Valhalla Croft

Valhalla Croft Valhalla Croft is a 1.4-acre family croft in Brora, run by the Roberts family.

We're building a local farming co-operative to bring you the best Highland-grown produce — from seasonal veg and free-range eggs to venison, rare-breed pork and beef.

We’ve had quite a few folks asking what actually goes into the beef boxes so thought it was worth a quick post.What we d...
23/05/2026

We’ve had quite a few folks asking what actually goes into the beef boxes so thought it was worth a quick post.

What we do is take the whole carcass and split it fairly across all the boxes. So every box gets a mix of roasting joints, mince, burgers, steaks and slower cooking cuts.

We don’t keep the higher value cuts back to sell separately, it all gets shared out across the orders.

So some boxes might get fillet steaks, others T-bones or ribeyes depending on how the carcass falls, but everyone gets a proper balanced box and a fair share of the animal.

That’s how we believe it should be done.

Drop us a message to order yours or head over to the website they have been selling fast.

Grow slow. Eat well.
The Roberts family.

We have another collection from the croft on the 30th of May.This is proper slow grown Highland beef, raised the right w...
22/05/2026

We have another collection from the croft on the 30th of May.

This is proper slow grown Highland beef, raised the right way, and honestly it’s absolutely stunning.

I always say 80% of the quality of meat comes from how the animal has lived and what it’s eaten. All we do as butchers is take that and make it usable.

This is cattle management done properly. The life these cattle have lived has made this beef something extra special. Good marbling, beautiful colour and proper flavour.

We’ve got:

• 3kg half boxes £55
• 6.5kg full boxes £120

We’ve also got everything listed on the website alongside the veg boxes, and the stall will be fully stocked as well.

Boxes are limited and once they’re gone they’re gone.

If you would like to order a beef box or get your name onto the list just drop us a message or head over to the online shop. Orders close Tuesday 26/05/2026

Everything is collection direct from the croft.

Grow slow. Eat well.
The Roberts family

Morning folks seems a while since I've done a none meat post. We've plenty on the stall today. If your heading this way ...
16/05/2026

Morning folks seems a while since I've done a none meat post. We've plenty on the stall today. If your heading this way we've got eggs, parsnips, spinach, spring onions and a lot more.
Hope you all have a fantastic weekend.
Grow slow eat well.
The Roberts Family.

Hi folks, just a quick reminder that the lamb and pork boxes will be ready for collection on the 16th of May, with the b...
09/05/2026

Hi folks, just a quick reminder that the lamb and pork boxes will be ready for collection on the 16th of May, with the beef boxes ready on the 30th.

The lamb boxes have now sold out, thank you all so much for the support. We’ve already started a waiting list for the next round of lamb boxes as well, so if you’d like your name down just drop us a message.

Orders close Monday evening for pork, venison, veg and more. We’ve also managed to get some more honeycomb back in stock as well.

Everything is collection direct from the croft.

Head over to our online shop or drop us a message to order.

Grow slow. Eat well.
The Roberts family

09/05/2026

Why It Matters How Your Animal Is Processed

After sharing a day at the block, a few folk asked what makes one processor different from another.

On the surface it all looks the same.
Animal in. Boxes out.

But what happens in between is where the value is.

Every carcass is different. Fat cover, frame, how it’s been finished. You’ve got to read what’s infront of you.

Sometimes that means thicker cuts.
Sometimes bone in.
Sometimes turning what could be a steak into something better suited for slow cooking.

That’s not written on a sheet. That’s a decision in the moment.

Same goes for the whole animal.

There’s a fast way to break it down, and there’s a proper way.

Fast looks like bulk bags, mixed trim, and cuts that are good enough.

Properly means each cut is thought about. Where it’s come from, how it cooks, how it will be used.

It means your mince isn’t just what’s left over.
Your roasts are sized for your family.
Your freezer works for you, not against you.

It also means being honest about what you’ll get back. Not every animal gives the same result, and part of the job is setting that expectation before we start.

I’ve been through the process myself, taken pigs and cattle through Munro’s, stood at intake, met the team, and seen how it all works. So I can help guide you through that side aswell.

I’m not coming at this from the outside. I’m a crofter, working with the same challenges, trying to get the most back from the animals we put time into.

You’ve spent months, sometimes years, raising that animal.
It only takes a few hours to undo that or to do it justice.

That’s the difference.

It takes more time. More care. More decisions.

And because of that, we’re not the cheapest option and we’re not trying to be.

If cheap is what you’re after, there are plenty of places that will suit you better.

But if you want your animal handled properly, from carcass to freezer, then that’s exactly what we do.

We’re currently booked up until the end of May, so if you’ve got stock coming through after that, get in touch and we’ll get you pencilled in.

