At the heart of our farm lies Sweatsford Water, a rare and precious chalk stream. By allowing our heritage breeds to graze the riparian margins, we prevent aggressive scrub from choking the banks, instead creating a varied structure that supports a wealth of aquatic life. The crystal-clear, mineral-rich waters provide an essential habitat for brown trout and the insect populations rising from the gravel beds offer a vital food source for the birds and mammals, such as water voles, that call the riverbank home.

In collaboration with the Wessex River Trust, we are working to allow the river to restore its previous shape and wiggles, and to create structure that will vary the flow (essentially emulating the changes that beavers would produce). Such a habitat mosaic is essential for fish to have suitable spawning areas. We aim to provide habitat for a variety of native fish species, and hope to see salmon return!