Learn all the essentials of market gardening in this intensive accredited* course running across six weekends from May - November 2026.

This course gives you the basis of an organic approach to growing food whilst looking at different approaches to market gardening. You will learn the importance of soil and plant health, how to manage pests and diseases without the use of chemicals, how to capture and store rainwater to irrigate your crops in a sustainable way and how to build to build a resilient business around your preferred type of growing, space and skill set. We will focus in on business planning and overall designs for you to take away and build on.

Please note: Limited spaces will be available to those who can’t afford to pay but they must apply for a bursary. Applications for bursaries will open on 1st April. Please email tamsin@vallisfarm.co.uk after this date to find out if you can apply.

Unit titles are:

• Plant and soil health

• Different approaches to growing

• Irrigation and water management

• Pests and diseases

• Propagation

• Crop planning and harvesting

• Sources of revenue

• Business planning

• Designing your market garden

Dates are:

• Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th May

• Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th June

• Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th July

• Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th September

• Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th October

• Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th November

*course will be accredited by LANTRA. Confirmation of this expected prior to the start of the course. ID will be required from all participants to ensure certificates can be given out on completion of the course.

The Menopause Retreat Day
with Olivia Cliff, Medical Herbalist and Tara Kelsall, Life Coach & Wild Swim Guide

Open to women of all life stages

The menopause is a transition that all women face at some point in their life. Whether sudden or slow, it can be littered with unpleasant and sometimes debilitating symptoms which are not always acknowledged or understood. Our Menopause Retreat Day is an opportunity for pre, peri or post menopausal women to come together to enjoy time out of routine to relax, nourish and replenish in a safe,supportive and beautiful environment.

What to expect:
• A warm welcome with light refreshments
• An overview of what actually happens in the body during the menopause and what
symptoms can arise and why.
• The opportunity to speak about our own experiences in a small supportive groups
• Discussion of tools which can be utilised to smooth transition including a balanced
approach to nutrition, herbal hacks and the importance of psychospiritual aspects.
• Supported cold water dip in a natural pool
• Wood fired sauna
• Tea and cake and a closing circle

At the end of the day, we want you to leave a little more empowered and ready to embrace your menopause as a potentially powerful rite of passage.

However, please remember that all activities are invitations and there is no expectation for everyone to
participate if they feel not to.

Morning Session

We will be demystifying what actually happens in the body
during the perimenopause, looking at some of the symptoms which can arise and exploring
simple, effective self-help techniques and herbal approaches you can use to support
yourself throughout this time. There will be the opportunity to share some of our own stories
and experiences in smaller groups, because all our journeys are unique.

You will:
• Gain an understanding of what is happening in the body during this time and the
symptoms which can arise.
• Learn nutritional and herbal strategies to help improve common symptoms such as poor
sleep, foggy thinking, rage and/or anxiety, joint issues and hot flashes.
• Explore psycho-spiritual aspects of aging and the wisdom, liberation and reinvention this
time can bring.

Lunchtime
We'll gather together round the huge farmhouse table to share delicious and health supporting
food, created with love and incorporating ingredients grown on site at Vallis Farm.

Afternoon Session 
The second half of the day invites you into the healing powers of cold water and wild
swimming, paired with the deep relaxation of sauna heat therapy. This combination is
profoundly regulating for the nervous system and offers a sense of clarity, vitality, and
emotional spaciousness.

You will:
• Receive a full safety briefing and gentle education about cold water immersion
• Have space to ask questions and share any worries
• Be guided through a fully supported, safe, and empowering cold water immersion in
the crystal-clear natural pool
• Sink into the soothing warmth of the sauna, allowing your body to unwind and
integrate everything from the day.

We will finish with a hot drink, cake and a closing circle.

We are offering this workshop at three price points. Please select the one most aligned with you on the booking platform.

Morning Chorus Bird Walk with Rob Frith

Join us for a relaxed and informative morning at Vallis Farm, timed to coincide with the early bird activity without the pre-dawn start.

We’ll meet at 7:30am at the farmhouse entrance. After a hot drink to get us going, we’ll head out on a guided walk around the farm with ecologist and bird expert Rob Frith, exploring the land and listening to the morning chorus as it builds.

Rob will help us identify the birds we hear (and hopefully see), explain what’s happening ecologically at this time of year, and share insights into how the farm supports wildlife. With a bit of luck, we may also spot barn owls that regularly hunt over the fields.

