A small croft on the Isle of Lewis, on the north west coast of Scotland
Western Isles
Hi, I am an artist-crofter who lives on a beautiful small croft on the isle of Lewis in Scotland, in a small, traditional crofting village. Lewis is an island steeped in history and most famously known for the Callanish Standing Stones, which I live a 10 minute drive from. I am developing growing and foraging activities on my Croft and interested in increasing my use of renewable energies and increasing the sustainability of both the croft and my creative practice. I started hosting later in the season in 2025 and had some fantastic helpers. I look forward to welcoming new visitors in 2026.
I live alone in a croft house, on a peaceful, elevated plot overlooking a Loch in Carloway. I have my art studio in the house. I have no pets, but a neighbour crofter's sheep graze intermittently on my croft and lambs are abundant in the springtime.
Activities on the croft vary according to the time of year and may include, re-claiming land through digging, planting, weeding, seed planting, watering and growing in the Polycrub (when it arrives) and learning about lazy beds (the traditional way of outside growing on the island. Also helping with the annual cutting of peats on the moorland in the month of May (a traditional way of gathering fuel in the Hebrides, which is great fun and used to be a village activity in bygone days), foraging on the croft, making cordials and preserves. There may also be fencing, path building and style repairing to do. I don't use any pesticides, so all weeding is done manually. It can be time-consuming, but I like to see it as a meditation.
I have recently taken on the croft and am currently doing a lot of preparatory work, weeding and clearing and re-purposing land. This year, we began to prepare raised beds and cleared growing areas in the ruined stone Blackhouse in preparation for it becoming a sheltered outside growing area next year. We also built a composting toilet in a corrugated shed within the ruins, for use when we are working outside. Next year we will build a private BBQ area for my helpers to while away the long summer evenings in, once our days activities on the croft is finished. Foraging, upcycling and eco printing are all also part of daily life here on the croft.
I have a lovely modern, self-contained 4 berth caravan, with loch views, as accommodation for my guests. It has a fridge, gas hob, full size gas cooker, microwave, air fryer & TV, radio/cassette player. Large walk in shower (hot water) and an electric flush portaloo. I appreciate that within all the activities we we will be doing, together, it is also nice for my helpers to have a self-contained space that they can have private time together to relax in, during their time off.
Although it is a 4 berth caravan, I think it is ideally suited for 2 WOOFERS either a couple or two friends and so I only take 2 WOOFERS at a time. If you are a solo WOOFER and feel my croft is a good fit for you and are happy to share the caravan with another solo (same sex) woofer, I am happy to see if we can make this work. We would all meet and have a conversation together on Whatsap beforehand.
The caravan is not on mains, so it is the authentic caravaning experience of emptying the portaloo and replenishing water barrels every few days (I have 3 large portable water barrels, so with a bit of forward planning, you can always have a full one or two, lined up, as one runs out). Because of the time it takes to get here, I accept helpers for a minimum of 2 weeks and have a preference for you to stay 3 or 4 week stays.
I am vegetarian and will provide a simple home-made lunch on the days we are working and a welcome evening meal during one of the first evenings of your stay. If you would like to reciprocate and cook a meal for us all one evening during your stay, that would be lovely. Other than that, I will provide your choice of food, for you to cook your own breakfast and evening meals for the duration of your stay, giving you the freedom to eat as and when you choose and fit it around exploring the island. I am happy to accommodate special diets, if you let me know details in advance. I am gluten free and sympathetic to intolerances.
I ask my WWOOFERS to help for 5 hours a day for 5 days a week. If you are happy to, there is the option to front-load the hours, so for example, we may spread the 25 helping hours over 4 days , rather than 5, giving you an extra day each week to explore the island. To ensure the exchange is clear, we can agree together how the helping hours will be allocated when you arrive and write them down on a calander print-out, which we can both keep a copy of. I will keep you updated of any local/Island events of interest that may be on during your stay and introduce you to some of my favourite places.
