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 new 'Spring to Life' event, or in the summer visit our heavy horses or why not book a carriage ride 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.
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
In Spring 2025 we welcomed Joan to Wimpole. Her arrival marked the return of the Suffolk Punch horse to the estate, a breed historically used alongside the Shires in Wimpole’s working past. Joan has settled in well to her new life at Wimpole and is now in training to work in harness and to be ridden.
Jasper is a black shire standing at 17.2 hands high, he came to Wimpole at 6 months old with his mum Queenie in 2008. We trained him to be ridden and to pull in harness and he worked pulling the carriage on the estate for 13 years. He has now retired and enjoys time out in the field and doing light exercise on the estate.
Lady is a bay Shire who stands at 17.2 hands high, she was born at Wimpole in 2013 to Queenie. She is now an experienced working horse trained to work in harness and to be ridden. She primarily works on the estate pulling the carriage for visitors and also enjoys going out for rides and having a good scratch and a cuddle.
Murphy is a bay Shire who stands at 18.2 hands high making him Wimpole’s tallest resident. He was born in 2005 and moved to Wimpole in 2011 to work pulling the waggon with one of the other Shires. Murphy is now retired and spends his days munching on hay and saying hello to our visitors.
Queenie is a bay Shire who stands at 17 hands high. She was born in 2001 and has lived at Wimpole since 2008. She is a retired brood mare having had 6 foals in her life, two of which still live here at Wimpole with her (Jasper and Lady). She is a very sweet girl and since retiring from breeding has learned to be ridden and to walk on the long reins.
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Shire horses are a rare breed which is categorised as ‘at risk’ on the rare-breed register, which means that there are less than 3000 left in the world.
The Suffolk Horse is rarer still, with fewer than 500 left in the UK.
Wimpole is working towards keeping these magnificent breeds alive, as we promote the work heavy horses can do by showcasing their versatility. The horses live together at Home Farm and work both pulling in harness and ridden under saddle.
There are currently four shires Shires and one Suffolk Punch at Wimpole. 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.
Heavy horse carriage rides and experience days
Our pre booked carriage rides are a 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 heavy horses, with the added opportunity to take photos in the carriage in front of Wimpole Hall.
Unfortunately we are currently unable to run heavy horse experience days.
Visit our events page to book heavy horse carriage rides.
Did you know that Lady loves having her coat brushed or that Murphy is a selfie celebrity? Our horses all have their own personality and here is your chance to get to know them better.
Just £60 covers the cost of a vet call out fee, 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 Joan. So if you have a favourite horse and you’d like to get to know them better, sponsoring them will allow you to find out lots more about them, and even come and meet your horse, enjoy a special moment and have your photograph taken with them.
When you donate you will receive . . .
a sponsorship certificate
an information pack on your horse including;
All about your horse and their life so far
An average year in the life of a Wimpole heavy horse
All about their breed and it’s history
a photo of your horse
an invitation to come and meet your horse
a Christmas card from your horse
Sponsorships make a great gift for birthdays or Christmas for friends and family.
To sign up or more information about sponsoring our heavy horses, email our team on the 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.
Discover more at Wimpole Estate
Find out when Wimpole Estate is open, how to get here, the things to see and do and more.
From Iron Age roundhouses to a modern estate, Wimpole has been lived on and farmed for over 2,000 years. Discover how its owners have each left their mark.
Discover Wimpole’s gardens and visit the Parterre, walk through the Pleasure Grounds meandering your way to the Walled Garden, with herbaceous borders and fruit trees.
Visit the shop at Wimpole to find produce from the farm, locally sourced treats, toys and plants or bag yourself a bargain in the second-hand bookshop.
Explore the acres of parkland at Wimpole, abundant with wildlife, flora and fauna; stroll across the open space, or head across the Chinese bridge to visit the Gothic folly.
