About the Farm
What has now become a fusion of fun, care and a popular centre for wellbeing, mental health awareness and animal assisted therapy, it all began with a few rescue goat who now give back to the community a physical, social and positive purpose through the interaction with these friendly, cuddly goats.
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Our farm provides a huge open green space where people and communities can engage and provides access to the environment through land based activities as part of everyday life.
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People experience a number of positive benefits, enriching their lives and improving both mental health and wellbeing but also rebuilds self esteem, improvements to mood, creating a sense ofpurpose and achievement, regardless of a persons limitations or disabilities through interaction with the gentle and inquisitive nature of kindly goats.
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Our farm is unique and we welcome everyone!
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Our journey was quite accidental.
It all began in 2018 when, as a retirement project, we decided to venture into the world of rare breed sheep and goats.
Tragically in the Spring of 2019 when we were full of excited anticipation and the first lambs and kids were due to be born, disaster struck!
We found ourselves in a situation which threatened the lives of all our stock, and leaving us with 5 orphan goat kids, a few days old and all needing to be bottle fed around the clock
Tough decisions had to be made, but we gave those orphans the chance of LIFE and so the story begins...
What We Do
As the year progressed and our orphan goat kids thrived, we looked around fields at the
animals we owned.
We soon began to realise we had evolved into becoming a safe haven for waifs and strays.
A couple of favourite sheep
who had become pets to avoid them going for slaughter and
2 old ponies who had ended their working days and were
now enjoying a happy retirement.
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We had a yard full of rescue hens and ducks.
and now we had found ourselves rearing the lively, happy and healthy looking Golden Guernsey goat kids.
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Our RESCUE FARM had begun...
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We had to isolate our stock for over 2 years but by year 3 we had also acquired
5 pygmy goat kids and these tiny
cuddly little fluff balls,
(although we didn't know it
at the time), created
a new path for us to follow as we found ourselves developing into a Goat Rescue Centre.
We diversified from being a Native Rare Breeds Project to becoming
Hensell Goat Rescue Care Farm.
A Wellbeing and Mental Health Awareness Centre who runs fund raising activities to create vital funds for the rescue's survival.
Who We Are
For many years before Gillian suffered a lifechanging leg injury, we bred commercial Suffolk Mule sheep,
plus successfully running a
Camping & Caravanning Club cl site
in the seaside village of Anderby.
Gillian had worked full time for 9 years as the Customer Care Manager at a large local well known
holiday park
However, in 2009 after a routine hospital procedure went wrong Gillian was left crippled
and in permanent pain.
She could no longer continue
with her career as a Manager at the holiday park nor work
the long hours on the farm due to mobility problems and
whilst Graham continued to
run the farm business, life was
getting more difficult and
in 2014 the farm was sold and retirement planned.
Gillian can fully understand depression the need for wellbeing and how mental health issues can affect day to day life and after the sale of the farm, a farm that was far more than bricks and mortar but somewhere Gillian had wanted to spend the rest of her life and now she had to face a new life but it came at great cost to her mental health and even today its is sometimes still a huge struggle but helping others is something Gillian is passionate about and loves to share her love for farm livestock in need of new beginnings.
New Beginnings
Gillian and Graham intended to retire but with still having a number of animals needing daily attention,
plus a venture into the conservation of Uk native and rare breed livestock
It wasn't long before more animals including those seeking a forever homes arrived on the doorstep of Woodbine Cottage Farm.
A new lifestyle was evolving
and soon help from friends and volunteers were needed.
