75
In partnership with Brookhampton Highway Farm
Nestled within the coronary heart of Western Australia’s Southwest, Brookhampton Highway Farm presents an idyllic retreat into the genuine rhythms of rural life.
This 72-acre working cattle farm, surrounded by lush orchards and exquisite bushland, gives visitors with a serene escape simply two hours south of Perth. Whether or not savouring contemporary produce, exploring close by wineries, or just unwinding by the hearth, every farm keep is a singular alternative to attach with the land and expertise genuine farm life.
Proprietors Andrew and Abbey have created a welcoming retreat with a thoughtfully restored farmhouse the place agriculture and tourism mix seamlessly into an enriching getaway. We sat down with them to be taught extra.
Wander: We think about the farmhouse’s secluded location helps visitors unwind and disconnect from their day by day routines. Are you able to describe the world for many who haven’t been?
Andrew and Abbey: The Farmhouse is nestled within the fruit-growing area of Western Australia’s Southwest on the outskirts of a small city known as Kirup. It’s a area identified for high quality produce and an genuine nation way of life. Driving from Perth, the busy site visitors and suburban developments fade away to lush pastures, towering forests, and fruit-filled orchards.
The farm itself is a 72-acre working cattle farm. It is usually house to our 3-year-old border collie Arlo, some sheep, and two guardian alpacas, Ringo and Roberto. The animals look after the land across the farmhouse, retaining the grasses down and having fun with the spare fruit in the summertime months.
As you arrive, the gravel driveway leads you thru the plum and pear orchard in direction of the farmhouse. The home is perched on high of a valley, trying throughout the terraced dams that run by way of the center of the farm. The dams carry an infinite quantity of leisure, watching the cattle cool off in the summertime months, or the swans elevate their cygnets on the shoreline.
A keep on the farmhouse gives visitors with a hyper-local expertise in an in any other case inaccessible setting, showcasing the fantastic thing about a sluggish, nation way of life.
Are you able to share the story behind the restoration of the Forties fruit pickers’ relaxation?
Initially, the home was house to the seasonal staff who picked the fruits from the orchard. It supplied the remaining they wanted from the lengthy days they labored through the harsh Australian summers.
As totally different homeowners handed on stewardship of the farm, the land use modified from industrial orchard, to livestock, to a household house.
The restoration of the home began with the earlier proprietor of the farm, an extremely artistic man who noticed potential within the farm’s dilapidated backpackers’ lodging. He started structural restoration of the home in 2016, and his imaginative and prescient continued to information us once we bought the farm and took over the renovations in 2021.
The renovated home now celebrates the tales of its previous—the salvaged sash home windows look out over the orchard, and the lights above the eating room desk are the previous working lights from the fruit packing shed. It has turn into a relaxation as soon as once more, albeit with trendy facilities like air-con and a wraparound verandah.
What does a typical day appear like for a visitor staying on the Farmhouse?
We’d like to let you know what a typical day seems to be like, but when we’re being sincere, day by day on the farm is totally different! Some days appear like wine by the hearth, listening to the rain on the tin roof, or a heat tub within the forged iron clawfoot tub. Different days are spent exploring the farm, sharing fruit with the animals, or having fun with the close by wineries and eating places.
The fantastic thing about a farm keep at Brookhampton Highway Farm is that the day will be as busy or as sluggish as you’d like. All through the years we spent renovating the farmhouse, we documented our favorite experiences, and probably the most rewarding a part of this journey has been sharing them with our visitors.
How do you guarantee visitors have an genuine farm keep expertise whereas sustaining their consolation?
Balancing the trendy facilities visitors count on with an genuine farm keep expertise has been entrance of thoughts all through the renovation journey.
If the farm has taught us something, it’s that pure cycles can’t be modified or averted. In summer time, the grasses will brown, the times can be heat, and the farm’s off-grid components can be examined. Winter brings abundance but additionally mud, storms, and the necessity for someplace dry and heat.
With that in thoughts, we’ve got tried to create an area the place visitors can spectate the ebbs and flows of the farm exterior. In the summertime, the trendy cooling system takes the sting off the nice and cozy days, and within the winter, the renovated kitchen is nice for a hearty meal.
On this approach, the home has as soon as once more turn into a resting place for the farm. Visitors can expertise the genuine nuances of farm life, figuring out the home is close by to supply what’s acquainted.
What sort of culinary experiences can visitors count on on the Farmhouse?
Guests to the Southwest are spoilt for alternative on the subject of culinary experiences. The farm is a brief drive to world-renowned wine areas and is surrounded by farmers who’re greater than keen to share their produce and experience.
Certainly one of our favorite weekend actions is driving to the “honesty packing containers” scattered round our neighborhood to buy seasonal produce. Right here you’ll discover native delicacies like marron (freshwater lobster), pastured eggs, bread, fruit and greens, preserves and extra.
For a very big day, a neighborhood chef ready a four-course meal for visitors utilizing produce from inside 100 kilometres of the farm, loved within the farmhouse kitchen. This fashion of cooking is contemporary and thrilling and goes a great distance towards supporting our neighborhood.
How do you handle biosecurity obligations on a working farm whereas accommodating visitors?
The animals at all times come first on the Brookhampton Highway Farm. They look after the land in methods we can’t, and in return, we give them the perfect life we presumably can.
The primary and most necessary a part of our biosecurity obligation is respecting the place the animals stay and ensuring visitors perceive what is predicted. For instance, when the cattle are calving, it’s necessary to afford them the house they should reduce stress and the introduction of viruses, micro organism, or parasites.
Guests may also unknowingly carry weeds or pest seed to farmland from their automobiles. The roadways on the farm have been constructed so visitor automobiles solely entry the farmhouse to cut back this threat.
Australia takes its biosecurity obligations very significantly, so we ask visitors to be aware and respectful of their presence.
What are some challenges in operating a farm keep enterprise?
Rural residing means sources are scarce. It’s far simpler to discover a group of cleaners within the metropolis or have a handyman restore providers in the event that they stay close by. Being secluded, whereas stunning in its isolation, means we’ve got had to supply lots of the ancillary providers you’d count on a typical short-stay lodging supplier to contract out.
The good thing about this, nonetheless, is that we are able to spend time cleansing the home to our expectations, inventory the welcome basket with our favorite native produce, and provides the visitors an extremely customized expertise. Internet hosting isn’t a passive supply of earnings for us—it’s one thing we totally get pleasure from and we’re grateful each time a visitor trusts us with their time.
What’s the most rewarding a part of internet hosting visitors at Brookhampton Highway Farm?
When visitors go to the farm, they aren’t simply supporting our household enterprise—they’re respiratory life right into a small nation city. Seeing their affect on our neighborhood is extremely rewarding, and our hope is that they depart with a deeper appreciation for rural life, agriculture, and the fantastic thing about Western Australia’s countryside.
Your Flip
Plan your luxurious farm keep at Brookhampton Highway Farm with as much as six visitors. Kids and pets welcome!
Photos courtesy @zacwhiteee, @thesimplefolk_, @anna_rees_photography, @peggyvoir