, crabapples, wild garlic,mustards, whinberries, blackberries,cherries, damsons/ bullaces/ sloes. The foraged foods are then preserved and add interest to our diet throughout the year.
Matthew is very hands on with repairs and the infrastructure needed for the garden.
We have spare bedrooms in the house( it is a moderately large/ elegant house, 5 bedrooms), with use of the family bathroom and shower room and you are welcome to make yourself at home in the house. .We can accommodate most diets. We do eat meat but it isn’t necessaryand we would happily eat/ cook vegan or vegetarian .
I am musical and play the piano reasonably well and other instruments less well. We have lots of instruments which you are welcome to play. I enjoy crafting and would say I am an eager learner. My garden and food preservation is my main hobby. The village we live in is not really beautiful but we are surrounded by very beautiful and varied countryside, arguably we are within 30 minutes of the most beautiful countryside in the UK. The transport links are good with a train station in Lancaster and easy access to the Lake District, Dales or Bowland Fells. You are an hour train ride from the Northern Cities of Manchester and Liverpool. We will happily show you some of the local sights and take you to local market towns. We have B4rn superfast internet.
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Poultry farming
Wild foraging
Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas
Seed saving or production
Cheesemaking
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Bakery
Traditional crafts
Food justice / sovereignty
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
0.2
Hectares
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0.4
Acres
Anne
Member since 2025
Languages spoken:
English, French, Spanish
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Mon
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Response rate: 97%
Response time: typically within 1 day
Lancashire
Lancaster train station/ Manchester Airport
Reviews
Ursula
United Kingdom
•
March 2026
I spent 5 days at Anne's and Matthew's and I thoroughly enjoyed it! They are superb hosts and cooks and look after Woofers really well. It was great learning things about plants and making bread, yogurt and more. We had great conversations during and beyond delicious dinners, and played board games too, and we also had a great time with their two lovely dogs! There are also chickens, they are rescue hens and it's so good to see how they are thriving in their new environment. Our tasks were varied and enjoyable.
On top of all this, we were also shown around the area, seeing a cheese factory, and wonderful views across the amazing Forest of Bowland - which is incidentally not a forest but moorland!
I only wish I could have stayed longer. I can highly recommend Wwoofing at Anne's and Matthews, and look forward to return later in the year for another Wwoof!
Thank you Anne and Matthew!
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Maya
United Kingdom
•
March 2026
I had an amazing experience at [Host]. This was my first time WWOOFing and Anne and Matthew set the bar very high! I had originally booked a 4 night stay, but ended up extending my trip 2 extra nights.
Even though poor weather restricted how much work we could do, I still learned a lot about organic gardening and sustainable living. On the daily, we helped out around the garden and made bread & yogurt in preparation for the next day.
The home is beautiful and the dogs are friendly. Anne and Matthew are very accommodating and work hard to put the WWOOFers needs first. WWOOFing aside, they are also lovely people to spend time with. We played board games, sewed, cooked, baked, and talked for hours. Feeling very lucky to have received their wisdom, and feeling eager to return!
Thank you!
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Sachi
Japan
•
February 2026
Anne and Matthew were so kind and open-hearted. They are amazing cooks, and I loved our English lessons during mealtimes. Reggie and Mabel (dogs) were so full of energy and incredibly cute when they came to snuggle!
We had a great time helping out in the garden—digging, weeding, and clearing branches—and collecting eggs was a highlight. Helping make the yogurt bread was also a fun experience.
On our days off, Anne took us to some beautiful places. We saw stone circles, lakes, and beautiful and interesting views. We even got lucky and saw a steam train! Exploring the castles and the town was so much fun. Annie, your constant smile and kind words really made us feel at home.
Thank you so much for driving us to the bus stop on our last day.
We are truly grateful for everything. Thanks a lot!
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Helder
United Kingdom
•
February 2026
I had a great time with Anne and Mathew.
They really made me feel at home.
Anne knowledge about growing and preserving is inspiring. I learned a lot while I was there, from making apple cider vinegar to yogurt... Lots of information and learning.
The weather wasn't great while I was there but me and Mathew still managed to fix some raising beds and start their new poll tunnel.
Reggie and Mabel (the dogs) and are also very friendly and fun.
I can really recommend their place if you want to learn about growing your own vegetables and sustainability.
Thank you Anne and Mathew
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Danielle
Netherlands
•
October 2025
I spend 10 days at [Host] with Anne and Matthew and I can highly recommend it. I haven't met lot of hosts that really put the wwoofers needs and interests on the first place. They will do their best to make sure you can do things you want and learn about subjects interested to you. I learned a lot about baking bread, making yoghurt, preserving food and what is necessary to live as much self sufficient as possible. When I told them I haven't yet had real good fish and chips during my stay in England they made sure we went to the best fish and chips place they knew. Thank you for that, the trip to the Lake District and teaching me about all you and Matthew know.
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Ray
United States
•
October 2025
I instantly felt welcomed here, which means so much to me. The amount of care and thought these hosts put into taking care of the WWOOFers is very apparent. The tasks were very enjoyable and barely felt like chores - weeding, harvesting, local foraging, food preparation, food preservation, distribution of free foraged food throughout the community to name a few. I also was able to have so many adventures here, like visiting the local fabric store, a three-story book store, a trip to the seaside for fish & chips, and even an epic adventure through the Lake District.
I learned so much even in such a short time. Ann & Matthew truly want to connect with their WWOOFers, and are always up for long, meaningful conversations and spending time together. They are the embodiment of what the WWOOFing experience should be. I hope I should be so lucky as to get a chance to spend more time here again in the future. Thank you both for everything!
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