17 March 2025

Grove Farm, a National Trust tenant run farm in Windermere, is getting attention for more than just its picturesque landscapes.

Last summer a habitat survey highlighted the biodiversity that is flourishing on the farm. It is testament to tenant Phillip Allonby’s sustainable farming practices.

Grove Farm’s low-input methods have not only preserved but enriched its habitats, attracting rare plants and fungi species.

At a glance it’s a typical Lakeland farm with rolling green pastures and a herd of 30 Limousin cross and Belgian Blue cross cattle. But the habitat surveys revealed another story of rich and diverse flora and CHEGD fungi species in some of the farm’s meadows and grassland.

Farming for nature with a low input system is great news for water quality in Windermere. Biodiverse grasslands have the potential to allow more water infiltration into the ground, allowing nutrients to be absorbed by plant roots in the soil before they can reach our watercourses. Diverse grasslands that are managed well can also help to reduce surface runoff and protect the soil from the erosive power of rainfall.

Tenant Phillip Allonby attributes these ecological findings to the farm’s long-standing, low-input approach.

“I’ve just farmed in the way my father taught me, with a focus on balance,” Phillip said.

His father, Bob Allonby, established the family’s farming legacy at Grove Farm in the 1940s and gained a reputation for raising high-quality Hereford cattle. Phillip officially took over in 1990, before Bob passed away in 1992.

Phillip has continued farming in the same way, using natural fertilizers and minimal artificial inputs, which he believes has been key to promoting biodiversity.

John Pring, the Trust’s countryside manager in the Lake District said:

“It was about 30 years ago, when National Trust Rangers were Wardens, that we first discovered the delights of Grove farm. We have been working alongside Philip to improve its ecological status ever since. I’m so pleased with the survey results. Our challenge now is to build on Phillip’s great work and improve the biodiversity on the farm even further,”

As Grove Farm looks to the future, Phillip is hopeful that government support through new agri-environment schemes will allow him to continue this legacy of low-impact, high-value farming.

Grove Farm has been under the stewardship of the Allonby family for over 70 years. The Allonby family’s dedication to sustainable farming exemplifies how low-input methods can create thriving habitats for nature.

As a farm within the Windermere catchment, low input techniques will play a small part in helping to improve the water quality in England’s largest lake, and support the work of Love Windermere, of which the National Trust is a partner.

To find out more about the National Trust’s Research into ecosystem Biodiversity research , their views on land and farming and Our work in Windermere | National Trust