The Cholderton Estate

Home
United Kingdom
Cholderton
The Cholderton Estate

A family-owned organic Estate near Stonehenge. Boutique hot-tub hideaways set within our 2500 acres, plus events and retreats held throughout the year.

We also host an exclusive number of weddings annually at our venue

08/11/2025

AWARD WINNING | The Cholderton Estate has been awarded the top prize as Champion Flock at the recent Hampshire Down Sheep Breeders Association National Flock Competition.

Our flock was judged on breed type, uniformity, general health, appearance, management and presentation.

It is wonderful to have the flock recognised and we are very grateful to everyone on the farm who contributes towards keeping them happy and healthy.

We also came away with prizes for Best Ram Lambs, Best Stock Ewes, Best Breeding Ewes and Best Large Flock! Huge congratulations to other winners and participants who continue to farm Hampshire Down sheep.

Our flock is the oldest in the Hampshire Down Sheep Breeders Association Flock Book and the second photo shows our first win at the Royal Show in 1904 with a two-shear ram

02/11/2025

A little peek in one of our Shepherds Huts - this is Lapwing Hut, so named after the distinctive and brilliant bird who has been the focus of conservation efforts on the farm.

Our huts have been thoughtfully kitted out with everything you could need for a luxurious stay here - a king sized bed with a very comfortable high quality pocket sprung mattress, a well equipped kitchen with all the utensils you need to make a delicious meal and then some very cosy chairs to sit by the electric stove and hunker down.

Lapwing Hut is a really lovely place to stay for couples, do come to see us soon!

21/10/2025

Timeless tradition, heavy horses (and quite a lot of rain) this weekend as we hosted The Great All England Ploughing Match, run by the Southern Counties Heavy Horse Association.

Despite the weather, teams turned the earth and it was absolutely fantastic to see. Thanks so much to all who participated and to the fearless supporters who turned out to see the event and cheer from the sidelines. It was superb to celebrate the heritage of working horses, as well as the numerous other rural demonstrations on show.

Thanks to Henry Edmunds for these photos.

13/10/2025

STEP BACK IN TIME AT THE GREAT ALL ENGLAND HORSE PLOUGHING MATCH! | Join us this Sunday for a day packed with tradition, real horsepower and lots of countryside fun!

🗓SUNDAY 19th October
📍SP4 0DR (what3words: lurching shield ferrying)
⏰From 10am
Adults £10 | Seniors £6 | U16s & SCHHA Members FREE
🚗 Free parking

Come and enjoy…
🐎 Heavy horses in action
🏆 In hand and ridden show classes
🐶 Fun dog show
🎪 Ring displays and amusements, including ferret racing!
🍰 Refreshments and food

Bring the whole family for an unforgettable day celebrating traditional farming, heritage breeds and rural life on our beautiful organic farm.

07/10/2025

WALNUT SEASON | Since Victorian times, our beautiful walnut trees have stood tall here on the Cholderton Estate — rooted in history and still a part of the farm now. In fact, some of our many peacocks regularly enjoy using them to roost in!

The oldest walnut, a majestic Juglans Regia (Common Walnut), was planted back in 1885 — the same year the estate was founded by Henry ‘Inky’ Stephens, the brilliant mind behind the iconic Stephens blue-black ink. We like to think he was perhaps inspired by the deep, rich tones of walnut husks.

Back to the present day and we are experiencing a mast year — when walnut trees produce more than usual, ensuring future generations survive even after the squirrels have had their share.

Legend has it that horse thieves also used the husks to colour light horses darker. Certainly our fingers have been stained a muddy brown from all the picking we’ve been doing!

29/09/2025

FOOD FOR THOUGHT| Henry Edmunds has just returned from the inspiring Farming Conference in Jersey — a free event dedicated to championing regenerative farming across the food system.

From passionate growers to forward-thinking farmers, there were lots of fantastic conversations and discussions taking place — and Jersey is showing real potential to lead the way in regenerative practices.

Patrick Holden from the said: “In Jersey, the main components are in place to achieve a food system that works in harmony with nature and produces healthy, nutrient-dense food for Islanders.” (from the )

At the conference, Henry spoke about the damaging impact of ‘Min Till’, where the plough is replaced by a drill able to sow in a shallow seedbed, but which relies on lots of agri-chemicals. He spoke instead about our own approach here of a rotational system of farming and the importance of grazing animals as an integral part of every farm. ‘Grazing must be on an extensive basis and animals should not be kept intensively in sheds throughout the year. The pastures that they utilise will not require nitrogenous fertilisers to boost productivity’.

