Our special place
Thornthwaite Farm has a unique diversity of landscape, including lowland flower meadows, ancient woods, rocky outcrops, streams and rivers covering 500 acres in the Southern Fells of the Lake District. There is a broad range of wildlife including red deer, roe deer, badgers, otters, foxes and barn owls which can be spotted on a regular basis. We are very fortunate that the farm has a diverse range of fauna including rare orchids and sphagnum mosses including a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Area of Conservation. We have 150 acres of beautiful woodland to explore, which are a vivid carpet of bluebells in the spring. Here at Thornthwaite we recognise our responsibility to manage and conserve this precious environment, some of our more recent achievements are as follows:
View of the farm looking towards the Coniston fells
- Entering into an ESA agreement in 1993 and subsequently the Countryside Stewardship Higher Level Scheme, which includes several projects including the protection and management of traditional hay meadows, and improving habitats for wading birds in the Duddon Valley.
- We are a member of the SAI Global farm assured scheme ensuring the lambs we produce have farm assured ‘Red Tractor’ status.
- The sensitive management and protection of a large area of rare raised peat bog, that is classified as a Site Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is classified as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC),
- In December 2003 we planted over 14,000 trees covering an area of 100 acres to establish a new native woodland including oak, ash and alder trees.
- We use any wood extracted from our woodlands as part of our woodland management strategy as fuel in our log biomass boiler, which was installed in 2014, this provides hot water and central heating to the farmhouse, the self-catering holiday cottages and the log cabin.
- In recognition of our environmental strategy we have been awarded the Cumbria Business Environment Network Bronze award.
We hope your stay in our Lake District Holiday Cottages or Log Cabins will make Thornthwaite Farm a special place for you.