After the walk, we’ll return to the farmhouse for a cooked breakfast made with locally sourced ingredients, including eggs from our rescue hens. We’ll eat together around the table, with time to ask Rob questions and chat more broadly about birds, farming, and the wider landscape.

The morning will wrap up at 10:30, leaving you well fed, well informed and hopefully feeling a little more connected to the land around you.

This is one of two Morning Chorus Bird Walks. If you can’t make this date, the event will also run on 24th April.

Cost: £28 per person

A thoughtful, unhurried way to start the day, for anyone curious about birds, ecology, and the rhythms of a working farm.

And why not extend your experience by spending the night in one of our Shepherd’s Huts?

Blue Lotus & Cacao Ceremony

An embodied gathering of breath, movement & seasonal ritual

Come together in the peaceful ceremonial space of the Vallis Farm Lounge for an intimate afternoon of slowing down, reconnecting with your body, and marking seasonal change with intention and peaceful presence.

This gathering offers gentle, embodied practices and rituals designed to help you tune in to both inner and outer rhythms, nurturing your heart, body and spirit.

Over the course of 2½ hours, we will:

• share blue lotus & ceremonial cacao, inviting ease, openness, and heart-centered connection

• awaken the body and nervous system through breathwork and somatic movement

• offer guided reflection, journalling and prompts for noticing what nourishes you

• create a simple fire ritual to leave winter behind and release what no longer serves

• close in circle with a time of sharing, connection and grounding

This event is designed to be inclusive, relational, and gentle, welcoming you as you are - no experience necessary, just curiosity, desire for self-care and a willingness to be present.

You’ll leave with:
✨ a felt sense of groundedness, inspiration and openness
✨ clarity around personal intentions
✨ embodied awareness
✨ deepened sense of self love and acceptance 
✨ connections with others who value slowing down and real connection

Whether you’re new to ceremonial gatherings or familiar with rituals and embodied practices, this afternoon offers space to pause, reflect, and realign with your own inner compass.

No mud, no lotus: let’s come together to honour our emergence from winter and nourish what is quietly beginning to bloom.

Practical Details:
Date: Sunday 15th February
Time: 12:00–2:30pm
Location: Lounge, Vallis Farm, Egford Hill, Frome, BA11 3JQ

Investment:

🎟 Early Bird £25 (limited)

🎟 Standard £30

🎟 Supporter £35

Accessibility & What to Bring:

• Comfortable clothing for gentle movement

• A journal and pen

• Optional cushion or mat for sitting

• Water bottle

All are welcome. No prior experience required.

Night River Presents: Zach Thompson

A magically intimate micro concert for just 34 lucky guests featuring Zach Thompson and a short opening set of two songs by your host, DG Solaris.

We are very excited to welcome Zach Thompson. For fans of early Bob Dylan, Bert Jansch and John Martyn. In an age where everything appears ever more disposable, Zach Thompson’s music has the rare feeling of being called down from the fires of heaven. Born and raised in West Yorkshire, but now based in London, he’s long been making his mark in the burgeoning South-East London folk scene.

A truly enigmatic songwriter, one who almost appeared to arrive fully formed, Zach moves between intimate folk and freewheeling jazz at a moment's notice. Upcoming EP 'On Platt's Eyot' - via Breakfast Records - is a rolling, ruminative body of work whose symbolic lyrics bounce between the universal and the local, resisting any straightforward interpretation.

Don't miss your chance to see this fantastic act perform in the most intimate of venues. Only 35 seats available. There is no bar so BYOB.

Doors 7pm, music starts at 8pm. Punctuality is cool!

Silver Clay Jewellery Workshop

Make your own nature-inspired silver pendant

Join jewellery designer Rebecca Lucy for a relaxed and creative workshop where you’ll learn how to make your own fine silver pendant using silver clay – a magical, eco-friendly material that turns into real silver when fired.

You’ll use natural textures like leaves, shells and twigs to create beautiful impressions, then shape and mould your pieces. Rebecca will then take them away to fire them, and you will receive your finished jewellery by post one week later in a gift bag.

What’s included:

• 7g of silver clay (enough for 1–2 small pendants)

• Use of tools and equipment

• Natural materials to imprint

• Tea & coffee

Workshops are small and friendly (approx. 2.5 hours). No experience needed – perfect for beginners or anyone curious to try something new!

You’ll create a beautiful silver pendant to wear or gift.

