Sheep Farm Ashbourne Derbyshire
Self Built Glamping Pods
The farm …….
🌳Established since 2008, Craig bought 20 acres of land (the top field and the pods field) which had a small barn however no mains electricity or mains water. 💦Fortunately, the water supply here is plentiful and excellent quality, so shortly after a borehole spring supply was installed. With a suitable water supply, the livestock could then arrive
🏠The wooden lodge was sited in 2009, original for Craig’s and Aaron’s home. As the farm business grew, Craig took the opportunity to purchase more adjacent fields from a retiring farmer. 🐑This allowed for a gradual increase from 3 sheep in 2008 to the 100’s we have now
🔌Up until October 2014, the farm was run off a small diesel generator, a solar PV array and a number of batteries. Craig’s aim was always to install an electricity supply to the new farm which was not reliant solely on fossil fuels and benefited from the natural resources. Given that it can be extremely windy on the top field, planning permission was sought for a small wind turbine 💨This was finally approved (after 3 applications and 2 appeals) for the small wind turbine located next to the farm drive. This supplies the whole farm with any excess electricity going back into the National Grid 🏘️To give you an idea, this produces enough electricity for 4-5 standard houses
👷🏼♂️In 2015, work started to build the main house which is now Craig and Aaron’s home. The stone you see (excluding the corner (quoins) and sills) has all been sorted from a dew pond on the farm near to the wooden lodge. 🪨The previous owner removed a large number of dry-stone walls around the area to make the fields larger and filled a number of ponds around the farm.
🐑Predominately we produce ‘farm assured’ lambs from our sheep with we aim to achieve the best quality and highest standards of welfare. We also breed and grow breeding ewes to sell to other farmers🐴 We have a shire horse named ‘Sunflower’ which was inherited from Aarons late grandfather and her foal ‘Lady Rose’ born in 2019 & ‘Lady Lily’ born in 2021 🐮We also have belted galloway cattle and a number of poultry🐔
🌄Mulino Pods is a family business set up and ran by Helen (Craig’s sister), David (Helen’s husband), Craig and Aaron. Damson and Bluebell Pods were opened in Spring 2015 and in June 2016, the larger Lavender Pod was finished to complete the ‘Pod’ accommodation
Building Mulino Pods……
🌿Over 10 years ago, we set out to create a cosy, well-insulated glamping space in this amazing location. After experiencing various types of accommodation ourselves and Craig having the perfect view, we decided to build our own glamping pods
🔨Back then, there were limited structures available to withstand the hillside weather, so with the help of a local retired businessman, we designed our own pods, sourcing eco-friendly materials and working closely with a skilled joiner to bring them to life.
🌳We wanted the secluded pods to blend into the natural surroundings, which is why we chose cedar wood and sustainable tiles, carefully situating each one into the landscape to make the most of the Derbyshire views
