Old Lands

Old Lands Farming Old Lands. An estate run by a working ecologist. Farmed agroecologically since 2008.

Regen farm cluster - supporting new entrants to farming
www.old-lands.co.uk

Crooked Hills Honey : Growing up on Portland in Dorset, I spent my childhood around bees. My great grandad, grandad, fa...
28/07/2026

Crooked Hills Honey : Growing up on Portland in Dorset, I spent my childhood around bees. My great grandad, grandad, father and uncle all kept bees and it’s always been my goal to keep the tradition going.

I got my first beesuit when I was 3 years old and have kept bees ever since. Then, in 2024, we took on hives from a retiring couple here in the beautiful Monmouthshire countryside and so my partner Robyn, our dog Marlee and I relocated to Wales and set up Crooked Hills Honey.

We produce single origin, small batch honey from our apiaries all over Monmouthshire and have 2 apiaries here at Ty Mawr farm. As well as honey, we rear locally adapted Welsh bees and are excited to offer bee keeping experiences/courses in the near future.

Now in our third year, we are so excited to be part of the community and can’t wait to try the first drops of the honey produced by the lucky bees living in this amazing regenerative environment.

Come and be part of what we are doing here . We’ll be at the show this week, so please come and say hi and tell us you...
30/06/2026

Come and be part of what we are doing here . We’ll be at the show this week, so please come and say hi and tell us your ideas. There is an opportunity to join our wonderful farm here in Monmouthshire (less than an hour from Cardiff, Bristol, Hereford, and Gloucester). So, if you have any great ideas, find me, Dan Smith. I’ll be doing a session each day on mentoring with and speaking at The Study on Thursday with .

We have land and building space within a growing and supportive collective where there are many mutual benefits. No idea is a silly one.

While everyone else was struggling to sleep during the heatwave, Sam was sitting beside his moth trap in the Walled Gar...
26/06/2026

While everyone else was struggling to sleep during the heatwave, Sam was sitting beside his moth trap in the Walled Garden watching hundreds of moths fly in. Nightly totals topped 150 species, including a record 164 on Monday, the highest count in 32 years of recording at Old Lands.

Most were locally bred, including huge numbers of Heart & Dart and Garden Grass-veneer from our fields. But heatwaves also encourage moths to wander further. Six species were recorded here for the first time: Muslin Footman, Brussels Lace, the striking black-and-white Ethmia dodecea, whose larvae feed on gromwell, Gypsonoma oppressana, and two woodland micromoths.

A Restharrow Plume recorded here in 2025 was especially intriguing because its foodplant grows nowhere nearby. Last week we solved the mystery, finding a thriving colony less than five miles away in a friend's meadow. Small havens where rare foodplants survive act as reservoirs of biodiversity, allowing insects to recolonise restored landscapes. Most moths stay close to where they hatch, making connected habitats essential. Heatwaves occasionally encourage them to disperse further. Several species recorded this week, including Pine Hawkmoth and Scarlet Tiger, only arrived in Monmouthshire within the past five years but now have established breeding populations.

: Growing up in West Wales, I spent much of my spare time tagging along with vets on farm visits across Gower and spendi...
26/06/2026

: Growing up in West Wales, I spent much of my spare time tagging along with vets on farm visits across Gower and spending weekends at local beef, sheep and dairy farms. I have a lot to thank those farmers for.

I went on to study Bioveterinary Science at the University of Liverpool and, after graduating, worked in a variety of industry roles. These ranged from laboratory work at the Veterinary Tissue Bank to working with dairy farmers across Europe, learning and sharing best practice in dairy sensor technologies in countries including Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden. Throughout this time, livestock health was always my main interest.

Coming from a non-farming background, I recognised there was a practical knowledge gap I needed to fill. Alongside the day job, I developed hands-on experience through relief milking, calf rearing and grazing management. The practical side of farming always felt the most rewarding.

In 2017, while working for an agricultural knowledge exchange organisation, I was introduced to livestock integration within arable systems and the role animals can play in improving soil health. This opened the door to a different way of thinking about animal health — one that focused on the role of livestock within an ecosystem. I became interested in the idea of the “right animal in the right landscape” and how animal genetics, matched to a healthy environment, can have a profound impact on disease reduction.

This interest led me towards land management, always rooted in livestock health. Today, at New House Farm, the core of the business is a herd of 40 Aberdeen Angus cattle, building resilience into the pastures and producing grass-fed beef. Alongside breeding stock sales, we are developing an on-site butchery and hosting courses, workshops, markets and farm events that connect people with the produce and landscape here.

