About Foxtwood

We built this place ourselves

Foxtwood Cottages was a self-build project started in 1995. Thirty years on, it is seven cottages, thirty acres of stewardship land, a small herd of Dexter cattle, and still home to the Worrall family.

Building began

Acres of land

Cottages

Guests sleeping

How it happened

Sixteen years of building



The first shell goes up

Foxtwood Cottages was a self-build project started in 1995. It took us about four years to complete the shell and finish all the internal work in three cottages, our house and the workrooms.

1995



Turning to the grounds

At this point, we decided that we needed to concentrate on getting the gardens and grounds into shape, and in the meantime we would see how the business developed.

1999



The land enters stewardship

We entered all of the land into the Countryside Stewardship Scheme, overseen by Natural England. This scheme ran over a ten-year period, designed to restore and enhance the unique landscape of the English countryside while maintaining and enhancing the wildlife habitats that abound on our land.

2003



The last cottages finished

2011 saw the last cottages finished, just in time to start again with some refurbishment and improvement work on the first three. Then we might have time to look at finishing our own house.

2011



Higher Level Stewardship

We continued into the Higher Level Stewardship scheme. Our ground has been steadily reclaimed from overgrown scrub to the more traditionally managed way of farming, and we hope to continue in this way for the foreseeable future.

2012

Explore Foxtwood Cottages

Please feel free to explore the paths that you can find. Young children must be kept close at all times, and if you would like to see our Dexter cattle, do ask.

We would like to encourage schools and wildlife groups to visit Foxtwood by making a route around the estate that opens up the more difficult places. That should benefit you, our guests, too there is more of this place to see than most people manage in a week.

The land

Thirty acres, managed by hand

We own about 30 acres (11 hectares) of land, roughly 16 on this side of Foxt Road and 14 on the other, on which we keep our small herd of Dexter cattle. We manage this as our own personal nature conservation area.

The Higher Level Stewardship work continues: controlled grazing of our species-rich wildflower meadows, cutting for hay, rebuilding dry stone walls to reinstate old field boundaries, managing the spread of scrub and bracken, laying hedges, or simply replacing steel gates with traditional wooden ones.

The scheme now includes our woodland, where we are coppicing and creating woodland clearings, developing woodland bird habitat and controlling invasive dominant trees and shrubs. The felled timber becomes the firewood for your log fire.

Ask us about a guided walk →

Environmental statement

What we do about it

Foxtwood Cottages is committed to minimising its environmental impact, and we believe we can make a difference. This may all sound a bit worthy, but it matters to us and we hope it does to you too.

Farmed traditionally

01 — Grounds

Fields managed under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme
A small herd of Dexter cattle for conservation grazing
Free-range chickens providing our eggs
Trout raised in our pond
Our own fruit and vegetables
Plenty of organic blackberry picking for guests in season

Warm without waste

02 — Energy

Insulation between the floors, in the roof space and in the walls
Double glazed, draught-free windows
Insulated hot water tanks and pipes
Hot water partly heated by solar panels
Efficient underfloor heating, with thermostatic valves on radiators
A 7kW electric vehicle charging point on site

Easy to do the right thing

03 — Waste and water

Sturdy recycling bags supplied in every cottage
Glass, paper, tins, cardboard and plastic all recycled
Compostable waste goes on the compost heap
Recycled products used where possible
Kettles with a water gauge, so you boil only what you need
Low-flush cisterns on most toilets

People down the road

04 — Local

Wherever possible we use local suppliers and local craftsmen, and choose goods and services without a negative environmental impact. We point guests towards local attractions, pubs and restaurants within walking distance where we can.

Who we work with

05 — Community

We are members of the Caldon and Uttoxeter Canals Trust, which aims in the long term to restore a further length of the canal. We also work alongside Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, FWAG, the RSPB, and two local accommodation groups who meet to swap ideas and support each other.

Tell us what we've missed

06 — Ongoing

We always welcome ideas and suggestions from our guests on ways we can reduce our environmental impact further. If you spot something we could do better while you are here, please say.