History of Heron Farm

The site was initially established in 2010 by River Cottage’s then Head Gardener, Mark Diacono, and was called ‘Otter Farm’. Mark’s vision was to create a so-called ‘Climate Change Farm’, populated with food-producing trees and plants more traditionally associated with warmer climates, but which have the potential to grow sustainably in Devon as the impact of climate change is increasingly felt.

In 2016/2017 the site was the subject of a ‘Grand Designs’ episode, during which Mark and his family designed and built a striking plough-shaped house and a matching building.

The latter building was built out of cob, a traditional building material in the South West that is predominantly made out of mud and straw. A cob-walled garden was also constructed as part of the project.