Natures Rest Collective

Sustainable, nature friendly food from the land that also encompasses wildlife, eco tourism, private hire and an open gate policy for good causes.

We like to think of Nature’s Rest as a never ending story that will be constantly evolving, just as nature does.

The ‘collective’ element of the title covers the many different aspects on offer from nature friendly food production in the Gourmet Garden, pastured chickens, wildlife care, land management, educational insights, walk & talk therapies, evening land rover safari’s with night camp and private photography hire. It is hoped through being totally transparent in the running practices of Nature’s Rest a greater and more demonstrative insight to the importance of biodiversity and our ecosystems will be achieved.

We bought Natures Rest in 2020 and is a privately owned nature reserve set within 11 1/2 acres of culm grassland near Halwill in Devon. Having not been intensively farmed since the second world war, the land has been allowed to naturally re-wild over the years but this has lead to an influx of rushes which are slowly being brought under control to allow the native grasses and wild flowers which inhabit these rare grasslands a better chance to survive, nature sometimes needs a helping hand too!

The site is divided into small meadows with deep hedges and occasional sporadic small self set woods. What is known as Ravens Wood runs along the boundary and has a stream border joining the nearby River Carey, a tributary to the River Tamar. Its a real joy to follow one of the cut pathways carved through the wilderness and sit on one of the strategically placed benches to see what comes to you or simply just to sit and ’be’ allowing all the senses to be heightened. There is an abundance of thriving wildlife that call Nature’s Rest ‘home’ - Tawny Owls, Barn owls, Little Owls and many species of bird including the migratory Grass Hopper Warbler, Ravens, Nuthatch, Tits, Chaffinch, Woodpecker, Snipe, Woodcock as well as many others. Insects include Dragonfly, Damselfly, many species of butterfly, glow-worms, grasshoppers and spiders and also snakes, toads, frogs, lizards, badgers, foxes, rabbits, mice and bats.

The Artisan Farmer - Gourmet Meat Boxes

Coming soon!

(Please contact us for more information and to register interest - contact details at bottom of page)

 Willow fed and pastured cockerel (Free Range)

Acorn fed free range pork

Meadow fed Jacob hogget

Meadow fed Devon Dexter beef

Each box will contain a whole willow fed cockerel and a selection of steaks, chops, sausages and burgers that contain no nasty burger or sausage mixes that are commonly used. The boxes will also include a selection of homemade meat pies encased in my own special recipe all butter and Maran hen egg pastry.

Willow fed cockerel can be ordered for Christmas on its own for appx £60 - £70 delivered for free in the EX22, EX21, EX39 area.

Weight will be between 4-5kg and will feed appx 8-10

(Chickens are slow grown, free range and matured from 12-14 weeks)

The Gourmet Garden

Located in Big Acres (providing farm gate sales, further details will be announced in due course)

New for 2023 – we now have some produce growing after a somewhat challenging start! Growing food in the middle of a nature reserve was never going to be easy! We had to go into overkill mode on the fencing, the deer had a ball in there when they found a gap in the fence! We now have an influx of bunnies that are so tame you trip over them, so more fencing has been added! We only use organic fertilizer, some of which is made by us on site and we are gradually moving over to ‘no dig’, we don’t use pesticides and adopt more of an organic/permaculture approach although we are not registered as so. We capture and store the flood water run off and use a pump powered by solar to water the garden. We have mains water as a back up but so far we haven’t had to use it.

The aim of the Gourmet Garden is to provide seasonal food grown with nature in mind, no nasty chemicals and some stuff you won’t find on a supermarket shelf. A great variety of tomatoes in all different shapes, sizes and colours are currently growing and providing a fantastic feast for the eyes, this looks to be a promising favourite. They had a good start in compost conditioned with baked egg shells, biochar, a dash of manure and wood ash, topped up with a liquid feed made from Comfrey & Nettles. Also looking good are the Romanesco, corn, peas, beans and some fruits safely tucked away in the fruit cage.

For next year we will also be aiming to produce fresh herbs.