‘Our fields teem with insects and our hedges are full of nesting birds. No insect pests are found because beneficial insects and birds keep pest numbers in check. We live with wildlife, year in and year out, from hares to harvest mice, from lizards to rare species of butterflies - they all flourish’.

Huge thanks to for hosting and keeping the spotlight on regeneration. The future of food is wild, diverse, and full of promise — and we’re here for it 💚

22/09/2025

The Autumn Equinox has arrived and with it, a nip in the air and a call to slow down, snuggle up and settle in to the changing of the seasons.

This is our Bustard Hut, nestled in the corner of the wildflower meadow, overlooking the farm. With a private wood fired hot tub and views across the open countryside, it is a great place to connect with nature.

We are in dark skies territory here, so when night falls, there is so much to see among the stars above. With Stonehenge and Avebury just down the road, equinox always very special here and so connected to the land, the sky and the rhythms of the seasons.

15/09/2025

A mast year | Across the orchard, the hedgerows and the fields, this year nature collectively seems to be putting on quite a show. We are in a ‘mast year’ – a phenomenon occurring roughly about once every five years, where trees like oaks, apples and other fruit bearing species produce an abundance of seeds, nuts and fruits.

The walled garden is heavy with apples, there are acorns and walnuts everywhere and maybe you will have noticed the blackberry bushes have been bursting with berries too this year.

It is thought to happen as a clever natural strategy – by overwhelming seed predators with so much produce, more seeds survive to grow into the next generation than can be eaten by squirrels, mice and so on! Curiously, somehow all of a tree species in a local area seem to go into a mast year at the same time but we don’t know how they decide to do this together.

Another of nature’s great mysteries and a reminder of how interconnected and intelligent nature is!

07/09/2025

CHALKHILL BLUES 🦋 | In our latest blog post, we head over to a hillside idyll on the edge of the farm with Estate Owner Henry Edmunds where a nature reserve has been created to provide a habitat for butterflies.

‘Walking into the reserve, undisturbed to allow the natural chalk fauna to thrive, we noticed a low fluttering over the ground. Just a few here and there at first and then, as we moved deeper into the field, there were undeniably butterflies EVERYWHERE!’

Head to the link in our bio to read more!

01/09/2025

HIDDEN TREASURE | We got such a surprise recently as we moved a water trough and underneath found Great Crested Newts!

These incredible creatures are amphibious and love land as much as water, so providing and protecting natural habitats like nearby hedgerows is important and hopefully our organically farmed fields are just the thing for them. They are very particular about the habitats they choose so it is encouraging to find these.

Interestingly, each Great Crested Newt have unique markings on their orange bellies, just like a fingerprint! They are utterly distinctive and mesmerising, a joy to see.

27/08/2025

THANK YOU! A summer of wonderful guests to our Shepherds Huts and Victorian Coach House. We absolutely love welcoming guests to The Cholderton Estate and it is so great to hear how they have spent their time while staying here - long walks, wanders down to the Farm Shop ( ) and plenty of chats with our rare breed Cleveland Bays and Hampshire Down are high up on the list.

Whether you’re a keen naturalist or just someone who loves the countryside, The Cholderton Estate offers a chance to reconnect with the land. Our accommodation is tucked into the heart of the ancient landscape close to Stonehenge and Salisbury —perfect for slow mornings, long walks, and lots of good times to be had!

19/08/2025

At the top of Windy Dido (a brilliantly named ancient landmark at the edge of the farm), we weighed our lambs last week. Our sheep are organically farmed and our rare breed Hampshire Down sheep have been continuously farmed at the Estate since 1890.

Here Estate Owner Henry Edmunds is continuing the long held tradition of looking over the flock and examining which sheep are great examples of the breed.

We are preparing here for our second Maedi Visna assessment here next month. This is an infectious and very unpleasant disease, so it is important to test for this. Our first visit was a success so we hope the second will go well!

Address

Cholderton
SP40DX

Website

http://Linktr.ee/thecholdertonestate

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Cholderton Estate posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to The Cholderton Estate:

Shortcuts

Want your business to be the top-listed Event Planning Service in Cholderton?