£65 per person

Join The Intuitive Chef (Frome-based private chef and food event curator Kate Foster) for an evening of celebration in honour of Scotland’s great bard. This is Burns Night, Westcountry style, combining ceremony, conviviality and an abundant feast that nods to Scottish traditions while incorporating a few of our own from closer to home.

Each course is accompanied by optional wine pairings, especially selected by our friends at Givino. There’s also an opportunity to join a pre-dinner whisky tasting with our local whisky expert!

Menu

Drinks and nibbles

Sparkling wine or Islay gin Bramble

Arbroath smokie croquettes

Smoked salmon baby oatcakes

On the table

Oat and molasses bread, whipped tablet butter

Whisky pickles

To start

Green leek and tatty velouté, crispy haggis (+ v alternative)

To follow

Pan-roasted venison loin with blackberry and bay sauce, oat and hazelnut skirlie

Cheddar, roots and ale stovies (v)

Mashed neeps, Vallis Farm greens

Smoked salt potatoes

To finish

Craquelin choux puffs with whisky caramel cream and raspberry compote

…and of course, a wee dram

Welcome drink and 3 course menu £60/person

Welcome drink and 3 course menu + wine £75/person

Pre-dinner whisky tasting £20/person

Spaces are limited! Email kate@theintuitivechef.co.uk to reserve your space. Most dietaries can be accommodated with prior notice - please get in touch with Kate to find out more.

Start your week feeling nourished by mindful movement with breath awareness.  These Hatha Yoga classes are rooted in cyclical wisdom and with an emphasis on meeting yourself with acceptance, exploring postures with a playful attitude and finding pleasure in both movement and rest.

Following a gentle warm up, the class will build to strengthening poses and end in short relaxation, aiming to leave you feeling refreshed and re-energised and connected both to yourself and a circle of support.

Cecilia has been teaching yoga for over 12 years and practising for over 25 years and offers adaptations so that every body feels welcome.

Find out more about your practitioner here: https://www.yogawithcecilia.co.uk/about-cecilia

From £10 per session, booked in 6 week terms (ie £60)

This term run’s every Monday from 5th Jan for 6 weeks.
(5th, 12th, 19th, 26th Jan and 2nd, 9th Feb)

Solstice at Sunrise : A Silent Disco Celebration

Sunday 21st December | 7.30–9.30am (Arrive in twilight – we’ll dance together as the sun comes up)

About the event

Come and welcome the turning of the seasons with a magical sunrise silent disco at the stunning Vallis Farm. Hosted by Mojo Moves, with 3 channels of music beamed straight to your headphones – from uplifting disco classics to energising beats and soulful grooves and maybe even the odd festive track.

The Winter Solstice marks the shortest day and longest night of the year. From this point, the light returns – a time for renewal, fresh energy, and looking forward with hope. Where better to honour this shift than in a landscape designed in harmony with the seasons?

Expect a life-affirming, immersive experience: dancing in nature, breathing the crisp morning air, moving from darkness into light as the sun rises. Bond with your tribe, set intentions for the year ahead or not, there's no pressure here to be anything but present in the moment, enjoy the ride, and feel the earth beneath your feet.

Remember to wrap up warm!

🎟 Tickets £15 (plus booking fee) – available here www.mojomoves.co.uk/event-details-registration/solstice-at-sunrise

🚲 Parking is very limited, so please walk, cycle, share a lift or get dropped off where possible

☕ No refreshments provided – but feel free to bring your own

🚻 Toilet facilities available

🔞 Over 18s only

Rare Species CIC Mojo Moves

Frome,

Somerset

07878328253

Facebook

Instagram

Mojo Moves website

An Invitation to Pause: A Reflective Gathering in Nature

Fridays 10-11:30am monthly at Vallis Farm

Oct 17, Nov 21, Dec 19

Open to everyone over the age of 18

£20pp

This is your 'Invitation to Pause' and join me for a reflective circle gathering in nature ~ a gently held space to slow down, reconnect with your body and inner world, and share what feels important. This co-created circle invites presence, curiosity, and meaningful connection.

We will gather in the beautiful garden space at Vallis Farm to slow down and take a pause from 'the everything else of life'. Connect to nature’s rhythms, seasons and cycles to feel and relate to your own inner rhythms, seasons & cycles of life. Allowing rest and restoration for your nervous system.

