Highlands End Farm
When the family bought Highlands End back in 1971, it was predominantly a farm, with numerous pig and cow sheds and only a handful of caravans. For many years, until the 1990’s, guests staying on the park had to share their holiday experience with the animals, with a herd of cows being walked through the park twice a day in order to be milked. Many of the buildings and facilities on the park today have been converted from old farm buildings – Martin’s Bar & Restaurant used to be a pigsty and a tractor shed, what is now the Reception and SPAR used to be a milking parlour, and one of the facility blocks was previously a barn.
Today, the family now owns more of the fields surrounding the park, and the team look after a flock of sheep, as well as our most recent additions, a small herd of alpacas. In the future we are planning on expanding the farm further and would love to look after a wider range of farm animals.
Sheep
Each year, we have a busy spring when our flock of sheep begin lambing in April, and we end up with up to 300 fluffy new faces on the farm. Our flock consists of a variety of breeds, each with their own characteristics.
- Poll Dorset Sheep – a hardy and adaptable breed, these sheep are strong willed and can be reared in any environment. They thrive in our windy and exposed landscape and are one of the few breeds of sheep that can be bread all year round.
- Suffolk Sheep – one of the most popular commercial breeds in the UK, the Suffolk is a large and powerful breed with a distinctive black face.
- Highland Sheep – a breed developed to be good mothers and easy lambers, resulting in a less stressful birthing process for the sheep and the farmers! Lambs are typically small and require less feed than other breeds, excellent for farms with smaller fields.
- North of England Mule Sheep – a tough breed that was bred in upland hill farms, and survives well grazing on rough land.
Alpacas
Our alpaca herd are the newest addition to the farm, and though alpacas are not related to sheep, they do get on very well and our two males spend a lot of their time in the field with our sheep flock. Our herd of females are kept separate as they are pregnant for a lot of the year.
Some fascinating alpaca facts:
- Alpacas are pregnant for 11.5 months and tend to give birth in the morning, on warm, dry days. If it’s raining, they won’t give birth!
- Baby alpacas are called cria.
- Alpacas are a member of the camel family
- They are primarily bred for their wool, which is one of the most luxurious fibres in the world! You can buy socks with fibre from our own alpacas in the SPAR at Highlands End.
As with any farm, our animals periodically move fields and therefore we can’t guarantee that they’ll always be visible from your accommodation, pitch or public footpaths. Our female aplaca herd are sometimes kept in a private field whilst they prepare to give birth. Our sheep flocks are spread around various fields, so you’ll almost always be able to see them from a path somewhere, however newborn lambs are usually kept near our barn away from visitors whilst they are closely monitored in their first few weeks of life.
We’d like to remind visitors to always keep dogs on leads when near livestock, as even a well-behaved dog can cause a great deal of stress to animals. Mothers with newborn young may be especially protective so keeping your dog on a lead will protect your dog too.
Sustainability
We don’t just look after farm animals here, as part of our sustainability pledge we strive to create and continually improve habitats for wildlife in and around the park too. We have developed a small wildlife pond that is enjoyed by insects, frogs and wild birds and if you follow our Nature Trail around the park, you’ll see bug hotels, bird boxes, wildflower areas and lots of wildlife enjoying them. We’re starting the process of increasing our woodland habitats around the park too. Our farm team are also responsible for managing public footpaths, fencing, hedging and protecting important wildlife corridors. Visit our Sustainability page to find out more.
The Melplash Show
Each year we support The Melplash Show, one of the best Agricultural shows in the South West. The event showcases livestock, horses, homecrafts and horticulture. With over 400 trade stalls selling locally produced food, tractors, and everything in between. Visitors can watch judging of a variety of animals and learn more about food production and farming. We’re pleased to support the show both physically with the use of part of our land, and financially by donating to the educational fund which supports local young people looking to learn more about agriculture.
Highlands End is an award-winning Holiday Park on the Jurassic Coast, recently voted the South West’s Holiday Park Of The Year for 2022. The park boasts spectacular sea views in both directions and is located near to Eype, West Bay and Bridport. The South West Coast Path runs right past the park from the clifftop and down into West Bay where you’ll find pubs, restaurants and kiosks as well as beaches, a great children’s play area and boat rides up the river towards Bridport. This means that it’s just a 15-20 minute walk from the accommodation, which includes luxury lodges, caravan holiday homes, apartments, glamping pods and pitches for touring and camping. Facilities on the park include a Bar & Restaurant, a Leisure Club, a Pitch ‘n’ Putt Course, a Nature Trail and a unique fire engine display.