Grow slow eat well
The Roberts Family

We are Valhalla Croft… but who are we?We thought we’d take a moment to introduce ourselves, as we’ve been getting shared...
05/05/2026

We are Valhalla Croft… but who are we?
We thought we’d take a moment to introduce ourselves, as we’ve been getting shared around a lot lately and there are plenty of new faces here. So first off, thank you to everyone who has joined us, it genuinely means a lot.
We are the Roberts family. Richard, Julie, and our wee one Rhiannon.
By day, Richard works as Operations Manager at Ardgay Game. By nights and weekends, the croft comes to life. That’s when the butchery happens, working out of Ardgay Game while it’s closed, building this up step by step towards having our own on-site processing unit at the croft.
We offer private butchery for beef, lamb, pork, goat and venison. Everything is cut to how you want to eat it, not how a system says it should be done.
Alongside that, we sell meat boxes from local crofters, animals we’ve either worked with directly or sourced properly. We’re lucky to have a steady supply of iron age pork and Shetland beef, with lamb coming in as and when we can get it.
The croft itself is growing too. We’re building up our market garden and producing more of our own veg and fruit each season. To support that, we also bring in Scottish and UK produce, along with mushrooms, to keep our veg boxes full and varied.
We’ve also started building something bigger than just us. We now work with around 10 local crofters and producers. That means honey, eggs, proper handmade soap, spice mixes, hot sauces, and more being added all the time.
You might notice we don’t do markets.
That’s not because we don’t believe in them. It’s simply that our time is already full. Between raising livestock, growing veg, working with our partners, private butchery, and family life, we’ve chosen to put our energy into the food itself and the people we supply directly.
For us, it’s about a fair deal.
We put the time into doing the food properly, and you take the time to come and collect it.
That’s where the connection comes from.
You see the croft, meet us, and know exactly what you’re buying into.
It’s not just a transaction. It’s something real.
Our goal is simple. Stop sending our food down the road and keep it here for local people. Give people a real alternative to the supermarket and a way to buy food they can trust.
We’re only a small croft at 1.4 acres, but with the people around us, we’re building something much bigger than that.
Head over to our website or drop us a message to order. We’ve got beef, lamb, pork and venison boxes available.
And thank you to everyone who has supported us so far. It’s been an amazing show of what local food and community can do together.

Grow slow eat well
The Roberts family

This is the bit we enjoy.When things line up and we can bring more good food through the croft.It’s brilliant to be expa...
03/05/2026

This is the bit we enjoy.

When things line up and we can bring more good food through the croft.

It’s brilliant to be expanding our relationship with Tolliecroft to bring you more local lamb.

Proper crofted lamb, reared right, and cut here the way we believe it should be.

These will be ready for collection at the start of June, and we’re taking orders now.

Alongside that, we’ve got beef and pork boxes available for this round, with collection on the 30th of May.

There’s a fantastic video showing the life the beef has lived over at M**e. Copy the link or head over to Farming Britain, the video is “Smart Farming”
https://youtu.be/VobEFU0O2dc?si=RHLyfpapEK3HThXr

Once this lot is gone, that’s it for a while.

If you’ve been thinking about filling the freezer, now’s a good time to get your name down.

Grow slow eat well
The Roberts family

What’s This “Sea Juice” Then?We’ve had a few questions about the sea juice we mentioned, and one of the main ones is wha...
29/04/2026

What’s This “Sea Juice” Then?

We’ve had a few questions about the sea juice we mentioned, and one of the main ones is what it actually is.

Fair enough.

If you just hear the name, it can sound like something that’s being added in or pushed onto the animals.

But when you see it in use, it feels very different.

We saw it up at M**e. It’s set down, and the cattle make a point of heading over to it. No coaxing, no mixing it through feed, just there for them to take if they want it.

The deer were the same.

That tells you quite a lot.

Animals are good at finding what they’re short of when they’re given the choice.

On ground with access to the foreshore, cattle will naturally wander down at certain times. They’ll take in minerals and salts from seaweed and the shoreline.

That option isn’t there at M**e, so it’s being replaced.

They’re using Edwards Sea Juice, which is a liquid mineral supplement derived from the sea, put out for the animals to access as they need it.

Nothing hidden. Nothing forced. Just available.

And they take it when they feel the need.

Standing there watching it, it makes sense. It’s not about adding something artificial, it’s about replacing something they would naturally have access to in a different setting.

I’ll be honest, I truly do respect the way these animals are being managed. It’s been thought about properly, and you can see that in how they behave.

You can see it in the cattle. Steady, settled, doing well on what they’ve got.

It’s not complicated. Just paying attention to what the animal would seek out for itself and making sure it’s there.

It’s a small part of the system, but it says a lot about how these animals are being managed.

And by the time they come through us, that’s already part of the story.

Grow slow eat well
The Roberts Family

We were up at M**e not that long ago, and it’s one of those places where you notice the ground before anything else.It’s...
29/04/2026

We were up at M**e not that long ago, and it’s one of those places where you notice the ground before anything else.

It’s not pushed or tired, just quietly doing what it should be doing, and that tells you a lot before you even look for the cattle.