: We snuck an old climbing frame into the garden & turns out the top of it is the perfect vantage place to 📸And how imp...
26/06/2026

: We snuck an old climbing frame into the garden & turns out the top of it is the perfect vantage place to 📸

And how important to find a good spot (& a great photographer) to zoom out & see the garden in all its glorious & chaotic Juneness.

I got the (metaphorical) keys to the garden 20 months ago. It is a slow evolution here. Whatever I have plant (and that includes over 30 roses) the garden seems to gobble up under the swathes of camomile, red campion and phacelia. Any illusion of being the shot caller in the garden evaporates by June. 

But it's abundant and lovely and I'm very happy to be heeled In here 💚

Over the last few years, Sam has been recording DAFOR frequency estimates across our fields to document changes in their...
26/06/2026

Over the last few years, Sam has been recording DAFOR frequency estimates across our fields to document changes in their floristic composition. This has provided a valuable record of how plant communities are responding to our management and evolving over time.This year, alongside the DAFOR surveys, we have begun mapping the precise locations of colonies of notable meadow indicator species. Recording these plants spatially feels like a more accurate way of understanding when species arrive, persist, or spread across the farm. Combined with the existing DAFOR data, it will allow us to retain continuity with our historic records while building a more detailed picture of ecological change. Flagging colonies that might not have gone to seed by the time of the hay cut will help them persist and expand.

Yesterday’s survey of Avenue Field revealed a greater diversity of flowering plants in its eastern and western extremities than we had previously appreciated. The highlight was the discovery of Lesser Hawkbit (Leontodon saxatilis), a species not previously recorded at Old Lands. It was found within a small area of ancient grassland protected by an old double banked trackway. The presence of this historic feature appears to have shielded the ground from past ploughing, allowing a fragment of older grassland to persist and with it a richer assemblage of meadow species.

: Introducing our monthly meat box subscriptionAt New House Farm in Monmouthshire, we raise Aberdeen Angus cattle with ...
26/06/2026

: Introducing our monthly meat box subscription

At New House Farm in Monmouthshire, we raise Aberdeen Angus cattle with a focus on producing nutritious food while improving soil health and biodiversity. Our cattle are 100% pasture-fed, grazing diverse grasslands throughout their lives. We're also progressing through Organic certification, reflecting our commitment to farming without artificial inputs. One of the challenges of small scale livestock farming is using the whole animal responsibly. While premium steaks are popular, every carcass also provides a range of delicious and versatile cuts. Our Meat Share helps us balance the whole carcass, reduce waste, and support a more sustainable food system.

Starting in August, each monthly box will contain around 3kg of high quality, sustainably raised meat from the farm. Boxes will primarily feature grass-fed beef, alongside seasonal additions such as wild venison and occasional Tamworth pork. Typical contents include steaks, a roasting joint, braising cuts, diced beef, burgers or gluten-free sausages, and mince. A recipe card will be included each month to help you make the most of every cut.

Boxes are delivered frozen, either by local delivery or overnight chilled courier.

To reserve your subscription, visit our website or contact Sarah on 07751 394773. Your first payment secures your August delivery, with monthly deliveries continuing from September.

https://www.newhousefarmwales.com/product-page/monthly-meat-subscription

Up with the lark in the   walled garden  floristry
26/06/2026

Up with the lark in the   walled garden 

floristry

Ffion runs .fallows, a cut flower garden based at , offering florists the choice of local, chemical free blooms. You can...
26/06/2026

Ffion runs .fallows, a cut flower garden based at , offering florists the choice of local, chemical free blooms. You can order directly and collect from the farn, making it easy to source local, fresh, seasonal flowers grown with care.

After a tropical night, unable to sleep, my mind snagged on the question of how we've found ourselves living through thi...
25/06/2026

After a tropical night, unable to sleep, my mind snagged on the question of how we've found ourselves living through this kind of heat. There was something deeply heartening, then, about being out at 5am, locating and flagging new colonies of species in fields that were once ecologically impoverished. At a moment when the reality of climate change and the nature crisis feels impossible to ignore, these small signs of recovery matter. They remind us that nature responds when we give it the chance.

And if you're drawn to stories that remind us of our place in the living world and provide hope, How to Live on Earth from is out this week and is well worth seeing. It gathers voices and landscapes from around the world into a quiet, compelling film on our relationship with the living planet, a celebration of possibility, of people learning once again how to belong with, and thrive alongside, the places that sustain them.

https://howtoliveonearth.net

Address

Old Lands, Dingestow Court
Monmouth
NP254DY

Telephone

+441600740141

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