House and garden
West Yorkshire
Welcome to beautiful West Yorkshire! We are Dan and Topsy, plus Topsy’s mum and Pip the dog. The two of us have varied work schedules, sometimes away from the house, but we aim to do something in the garden most days during spring and summer. Most of our spare time is spent gardening, cooking, DIYing and relaxing outdoors.
We grow food in a no-dig vegetable garden. Around 95% of the compost is made on site in three large, covered compost bays (Charles Dowding style). We’re establishing an orchard and soft fruit growing, with a wildflower meadow between the trees. We are gradually introducing some forest garden elements, including nut trees and other edibles.
At the time of writing there are two honeybee colonies, including one in a horizontal top bar hive. We plan to add a further top bar hive and sometimes harvest a little honey. We’re working towards keeping ducks for eggs and pest control. We bake our own organic sourdough bread.
We run a compost toilet in the summerhouse (our WWOOFing accommodation) and use the compost from this to mulch and feed ornamental/shelter trees. We have a rainwater harvesting system for the garden and will be further extending this. Dan has some experience of timber-framed construction as well as other DIY skills. We also grow lots of flowers, to make pollinators and ourselves happy! And our garden is very popular with wild birds.
WWOOFing here would include sowing, planting out, watering, weeding, composting, harvesting, preserving and cooking alongside us – up to half a day each day. It may be of interest if you want to experience a permaculture/regenerative approach on a relatively small scale, in a multi-generational home, with a focus on making the garden beautiful as well as functional, and the food delicious as well as nutritious. On days where we're less available, it's up to you - you might want to be in the garden on your own, or you might prefer to take a day off and/or go out exploring.
You’ll stay in our cosy summerhouse overlooking the orchard. It has a king-size bed, sofa, cold running water, kettle and compost toilet, plus it’s own outdoor space. We’ll eat at least one meal together most days and we'll always make sure you have something good to eat. For showers/baths we'll agree times when you can use our bathroom in the house.
There are great woodland and rural walks from our house and we regularly take advantage of them. There's a public swimming pool and gym a 25min bus ride away. We are also near the brilliant Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and attractions in the wider region include the Peak District National Park and the towns and cities of the North including Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield. If you get up early you could take a train to the coast at Scarborough, Liverpool or Blackpool. Denby Dale rail station is a 15-minute walk from the house. We might occasionally be able to drive you somewhere for an adventure.
Hola, soy Topsy. Hablo español. Viví en América Latina por un tiempo. Me encanta cocinar comida latina, especialmente con ingredientes orgánicos.
Γειά! Ο Dan μαθαίνει ελληνικά αφού επισκέψαμε τιν Κρίτι πριν από λίγα χρόνια. Αν είστε ένας ομιλητής ελληνικόν του αρέσει να προσπάθει να συζητήσει μαζί σας!
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Fruit or nut farming
Beekeeping
Flower farming
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Bakery
Mechanics / tools / technology
Methods or systems
No-till farming
Permaculture
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
0.2
Hectares
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0.5
Acres
Daniel
Member since 2023
Languages spoken:
English, Greek, Spanish
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Response rate: 100%
Response time: typically within 1 day
West Yorkshire
Denby Dale rail station
Reviews
Scarlet
United States
•
September 2025
I had an amazing time with Dan, Topsy, Dilys, and pip! They were all so kind and welcoming. The work was a lot of fun! There was a lot of fruit to proses, so I did lots of baking and preserving as well as some harvesting work in the garden. My schedule for work was flexible and varied depending on the day and my plans! The surrounding area is gorgeous, a nice place to walk and some amazing views! In my free time I painted and went to the sculpture park near by. The food was delicious and the conversations around the dinner table were really fun and interesting.
Thank you so much to everyone for making me feel so at home and comfortable.
I hope to return some time soon!
Scarlet
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Christophe
France
•
September 2025
Hi 👋,
I'm very grateful to have met Dan and Topsy. I felt very comfortable in their home and in the lovely Summer house. Most of the time I worked with Dan in the garden and there were different tasks every day, watering the garden, moving and painting the greenhouse. Dan and Topsy were always patient and explained everything clearly and helped me improve my English, thanks again. When I wasn't busy I relaxed in their beautiful garden playing with their dog Pep! I was also able to visit the beautiful region. Around Denby dale, the countryside with its small hills and the towns of Leeds and Huddersfield.
This experience will always remain a precious memory for me.
I hope to be back soon.
Many thanks to Dan and Topsy for their warm welcome.
Christophe
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