When you do, they’re there spread out, settled, heads down grazing the way they’re meant to. Pedigree Shetlands, nothing flashy about it, just animals that suit the land and get on with it.

They’re not being held in one place either. The collars and invisible fencing are there, but they’re just a tool. What really matters is how they’re being used. The cattle are moved when it makes sense for them and for the ground, not just when it’s convenient.

The thinking behind it is simple enough. It’s about asking how these animals would behave if they were left to it. Where they’d go, when they’d move, and what they’d look for.

On land with access to the foreshore, they’ll wander down at certain times and take in what they need from minerals and salts. That option isn’t there at M**e, so it’s replaced with sea juice.

You don’t have to encourage them. Set it down and they’re on it straight away. Cows, deer, the lot. They know what it is, and they take what they need.

Standing there watching it, it all fits together. Nothing forced, nothing overdone, just a system that works because it’s been thought about properly.

We stood and talked it through for a while, and that’s when it settles in. By the time those animals leave the croft, most of the work has already been done.

Which is why we’re proud to have this one listed.

Because when it comes through us, we’re not starting from scratch, we’re continuing something that’s already been done right.

From M**e to the block to your freezer, keeping it local and bringing it back into the same community it came from.

So if you want to get your hands on some proper Iron Age beef, this is it.

We’re putting together beef boxes from this batch. These are smaller cattle, and with how well the pork and lamb have gone, we expect this to sell out quickly. We've got 3kg boxes for £55 and 6.5kg boxes for £120. They are a ture mix of the carcass with all the steaks, roasts, included in the boxes as well as mince, diced and burgers.

Collection will be Saturday 30th of May, get in touch and we’ll get you sorted.
Grow slow eat well.
The Roberts Family

A Day in the Life – Private Craft ButcheryFriday night we sit down with the client, go through cutting options, talk thr...
26/04/2026

A Day in the Life – Private Craft Butchery
Friday night we sit down with the client, go through cutting options, talk through what they actually want back and put the world to rights while we’re at it.
This one’s a Shetland steer. Solid animal. Good carcass to work with.
This time it was simple:
“We really like steaks. BBQ season’s coming, lots of steaks. And whatever else you think will be good.”
That’s my favourite kind of brief. Gives us room to work properly with the whole animal.
5am Saturday morning.
Alarm goes off.
Kettle on, quick look out, check the seedlings and garden before heading out. A buttery crumpet down my neck while I load the car and get moving, simple fuel for a long day ahead.
On the road to Ardgay, podcast on. Market Garden Podcast with JM talking seasonality. One of those reminders that everything we do, veg, meat, livestock, it all still runs to rhythm if you’re paying attention.
Pull into the unit just after dawn. Final prep, knives laid out, everything where it should be. Quick brew then into it.
7am, knives to meat.
Music on straight away, 90s club tracks filling the space just keeping the rhythm going through the day.

When the brief is steak heavy everything is built around eating quality.
Sirloin, fillet, rump, ribeye, T bone, côte de boeuf, flat iron, skirt.
Then the rest of the animal gets its proper place too.
Roasts, osso buco, diced beef, mince and burgers, marrow bones, knuckle bones.
Nothing wasted. Nothing rushed. Every part accounted for.
We started at 214kg hanging weight and finished at 158kg of usable product before burger mix, plus bones.
That’s the part most people don’t see.
The judgement. The time. The skill in turning one animal into a freezer full of properly labelled food.
7am through to 7pm. Steady all day.
Sunday morning back in at 5am to finish it all properly. Every pack labelled, burgers made, boxes built and checked.

Our Traditional Craft Butchery a system built around you
We offer private butchery for beef, lamb, pork, goat and venison, cut exactly how you want to eat it. We treat every animal as if it was our own.
Before we start we sit down and agree your cutting spec, and chat through the animal to understand it properly.
Steaks, joints, mince, sausages or burgers, your choice.
Mince and diced are packed in 500g or 1kg portions or tailored to your freezer.
Individually vacuum sealed, clearly labelled.
Full breakdown so you know exactly what you’ve got, with clear communication from start to finish.
We work the whole animal properly. Nothing lost in a system, no cutting corners, nothing forgotten in a bag, nothing wasted.

You book your animal in through Munro’s in Dingwall, they deliver to us, and we take it from there cutting, packing, labelling and boxing.
Collection from the croft or Ardgay Game.
And this is the bit most people don’t see.
The early mornings, the long days, the attention to detail in every single pack that leaves here.
If you want meat that’s been properly thought through, from the field to the knife to your freezer, this is what it takes.

We are booked out till the end of May and some spaces for next year have been prebooked already. If you want to get in touch to have a chat about options then give us a message on messenger or WhatsApp on 07484204513.

Grow slow. Eat well.
The Roberts family.

Address

Valhalla
Brora
KW96NG

Telephone

+447484204513

Website

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