Explore Wimpole Home Farm

Children on Home Farm at Wimpole Estate, Cambridgeshire — Children having fun on Home Farm | © National Trust Images/James Dobson

Built in 1794, Home Farm is the only in-hand farm of its kind in the National Trust. Unique to Wimpole Estate, it is a model for sustainable farming practices. A must see on your next visit, it is home to many rare-breed animals and the species of flora and fauna that make the estate an agricultural champion.

Visiting the farm

From fully grown Shire horses to newly born piglets, there’s a wide range of farm animals to meet on your visit. During the Spring, lookout for our popular Lambing event, or in the Summer catch our Shire horse experiences to get closer to the farm’s tallest residents.

Make sure you see the whole farm by completing our Home Farm trail and when you’re finished exploring, head to our Farm cafè for a light lunch or take on a new adventure at the farm playground.

Rare breeds

As one of the UK’s largest rare-breed centres, the National Trust plays a key role in conserving rare and traditional breeds of livestock. See the Irish Moiled and Shetland cattle in the traditional farmyard, or out grazing in the parkland. There are also Oxford Sandy and Black pigs, small black and white Bagot goats, and rare breeds of sheep out in the park or paddocks.

See the newborn Spring lambs

Each spring, Wimpole’s 280 rare-breed ewes give birth to several hundred new additions to the flock. As lambing season gathers pace, Wimpole’s pens and paddocks are filled with skipping, bleating new life.

Watch the 'Lambing at Wimpole' film

Visit Home Farm during lambing time and you’ll see the lambs start to bond with their mothers. You may see them feeding, sleeping or being cared for by the farm staff as they get them ready to explore the new world around them.

The rare breeds of newborn lambs you may see at Home Farm during lambing time include:

Norfolk Horn - which is black faced with spiralled horns
White Leicester Longwool - long, silky and crimped fleece.
Portland Down - light tan face with spiral horns
Oxford Down - chunky coats of wool, black muzzles and ears
Whitefaced Woodland - white face and white wool.

Wimpole's Shire horses

Jasper

A black Shire standing 17.2 hands high, he came to Wimpole with his mum Queenie when he was six months old in 2008. He takes part in the carriage rides and experience days.

1 of 5

The Shire horse is a rare breed which is categorised as ‘at risk’ on the rare-breed register, which means that there are less than 1,500 breeding females left in the world. Wimpole is working towards keeping this magnificent breed alive, as we promote the work heavy horses can do by showcasing their versatility. The horses are housed together in updated stabling and are used for carriage rides, experience days and ridden work.

There are five Shires at Wimpole: three boys and two girls. Although currently between breeding females, we’ve had a successful breeding programme in the past, showcased through home bred and trained horses, Lady and Jasper.

Shire horse carriage rides and experience days

Our pre-booked carriage rides or Shire driving experience days are the perfect way to celebrate a special occasion or provide a fantastic gift for someone special. Enjoy your own private carriage ride around the estate, pulled by one of our Shire horses, or for the more hands-on approach, join us for an experience day and spend the day working with these magnificent animals.

Visit our events page to book your shire horse experience now.

Find Shire horse experiences

Sponsor a Shire horse

Did you know that Stanley likes his ears scratched, Lady loves having her coat brushed and Murphy is a selfie celebrity? Our Shires all have their own personality and here is your chance to get to know them better.

Just £50 covers the cost of a vet call out fee or two horse shoes or four bags of horse feed which lasts a month, essential everyday costs to keep these magnificent horses at Wimpole. All of our horses are available to sponsor; Murphy, Jasper, Lady, Queenie and Stanley, which enables you to come and meet your horse in person, have your photograph taken with them and have your special moment with them.

When you donate you receive . . .

an information pack on your horse including "A year in the life of a Wimpole Shire"
a sponsorship certificate
a breed information sheet
a breed history sheet
a photo of your horse
an invitation to come and meet your horse for you and one other
a Christmas card from your horse

A great gift for birthdays or Christmas for friends and family.

For more information about sponsoring our Shire Horses, email our team on the farm.

Combine harvester harvesting wheat on the estate at Wimpole, Cambridgeshire — Harvesting wheat on the estate at Wimpole, Cambridgeshire with a combine harvester | © National Trust Images/Catherine Hayburn

Home Farm

Our grade 1 parkland and internationally protected woodlands are surrounded by our 750-acre organic arable farm.

Our farm is one of the only organic farms in the area and we are very proud of producing high quality food in a way that supports a wide variety of wildlife. We produce wheat, rye and spelt for organic breads, oats for organic porridge and barley for organic beer.

Our organic farming system includes resting the land between crops for up to 4 years. We use a range of plants which add fertility to our soil rather than artificial fertilisers. These plants also provide a great home for nature as they provide nectar and pollen throughout the spring and summer.

We are able to leave space for nature on our farm thanks to the funding from a Higher-Level Stewardship agreement, where we are paid by the government to provide habitats for wildlife. This include 17 miles of hedges, 70 acres of margins and over 8 acres of crops specifically planted to feed wild birds throughout the winter.

Flora and fauna

The success of nature-friendly farming, in the field and around the hedges and ditches, means that Wimpole has a productive and sustainable farm that has a variety of rare flora and fauna, and five of the six most threatened farmland birds in the UK.