The Farm at Avebury - Our Story

Welcome to The Farm at Avebury, a working farm, boutique accommodation and unique event space nestled amongst the beautiful and sacred Wiltshire countryside. Whether you’re looking forward to visiting us in the coming months or have enjoyed a stay with us before, we hope this post will give you an insight into the story behind the farm and why we feel so lucky to be able to call it our home.

The History of Galteemore Farm

100 years ago, my great Grandfather Norman Hues bought the farm. He and my Great Grandmother had four sons, all of whose descendants are still farming around the county today. My grandfather Roger took on the farm in partnership with his brother Bob (my namesake) and after his death my father David took over the running of both farms that now make up our main farming business at Galteemore Farm.

In 2017, I made the decision to go part time with my career at Waitrose, where I was working as Manager of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries. In 2021 I took up a full time position at the farm and finally swapped my suits for boots hung up my Waitrose boots!

The farm has always been a predominantly arable farm; prioritising growing crops rather than keeping animals or growing fruit and vegetables. The majority of what we grow is crop such as wheat, barley and beans, with more latterly oilseeds such as rape or linseed forming part of the rotation. We used to have a lot more livestock on the farm with beef cattle and a dairy herd which we’ve not had since the 70’s! We are looking to introduce more livestock in the coming years as we’d love to get back to more of traditional mixed farming approach and our younger visitors enjoy meeting our current farm residents!

Accommodation in Avebury

We completed a renovation of the farm house in 2018 and as part of that we had an annexe which we let occasionally through airbnb. It quickly became popular with those visiting the local area and proved there was demand for tranquil farm stays near Marlborough. This inspired us to take the plunge and convert our stables into the accommodation we have today. It’s no secret that farming is going through a challenging transition with Brexit and the removal of direct payments by 2027 and so diversification is key. A large number of people visit Avebury each year but there are very few bed spaces which is why we sought to create a serene and stylish base for those looking to explore Avebury and The Stone Circle.

The conversion of the stables was completed in July 2021. The planners were incredibly helpful and supportive of the renovation but unfortunately we received significant challenges from The Environment Agency who deemed the site a flood risk, despite no floods in the time the farm has been in the family! We had to commission our very own team of fluvial cartographic experts to prove that the Environment Agency's maps were wrong… it was no walk in the park but eventually after a lot of additional cost and a few tears, we got this over the line.

We now have 6 unique stays set around a shared landscaped courtyard:

Silbury Hill - Two king beds and a twin bed

Long Barrow - One king bed and a twin bed

Longstones - One king bed

Swallowhead - One king bed

Windmill Hill - One king bed and a twin bed

Greyweathers- Two king beds and one double bed

We are so pleased with these spaces, each stable is totally unique and filled with character. We wanted to make sure our accommodation offered something different for our guests and so each interior is carefully thought out down to every last detail!

The Pressure is on!

Being the 4th generation in a family farming business is exciting, although it brings with it significant pressure in terms of ensuring that you don't mess it up. The old saying goes "rags to riches, to rags" in the three generational cycle and so it's down to Alice and I to prove that wrong!

We have been given a wonderful opportunity by my parents to take on this business but we are cutting our teeth in farming at a time when UK agriculture is arguable facing the biggest and steepest change than it ever has faced. Ferocious input inflation, volatility in end produce prices, Brexit, subsidy removal and the devastating war in Ukraine have all combined to form the perfect storm. The sad reality is that many farming businesses will not weather this storm and in the coming years and months a significant number of people will be forced to leave the industry. With this backdrop, Alice and I are incredibly focussed on how we can make the most of the opportunity we have been given and help our business to survive and flourish in the coming years. We very much see ourselves as custodians of the land and hopefully will allow one of our daughters the opportunity to continue this farming tradition.

Our most important goal is to make sure we spend enough time with our three amazing daughters. We have an excellent opportunity to inspire them and encourage them to be part of the next generation of young farmers. It takes time and energy but will of course be completely worth it as we see them grow up and thrive as they take over The Farm at Avebury.