Livestock

We have been busy fencing around the perimeter of the land during January and February and whilst there is still more to complete we have enough completed and have bought a small flock of sheep. We chose Jacob’s, being a traditional breed known for their quality and lean meat and beautiful brown and white fleeces. We will gradually build numbers alongside other livestock until we know how many the land can support without over grazing.

In 2023 we built our first chicken tractor and produced a small batch of free range willow fed meat birds.  Supplementing their diet with produce from the gourmet garden and also fresh willow leaves they are without doubt the tastiest chickens we’ve ever had! All our chickens are chosen to be slow growing and typically take 12 - 14 weeks to mature (unlike factory farmed supermarket chickens which only take 6-8 weeks!)

Plans are to also have a small flock of specially chosen chicken breeds which will lay a colourful display of eggs ranging from white, blue, green, dark brown and light brown.

Pigs and cattle

Also planned for the future are pigs again in Big Acres and a small number of Dexter cattle for the land management on the rest of the site as it needs a spot of light nibbling but not to be over grazed and over fertilized for the benefit of the wild flowers. Meadow grazed lamb and beef boxes will be available in the future and will have been chomping their way through an extensive cordon bleu menu provided by nature.

Assisted Safari Night Camp 

Available - June/July/August/September 

Spaces are limited for this experience so early booking is advisable.

All the fun and zero hag! (think of it as assisted ‘nearly’ wild camp)

If you love the idea of a night under the stars with a jolly round site in ‘Ratty’ our trusted ex military soft top Land Rover, then this is experience is for you! Bring your camping gear, any snacks, food you wish to cook on the fire in the evening.

We will teach you how to light and cook over fire, give tips on keeping warm and dry when camping outdoors. 

Groups are kept small (max of 4)

The site has a compost toilet and mains water connected.

Please note:- During very dry weather we may not be able to light a fire, in this instance a gas alternative will be provided.

Itinerary – arrive on site late afternoon, set up your camp, a briefing about the site and some useful tips for spotting wildlife, cook any food you wish over the fire and relax before heading off into the wilderness to see what's about before darkness falls. A spotting scope will be on board for your use, with a powerful 60x zoom it is also great for observing the night sky and the activity amongst other planets.

The next morning we aim for a brunch at around 11am if you wish to do so beforehand you can take a wander on your own or take a look around our newly established Gourmet Garden.

The cost for this experience is £80 per person

Holistic Therapy & Walk

& Talk events

Where mindfulness is effortless

We like to have an open gate policy when it comes to sampling nature as therapy. We have previously worked with North Devon Prostate Cancer Care Group giving a guided tour around site enjoying the sounds of busy bees, and the many different bird song, catching the scent of growing herbs underfoot when strolling around whilst admiring the colours of the butterflies and wild flowers and orchids.

Please do make contact if your group/charity would benefit from this. There is no charge for this but as a suggestion a donation to Devon Wildlife Trust if possible would be lovely but not essential.

The frequency of these events is capped so early booking advisable.

Land Management

of Natures Rest

The land at Natures Rest hasn't been commercially farmed for may years and has to a certain degree been allowed to re-wild itself. The fields are predominantly old culm grassland which is specific to North Devon and becoming quite rare. Please click on the link to find out more about culm grassland.

What is Culm Grassland? - Devon culm

Current Condition of the Land

Although the land has received some light grazing up until recently, most of the fields haven't been cut for hay for many years which has allowed the spread of rushes and growth of saplings. The rushes being rough and clump forming have damaged machinery and has in part caused the decline in cutting. These rushes are the wrong type of species and are non beneficial to culm grassland, which, with less management have been allowed to take hold and spread extensively throughout much of the site.

The site is made up of 5 primary fields with a small woodland plot adjacent to a small stream on the far boundary. The fields all vary in size and nature and are bordered by over grown hedges of mixed native species of trees. There has also been some spread of trees from self sown saplings into open areas as well as sapling encroachment from the hedge line. Some of these have now become established as medium sized trees, mainly of willow, poplar, hazel and some oak. In some places the hedges are now 30 - 40 feet deep!

