Hermitage Farm is a 50 acre organic apple and walnut farm in a stunning part of Herefordshire, owned and run by Adrian and Julia Blackshaw. The farm grows seven different varieties of dessert and culinary apples, which we supply to a local organic wholesaler. We also have around 400 walnut trees, plus a few plums. We sell wonderful organic apple juice, made for us from our own apples. From 2009 we will also have a lovely 3 bedroom holiday available to rent.
We found this idyllic farm in early 2003, which had been neglected for many years. Fortunately the stone buildings are not listed and we persuaded the planners that the renovation work we planned was sympathetic to the character of the original buildings. However the farm buildings were unsuitable for securely storing machinery and the cold store was too small and inefficient. So we set about building a modern barn, re-siting and re-using the framework of one already here, which now houses a new, properly insulated cold store. We also planted an avenue of 8ft pin oak trees on either side of the drive, which already look splendid. We then set about renovating the cottage, then tackled the striking four storey tower, which was starting to crumble. Several years later, we have now almost finished converting the adjoining stone buildings to make a family house. Hermitage Farm is a totally organic farm, with 30 acres of apple orchards, a 10 acre walnut grove and the remainder is permanent pasture. We have a small flock of Jacob sheep, which can be found grazing beneath our walnut trees during the winter. We also have three generations of lurchers, a black and tan terrier and two miniature Shetland ponies.
Our juice is available from:
www.realdrinksofengland.co.uk
