We grew up on the Isle of Wight and started thinking about running a farm of our own when we were living in West Sussex in 2005 where Paul was a herdsman on a large dairy farm. We looked for farms to let and were offered the tenancy of Knaveswell Farm which was part of Dorset Council’s Farm Estate. We remortgaged our house, took out a bank loan and bought a herd of 80 cows plus enough farm equipment to get up and running. Then we left our jobs, packed up our lives, and our young children, and moved to Dorset ready to start farming in March 2007.
Almost 20 years on, we are well settled into Dorset life. Our children are all grown and gone and we bought the farm from Dorset Council in 2019. We’re still milking our herd of 100 cows and also have a small pedigree Hereford beef herd.
Our location between Corfe Castle and Swanage is great for holidays and our self-catering farm cottage is popular with families who return year after year. We also offer glamping in our 4 large safari style tents and we added a cosy shepherd’s hut in 2022.
We look forward to meeting you on the farm!
Jo and Paul Dyer
March 2026