As well as being a crofter, I am a professional artist. There is a vibrant arts scene on the Isle of Lewis and I occasionally go to artist talks and events in Stornoway and locally, which you are welcome to come to. There is also a vibrant traditional folk music scene on Lewis, if you are musical. I am a Gaelic learner and live in a bilingual Gaelic-speaking community. Lots of opportunities to learn or improve your Gaelic if you would like to and fine to stick to English, if not :). Eagles fly over the croft, seals, dolphins and whales swim in the sea around Lewis (you may well see whales on the ferry coming over and will almost definitely see seals in the private bay at the bottom of the croft) . We also have an amazing number of waders and rare birds migrate here, too. Stornoway is the capital of Lewis (30 min drive & 50 min bus ride from my croft) and has the Port, Cafe's, an Arts Centre, Museum, Castle and grounds, Cinema, some great charity shops and pubs with traditional music sessions. A great place for a blast of the town, on a day off :)
I am a wild swimmer and there are some great beaches for swimming (also surfing and kayaking, which I don't personally do) in Lewis. I dance 5 Rhythms, meditate and do yoga. I have set up a Conscious Dance group on the island and we dance together in Stornoway twice a month, which you are very welcome to come along to. I am also a well-being practitioner and am interested in alternative health and herbal medicine. I love walking and there are amazing coastal and mountain walks on Lewis and Harris. There is a bus stop about a mile from my house, with occasional buses to Stornoway and other parts of the island. There is a thriving Community Shop, Cafe and Village Hall in a converted school, 30 mins walk (5 mins drive ) away, which has some community activities. It may also be possible to borrow electric bikes from The Community Centre in Carloway (and also to hire them in Stornoway) which is a great way to get around Lewis if you don't have a car.
Where I live is incredibly beautiful and peaceful, but quite remote and ideally suited to independent WWOOFers who enjoy their own (or each other's company) with community activities to participate in when they happen (which is not every week). One of the reasons I have a preference for 2 friends or a couple, is so you can enjoy this remoteness together, as when I am not attending to the croft, I also spend time in my studio, on my art practice.
If you think this sounds like a good fit for you, I look forward to welcoming you to a very special place in 2026
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Wild foraging
Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas
Seed saving or production
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Traditional crafts
Green Building
Mechanics / tools / technology
Methods or systems
Biodynamic agriculture
Holistic management
No-till farming
Regenerative agriculture
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
2
Hectares
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5
Acres
Jenny
Member since 2025
Languages spoken:
English
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Mon
Tue
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Response rate: 100%
Response time: typically within 1 day
Western Isles
Stornoway
Reviews
Claudia
United Kingdom
•
November 2025
We had a wonderful 3 weeks at [Host] Croft! Jenny was an extremely kind and thoughtful host with a great variety of work to do on the croft. We spent our 3 weeks designing and building a compost toilet, raised beds and outhouse, which we look forward to returning to finish :) Alongside interesting jobs, workdays were spent sharing delicious lunches with interesting conversations and plenty of tea breaks (Jenny's brownies are amazing!)
[Host]croft is in a beautiful and peaceful location and the caravan has the most amazing view! The caravan was lovely and comfortable for us and had everything we needed (and more!) Jenny also offered lots of local knowledge for things to do on days off including suggestions for places to visit and events happening in the local community.
It was great to be a part of the beginning of Jenny's crofting journey. We would certainly recommend [Host] Croft to other woofers and look forward to returning to help ourselves :)
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Jasmin
Germany
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August 2025
My friend and I spent two magical weeks at Jenny's Croft. Jenny is a very generous person, we always had interesting conversations, laughs and we quickly felt quite at home. We also had a lot of time to discover the island and enjoy it's remoteness and ancient sights. Almost every day I took a walk behind the croft and spent some time on coast all alone only with sheeps as company. Jenny told us a lot about the island as well and she even took us to an art show at one evening. We met many people and heard their stories. I'm very thankful for this experience, it was like a glimpse into a different kind of lifestyle.
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Elena
Germany
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August 2025
We are so happy that we have stayed on Jennys croft. It is a special place, sorrounded with wild and beautiful nature. The Project is still in the beginning so it felt special to help build it in these early moments. The Caravan that we stayed in is super cozy and equipped with everything that you will need (and more). You can tell that Jenny put a lot of thought and care into it. She was such a great host and her presence really formed our stay on the croft. We shared loads of funny conversations but also deep and touching ones. Jenny gave us many tips, showed us around the island and introduced us to other friendly people living there. Together, we had lunch and delicious cake breaks during our workdays. On your days off you can explore Carloway and its special places. Jenny organized two e-bikes for us which made it super easy and fun to get from one place to another. We will not forget our stay with Jenny.
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