Shilvington, East Shilvinghampton Farm, Portesham (2026)

East Shilvinghampton Farm has been in the Bartlett family for four generations and is still a working farm, supplying local businesses (such as the local gastro pub) with high quality meat. Living and working in an area of outstanding natural beauty, the family delight in being able to welcome guests to enjoy the farm and it’s spectacular views for themselves. Shilvington offer accommodation for t

he whole family, from a comfortable farmhouse holiday let through to family Glamping and traditional Campsite.

28/08/2026

Henry and the Alpacas 🦙

When Henry was 13, he came to us with a request.

“The girls have ponies. I’d like an alpaca.”

We told him to do some research and find out what he could actually do with one. He duly came back with a plan – he could offer alpaca walks and make himself a bit of money!

And that was that.

Henry took to it straight away and before long decided it would be lovely to get some girls and have some babies (cria, as we quickly learnt!).

There have been some real ups and downs over the years. Losing some of them has been incredibly hard, but on the whole Henry has absolutely loved it and found looking after them hugely rewarding.

He's (nearly!) 21 now and, while he's still at home, they're very much still his alpacas. He looks after them himself and leads the walks – and he knows every single one of them inside out. Not just as animals, but as individuals, with all their different personalities and quirks.

An alpaca walk with Henry is a genuinely wonderful experience. What started with a 13-year-old thinking it was a bit unfair that his sisters had ponies has become a rather special part of Shilvington. 😊🦙

12/08/2026

Looking back on greener days… quite literally! 🌿

We’ve talked recently about some of the challenges facing farming at the moment, but the truth is that farmers have been having to adapt and find new ways to make their farms work for many years.

Shilvington is no different, and this photo gives a pretty good bird’s-eye view of just how much we’ve diversified alongside the day-to-day running of the farm.

Look towards the bottom left and you’ll spot our first Your Setl cabin, with the bases for the next ones ready and waiting. Just above are our Feather Down tents, then the caravan site. Follow it round and there’s the honesty shop, The Cozy Cow sauna and our holiday cottage adjoining the main farmhouse.

Farming will always be at the heart of Shilvington, but all these other areas have become an important part of keeping the farm going – and, happily for us, they also mean there are now lots more ways for people to come and enjoy this lovely part of Dorset. 😊

https://www.shilvington.co.uk

08/08/2026

The hot weather is nice but, it’s not all hot walks and sun bathing…

The heat and prolonged dry weather are having a huge impact on farming. With very little rain, grass simply isn’t growing as it normally would. This means there is less natural grazing available for livestock, and us farmers are having to feed animals hay, straw and other forage much earlier than we normally would.

This is putting huge pressure on hay and forage supplies. We’re using up our winter stocks during the summer, while this year’s grass and forage yields are also lower. With less hay and straw available, prices are already increasing, making it more expensive to feed our livestock.

If we continue to use our winter feed now, there will be less available when the animals actually need it. We may have to buy in expensive feed, find alternative sources or, in some other cases, reduce the number of animals. It’s a knock-on effect that starts with a lack of rain but can continue right through to winter.

If you want to support your local farmers - Buy meat direct from them. Visit local farm shops. Take a day trip to your local fruit farm.

07/08/2026

We have some sad news. 💔

Our newest little cria, Delilah, unexpectedly passed away on Sunday morning.

From everything we could see, she was happy, bright and thriving, which made it all the more shocking. After a post-mortem, it appears she had a bacterial infection on her lungs. Unfortunately there is no current vaccine the mother alpacas can have to prevent this. So it was just bad luck.

As difficult as it is, this is the reality of farming. We do everything we can to give our animals the very best care, but sometimes nature has other plans.

31/07/2026

Meet Delilah.

She’s already proving to be full of personality, and we couldn’t be happier to welcome another female into our breeding herd. 🥰

A little fun fact… every alpaca born on our farm is named in alphabetical order. So far we’ve had Amber, Bella, C**t, Colin… and now it’s Delilah’s turn. 🤍

30/07/2026

Every now and then, a review comes along that could have been lifted straight from our About page, and we think, “Yes – that’s exactly what we hoped people would experience.”

We don’t often share reviews in full, but this one was simply too lovely not to.

Children spending their days outdoors, families making new friends, fresh bread deliveries, walks through the Dorset countryside, homemade food and special memories to take home… that’s exactly what it’s all about. 😊

Thank you so much for taking the time to write such kind words. We absolutely loved reading them. 💚

Scroll through the images for the review in full.

Address

East Shilvinghampton Farm
Portesham
DT34HN

Website

http://www.shilvington.co.uk/

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