off-grid life at Little Brympton—where I felt at home
10:34 AMI wrote a message to this little farm in Somerset because I was drawn to the fact that they made sourdough bread, had bees, carved spoons an...
10:34 AM
I wrote a message to this little farm in Somerset because I was drawn to the fact that they made sourdough bread, had bees, carved spoons and was just in the right location between Bristol and Cornwall. And I was drawn to them even more when Patch answered my email saying that both of them went to art school and love sourdough rye bread.
Waiting for me at Yeovil Pen Mill train station, after my long day of travelling all the way from Leeds, were Tasha and Lily, their lovely 4 year old girl. Tasha was a full of energy and Lily was a brave little girl who was rather confident around other people. We stopped by at Mole Valley to pick up some duck feed, drove to see the mummy cow and her twins near Tinkers Bubble before heading home.
Home. Their lovely wooden home was so cosy and welcoming, and so was my caravan in the garden, which was a luxury compare to where I was staying in at the previous farm. I had an actual bed with working stove, a little table and seats in my home!
The work here was very varied, from gardening to woodworking to beekeeping, and were I to stay longer (or came at the less busy time when Tash didn’t have two events lined up within the same week) there would be so much more to do and learn, like making preserves, cordial and juice.
What I love about Patch and Tash was how they see wwoofing as an opportunity to really learn some skills. Tell them what you want to learn and they would try their best to teach and show you. Patch showed me how he made his sourdough rye bread, and also pancakes, on the first evening I arrived. And just when I mentioned that I was interested in fermentation, he jumped on board and we made some tomato sauce to ferment together, though I didn’t have a chance to try it because I left before it was fermented, Patch said that had I mention it in the email he would have started making Kimchi or something when I arrived. He even managed to guide me through carving my first ever wooden spoon. Tasha also successfully fitted beekeeping into her busy schedule just before she left to Glastonbury. We put on bee suits and went up to check the hives together briefly, which was a great experience for me.
I was inspired by their stories, the things they went through to get to where they are today, the reason they did not continue to pursue their careers in art, despite the fact that Tasha got funded by some kind of art organisation for her project, and Patch’s dad was a professional painter himself. I loved Tash’s catering business, how ethical and sustainable it was, and how she tried to keep the price low to make good, organic and ethical food more accessible to people.
The weekend I was staying happened to be when the Landskills Day, and educational event Tasha organised for the first time, and the Green Scythe Fair, was happening. So I decided to tag along with her, offer my photography skills for the ticket to the weekend at Thorney Lake campsite. I got to do what I loved, which was photography, as well as meet a lot of interesting people, learn about cheesemaking and beekeeping, and ate all the scrumptious food at the fair.
Oh yes, all the places I’ve been to have been feeding me very well.
The morning I left, Lily sweetly asked if I maybe wanted to stay for one more night. Patch drove me to a service station on the motorway where I found a lift further West to Wellington.
My experience at Little Brympton was enjoyable and eye-opening, I learned a lot from Patch and Tasha, and I know there’s a lot more to learn from them. I already looked forward to going back there, even before I left the place.
Waiting for me at Yeovil Pen Mill train station, after my long day of travelling all the way from Leeds, were Tasha and Lily, their lovely 4 year old girl. Tasha was a full of energy and Lily was a brave little girl who was rather confident around other people. We stopped by at Mole Valley to pick up some duck feed, drove to see the mummy cow and her twins near Tinkers Bubble before heading home.
Home. Their lovely wooden home was so cosy and welcoming, and so was my caravan in the garden, which was a luxury compare to where I was staying in at the previous farm. I had an actual bed with working stove, a little table and seats in my home!
The work here was very varied, from gardening to woodworking to beekeeping, and were I to stay longer (or came at the less busy time when Tash didn’t have two events lined up within the same week) there would be so much more to do and learn, like making preserves, cordial and juice.
What I love about Patch and Tash was how they see wwoofing as an opportunity to really learn some skills. Tell them what you want to learn and they would try their best to teach and show you. Patch showed me how he made his sourdough rye bread, and also pancakes, on the first evening I arrived. And just when I mentioned that I was interested in fermentation, he jumped on board and we made some tomato sauce to ferment together, though I didn’t have a chance to try it because I left before it was fermented, Patch said that had I mention it in the email he would have started making Kimchi or something when I arrived. He even managed to guide me through carving my first ever wooden spoon. Tasha also successfully fitted beekeeping into her busy schedule just before she left to Glastonbury. We put on bee suits and went up to check the hives together briefly, which was a great experience for me.
I was inspired by their stories, the things they went through to get to where they are today, the reason they did not continue to pursue their careers in art, despite the fact that Tasha got funded by some kind of art organisation for her project, and Patch’s dad was a professional painter himself. I loved Tash’s catering business, how ethical and sustainable it was, and how she tried to keep the price low to make good, organic and ethical food more accessible to people.
The weekend I was staying happened to be when the Landskills Day, and educational event Tasha organised for the first time, and the Green Scythe Fair, was happening. So I decided to tag along with her, offer my photography skills for the ticket to the weekend at Thorney Lake campsite. I got to do what I loved, which was photography, as well as meet a lot of interesting people, learn about cheesemaking and beekeeping, and ate all the scrumptious food at the fair.
Oh yes, all the places I’ve been to have been feeding me very well.
The morning I left, Lily sweetly asked if I maybe wanted to stay for one more night. Patch drove me to a service station on the motorway where I found a lift further West to Wellington.
My experience at Little Brympton was enjoyable and eye-opening, I learned a lot from Patch and Tasha, and I know there’s a lot more to learn from them. I already looked forward to going back there, even before I left the place.