The soil is a heavy clay which retains water well during the winter and prevents vehicle access until it dries up as the warmer weather of summer arrives. This makes work during the winter more difficult on impossible without out causing compaction or rutting.

The fields currently contain a good mix of wild flowers, grasses, thistles etc along with the rushes which out compete most other species. The flowers are an important part of the grass meadows and will further spread and increase with good management.

Wildlife on site

There is a healthy population of all manner of birds, mammals, insects, reptiles, amphibians as well as the wild flowers and other plant and tree species.  These all signal a healthy eco system and food supply chain which is why they are there to start with. Site management will need to balance the needs of all levels of species found on site so as to enhance the general makeup but not to the determent of any particular species.

This also needs to balance out in the way we utilise the site and it's farming practices so they work in harmony. Grazing of livestock is beneficial to the grassland although this needs to be done in a way so as not to over graze or heavily poach the soil in wet conditions.

The long grass and thick sword at the base is good for small mammals which become food for species like Barn owls, grass snakes and other hunting mammals. The mix of flowers provide food for insects which in turn feed many bird species and hunting insects like dragon flies.

We are fully committed to working with good organic and regenerative practices in all that we do and this can also create additional challenges for our ventures when working on such a diversely nature packed site.

Field Management

We will strive to always have areas of uncut grassland to provide hunting grounds for Barn Owls. In doing so we will rotate the fields which are cut so there is always room for species to move into other areas. We will allow some trees to grow ad hock within the fields but not allow these to grow to large. We will use a coppice and re-grow system to manage the size of trees within the fields and not allow further expansion of the hedges. No additional drainage will be installed other than that of around areas such as gateways where allowing these areas to collect water would inhibit access for necessary maintenance and fieldwork.

Hedges and trees

Hedges will be maintained at their existing spread and not be allowed to continue to take over the fields. This will be done predominantly by hand and with small hand and powered tools. Cut material will be utilised for making woodchip, biochar and wood fuel for use on site. Large trees which die off will be let standing for the benefit of the wildlife. 

Natures Rest is a perfect example of Silvopasture (a system of planting trees for forage and shelter) with Alder, poplar and willow as main species used, which grow in abundance at Natures Rest. That's not to say these are the only species that can be used or that grow on site.

The principal of our management system is to create a closed system where we utilise everything produced on site. There should not be any waste and growing everything to organic standards means no chemicals too. Livestock will be reared in a silvopasture system, keeping livestock outdoors for as long as possible but depending on ground conditions, and then brought in doors when required to protect the meadows from poaching which would have a negative outcome to the site. Stock will be housed when necessary on old traditional deep bed systems, which produce very little effluent. In some instances such as poultry and pigs that are reared for meat, we may avoid over wintering with careful timing on rearing times to avoid the need to keep them during this time.

Stock numbers will start off small and grow slowly, being governed by what the land needs to maintain the meadows and not the other way round. Our livestock systems will exceed all common husbandry standards where ever possible. Overstocking is bad for nature, erosion, pollution run off and animal health (the land is in a nitrogen vulnerable zone) and we includes animal housing in this as well.

Many modern intensive farming systems suffer from overproduction of liquid waste, which is getting increasingly difficult to both store and use without pollution incidents. Manure will be utilised for making compost and used on the no dig market garden system. This cuts out the need to bring in either commercial or communal compost (which is of a lesser quality) and involve a greater carbon footprint. Should there be any liquid waste it will be collected and firstly used to infuse/preload our own biochar and then secondly added to boost our own nettle and comfrey plant feed to be used on the market garden. Building up a good level of organic matter in the no dig system, as well as adding biochar, helps both with water retention, prevents loss of important nutrients and helps provide safe haven for important soil born micro organisms. The no dig system also means no tilling and greatly reduces the risk of soil erosion.

No manures will be added to the pastures other than by natural distribution from pastured livestock, as this is counter productive to enhancing/restoring the nature of the culm grass meadows. Traditional meadow hay will be made where ever possible so again removing another major pollutant from silage effluent.