This page contains details about new developments at Goongillings which might be of interest to visitors old and new.    

Organic Conversion.      It is now several years since we completed all the stages of Organic Conversion - a two year period of abiding by the Soil Association rules followed by a period to convert the livestock.   The whole farm is now fully Organically Certified by the Soil Association and all our products can carry the Certified Organic label. We manage to get a small premium for our excellent single suckled traditional beef but don't be fooled into thinking that 'going organic' is a way to make money! Most of the high price charged for Organic produce goes to the middlemen and retailers. But we do it because it feels right and to avoid having to deal with chemical sprays and fertilisers. The increases in wildlife around the farm have been wonderful to watch too.

We are also in the 'Countryside Stewardship' scheme which encourages us us to farm in a way which is ecologically an environmentally friendly - which goes hand in hand with Organic conversion.   Stewardship also helps us to undertake various farm conservation projects.   The most visible was the construction of a half acre lake on one corner of the farm. This has been in place for several years now and is settling down nicely.   It is already a lovely new feature of the farm, and hopefully will get better and better as nature takes its course.   It's purpose is purely to make a wildlife habitat, and we will not attempt to exploit it commercially,  so there will be no stocking with fish or anything like that, but we are delighted with the difference it has made to that corner of the farm.   Ducks,  herons, egrets and a kingfisher have all been seen close by, and it has proved a wonderful place to swim in summer for those who don't expect blue chlorinated water and white tiles to dive into!

Meanwhile, threequarters of the farm continues to revert to flower-rich meadows, with traditional varieties of grass and no fertilisers encouraging this.    Late cutting of hay or silage also improves the process, as the flowers get the chance to seed.   We are already noticing more diversity in the pastures.    Numerous unusual flower and wild grass species are appearing all over the farm, and the fields we cut for hay this summer were looking genuinely like traditional flower rich pastures.  We are also fencing off the woodland area to limit cattle grazing and promote regeneration of the woodland habitat, and this year have been replanting the orchard with old cornish varieties of apple, pear, plum and cherry.

Cottage changes.   With four cottages plus the Gypsy Caravan we have now gone as far as we want to with development here and we are concentrating on keeping everything up to scratch in an industry where expectations are ever higher. Recently we have installed full oil central heating in The Farmhouse and The Barn which makes all the cottages now comfortable in all weathers - both the bigger cottages were uneconomical to heat with off peak electricity. There are also new and refurbished shower rooms in the Farmhouse, which now has a family bathroom, and two other shower rooms, one en-suite. We have plans for an extra bathroom in the Barn too, but never seem to have enough vacant weeks to fit it in.

Many thanks to John MacCuish, Mick 'The Kitchen' Gooding (pictured below), and Kevin Pinch the plumber (no picture available)

John, who does nearly all our building work almost entirely on his own as now done three complete barn conversions and countless other building jobs around Goongillings over at least ten years and is our nominee for the title Master Builder of Goongillings. Mick has handbuilt seven kitchens plus the interior of the Gypsy Caravan for us and his workmanship is a feature and a pleasure to behold in all our cottages. Kevin successfully installed a full central heating system in The Barn in less than four days from start to finish! We would be lost without him and John and Mick, so many thanks to them all.

'Boring statistics'

We recently worked out our 'weeks let' for the past two years and discovered that the four cottages are averaging over 40 weeks per year. This compares with typical figures for holiday cottages of between 20 and 30 weeks. This may have something to do with the fact that well over half our visitors are either making return visits or result from recommendations. Whatever the reason, it gives us confidence in what we have to offer here at Goongillings.

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Farming and new developments

Contact us on: enquiries @goongillings.co.uk