Beaminster Bottom Farm

Tracy and James bought land in 1998 and in 2008 they built their home designed to use many of the principles of PassivHaus. The South-facing side of the house has large double-glazed windows with argon Gas filling. The curved roof forms an overhang, so that when the sun is high in summer, the windows are shaded and the house remains cool; when the sun is lower in winter it heats up the house, including the stone floor which stores the heat overnight. The back of the house is partially earth sheltered to add to the insulating properties. The roof is covered with sedum and alpines grown from cuttings on the farm.

The barn opposite has solar photovoltaic panels with battery storage and solar thermal tubes.  The farm has a  forest garden/food forest, in which 4 shepherd's huts for glamping reside in their own private spaces.   The glamping has been awarded Green Tourism Gold - for more details visit here. 

Please note the forest garden is private and only open to guests staying with us.

Additional information

How to find Dorset Forest Garden (PDF, 247kB)