What to Expect:

-A welcome circle to settle into the space with some silent reflection or meditation time

-A first opportunity to share what you’re arriving with, what’s stirring within

-Guided practices to support embodiment and inner awareness

-A shared theme to explore together, with space for questions and reflections

-Time to wander solo with a prompt or question, allowing nature to support your inquiry

-Hot drinks & a snack

Come as you are. Leave with a deeper sense of connection.

Tara x

Co-creating soulful space, together.’

Please book your space at www.wildswimmingwoman.com/book or email tara@wildswimmingwoman.com with any questions.

*there is plenty of cover if we are blessed with rain and these events will go ahead in all weathers, unless deemed dangerous and the Vallis farm site is closed (extreme storms or heavy snowfall & ice)

Please note, we will be outside for the full 90 minutes so wear weather appropriate clothes & shoes and bring a coat.

Tara Kelsall is a qualified & experienced outdoor life coach, wild swimming coach, moon circle facilitator and space holder for circles and wellbeing groups as well as hosting retreats.

Her primary focus is on empowering women to regain their self confidence & supporting their journeys to greater self acceptance through immersion in our natural world, connecting with themselves and to each other.

The makers of Vallis Farm have come together to offer Christmas shopping straight from their studios. Nothing beats buying directly from the makers, discovering where and how each piece is created & supporting crafts.

Join us for an intimate festive event featuring live folk music, mulled wine and crafts. Step inside our studios to see how items have been made and do some shopping too! 

Featured work: 

Jewellery, Glasswork, Leather work, Oil Paintings, Ceramics, Pottery, Floral displays and Sculpture.

Where: Vallis Farm ,Egford Lane, Frome, BA11 3JQ

When: Thursday 11th December  5-8pm

Come for the craft, stay for the cheer! 🎄

@emmaaitchisonjewellery     

@millieuhlein 

@badger_house_leather

@bethan.m.clarke

@vandika.laura.thomson

@somerset_ceramics

@daljitkaur1979

@vallis_farm

Discover a whole new take on low-effort, high-impact festive nibbles and canapés that you can make at home and enjoy throughout the season. Enjoy a glass or two of wine while Kate (The Intuitive Chef) demonstrates an exciting menu, plus two delicious Christmas-y cocktail recipes.

Schedule:
14:30 Arrivals and intros, coffee and cake, a chance to talk through the afternoon's menu
15:00 Demo part 1
16:15 Wine and lots of tasters, demo part 2
17:30 More tasters, questions and wrap up
18:00 Goodbyes

Example menu:
Hibiscus and clementine fizz (non-alcoholic)
Honey and clementine kir royale (alcoholic) or pomegranatini

Baby baked potatoes, golden salt, sour cream and caviar
Medjool, Parma ham and almond bundles
Pintxo skewers
Rye toasts with torched brie and fig jam
Farinata italiana with 3 toppings
Crispy chickpeas
Centrepiece whipped feta and winter herb oil plate, Christmas focaccia
Dark chocolate dipped physalis

*most dishes are suitable for gf preferences and variations/alternatives will be suggested.

Come and get inspired for Christmas entertaining, enjoy a full demo with wine and best of all, try everything Kate makes! You’ll have a chance to ask questions and will also receive a follow up email with recipes and helpful suggested prep list and timings for the menu demonstrated.

£45/person, including wine/soft drinks and substantial tasters – come hungry!

Spaces are limited, book below. Any questions email kate@theintuitivechef.co.uk or WhatsApp Kate on 07540970225

Join us at Vallis Farm for sustainable Wreath Making, just in time to decorate for the festive season.

With the fire on in the dining room and the farm house table stocked with refreshments, you’ll be provided with the materials and guidance to make a sustainable and stunning wreath using a base of locally grown willow. Learn how to decorate your wreath the professional way, using a range of fresh and dried foliage grown in Somerset, finished with luxury ribbon.

You will be taught by Lex, founder of Flowers for Good who has been running seasonal wreath making workshops in various settings for the last decade. Flowers for Good is a nature-based community interest company that provides Floristry, Planting design, gardening and Therapeutic horticulture. 'Connecting with nature through education, collaboration and creativity.’ A proportion of profits go to local community projects. Find out more @flowersforgooduk www.flowersforgood.co.uk

£75*
Price includes everything you need to make your wreath, wine or soft drink and mince pies.

Workshops available - Book Below

22nd November
10:30 - 12:30

*FOV members discount available via members page