Welcome to Dorset Forest Garden. The farm has been owned by the Oldfield family for over 20 years. It started as a single 20 acre field bought in 1998 just as we were expecting our first child. It came up for sale at auction but we dismissed it (especially with a baby on the way).
However the land would not be forgotten, and when enquiring into whether it sold at auction we found it to be the only patch not to sell. It was the start of a huge new adventure!
Over the following years we have steadily changed that field into the farm it is today – with eco home, barns, paddocks, chickens, ducks and growing agroforestry. For over 10 years we ran a successful hand-tufted rug business using the fleece from our own flock of Angora goats. Both the goats and the rugs have been featured in local, national and even in an international magazine.
Today our key focus is on the Forest Garden we have planted from which we are developing a range of liqueurs.
It was in 2016 that we saw the potential of having visitors staying on the farm, within the young Forest Garden. With its song birds and wildlife, glorious night skies, quaint villages, Jurassic Coast, and delicious local food we wanted to create something in keeping with this downland farm, and its heritage. From this, vintage style glamping in off-grid shepherd’s huts was born.
The farm looks out over stunning far-reaching views of rolling Dorset countryside (designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) – very much the same sort of views that Thomas Hardy would have seen when writing about Tess of the d’Urbervilles well over 100 years ago.
Dorset Forest Garden Glamping is about a bit of low-impact luxury. Each hut includes en-suite facilities, with shower and flushing loo, together with a log burning stove, and a generous king-sized bed with feather duvet and pillows. This makes for super comfortable and cosy nights!
