Handley Farm belongs to the Chatsworth Estate and has, in the past, been a much larger farm, primarily, we believe, with dairy cows. Some of our fields are medieval and the farmhouse dates back to 1793 - just 16 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

We make our own cheese and beer, farm dairy and meat goats, have a small beef herd of Aberdeen Angus X Shorthorn, and a couple of pigs. We have a clowder of black cats, inherited when we took on the Farm - they are great mousers!

The Farm has been developed over the years and we now have a massive shed which is more suited to modern farming. The animals are housed here, which made the old stone buildings redundant for farming. They have a new lease of life as the Brewery, located in one of the oldest parts of the barn, last used as a milking parlour. The Bull Shed, a restaurant, is located, as the name suggests, in the old bull shed. The seating area is situated in the old collecting pen where the cows would wait before being milked. The dairy, where we make cheese, is in the old grain milling room, and the pizza oven is in what was a bothy/smithy.

Tony and Sue’s Vision

Tony and Sue moved to Handley Farm nearly 12 years ago. They knew, before taking it on, that they would never do it justice or manage to run it, as a traditional farm, on their own.

They realised that they had something magical when many people - friends, family, and people they had never met before - turned up to give them a hand. Tony and Sue were surprised how many people wanted to be involved. It was as if their blinkers came off!

They opened their doors to volunteers, locally, and from all around the world. They currently have a man from China, a South African and a Scotsman staying with them. Their many visitors have included children and adults with special needs - to see the transformation in them after spending time around the goats and in nature is awe inspiring.

They decided to open their doors a little bit wider - they are now evolving to become a Care Farm, a Community Supported Agriculture project, and a Men’s Shed.

Tony and Sue's Philosophy

All his life, Tony has been paid for what he might have to do, not what he did, both whilst serving in the Royal Navy and the Fire Service.

Sue, having lived all her life in Belper, brought up just half a mile from where we now live, and whose Grandparents and Great Grandparents farmed at Coways across from the Hanging Gate, has always been a lover of nature.

Tony and Sue are now at the stage in their lives where they look around and wonder where we are going as a planet, and what we have lost, especially with the environment. While they have this opportunity and the good health to play a small role in doing something to help, they are farming 60 acres in a biodynamic way.

Farm Produce

Our goats' milk is used to make cheese. Whey, a by-product of cheesemaking is eaten by the pigs and contributes to making great tasting bacon and sausages. The small herd of beef cows graze the majority of the farm and provide the farmyard manure. Over Winter, the cows are housed on the goat bedding which is trampled and becomes the compost which we use in our Community Supported Agriculture project. As much produce as possible is grown using biodynamic principles.

We have polytunnels to grow plants that need a warmer environment. We have our own bee hives which pollinate the veggies and our two 160 tree apple and plum orchards. We have just planted 4000 hedging plants and 200 trees including oak, aspen, willow, silver birch.

The Farm

We have a herd of 100 goats, primarily for dairy, and whose milk we use to make cheese. We nearly always have a few pigs which feed on the whey from the cheese making, plus grain and veg from the garden. We also have a small herd of Aberdeen Angus cross cattle which pretty much roam free and are grass fed. We have 30 laying hens, which are ex-battery, a few meat hens and turkeys in season.

There are three pet sheep and a couple of ducks which just turned up, four dogs and about six cats that we inherited.

We have a large biodiverse vegetable garden which we run as no dig, and have several bee hives from which we collect honey.

We are primarily biodiverse and organic by nature. The only chemicals and inputs which come onto the farm are either prescribed by the Doctor, Vet, or are required by law (i.e. for cleaning the milking machine and dairy).

As well as farming, we have a pub/restaurant, called The Bull Shed, on the farm which is open on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Future Projects

We have recently registered as a CIC which incorporates a Care Farm, a Men’s Shed, and a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) veg box scheme.

As part of the CSA project, we are expanding our growing area and have recently added a polytunnel, planted 3500 hedging plants, plus a 140 tree apple orchard.

As we grow, we are always exploring new ways to encourage more visitors to the farm. The income generated from activities such as goat cuddling and trekking, forest school, nature walks is invested back into the farm.

Find out more

This is a great film made about the farm in July 2022.

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