Mill Cottage Farm Experience is a family run mobile farm experience based in Holybourne, near Alton, Hampshire. We cannot host visits on site except for work experience students who must be over sixteen years old.

It began as a small holding hobby in 2005 to try to be self sufficient and grew into a mobile educational farm business by 2008. We have been unable to be completely self sufficient, but there are certain things we never buy in the shops now (meat, eggs, jam, honey). The allotment part provides us with many fruit and vegetables and we freeze or preserve as much as we can but it is difficult to grow enough to last all year.

In 2014, with help from Year 6 at Andrews’ Endowed School, we planted over 100 trees in a wetland area beside the river. It has been great to see these flourishing over the years.

Also that year, part funded by Hampshire County Council, we put in three wheelchair accessible kissing gates along the footpath and made the bridge over the stream wheelchair accessible too. This has meant students from Treloars have enjoyed seeing the farm animals and wildlife along beside the river too.

Mill Cottage Farm Experience currently employs four members of staff, all living locally, as well as using local businesses to supply us with feed, veterinary expertise etc. We specialise in taking a variety of farm and other animals out to schools, play groups, children’s parties, residential homes and fairs within approximately an hour /50mile radius of the village as a hands-on educational and recreational experience for all ages. We make sure a qualified and experienced teacher is on every school booking and teach children about looking after farm animals, what farm animals can give us as well as wool spinning, egg candling, butter making and self-sufficiency.

The best way to contact us is via email farmvisits@mcfe.org.uk or phone 01420 86206. More details can be found at www.mcfe.org.uk