Woodoaks Farm

Woodoaks Farm Connecting Community with food, farming & nature. Protecting our heritage & regenerating our landscape. Helping to restore people & planet wellbeing.
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🚴🚴‍♀️This Saturday is TOUR DE RICKY 2026 when 350+ cyclists will be setting off from Woodoaks Farm to venture through Th...
27/05/2026

🚴🚴‍♀️This Saturday is TOUR DE RICKY 2026 when 350+ cyclists will be setting off from Woodoaks Farm to venture through The Chilterns on 50K, 100K and 200K Audax rides. The Weather looks to be cooler so happy days! 🚴🏽‍♀️🚴🏼

Whilst they are out and about there's lots going on at the farm for families to enjoy!

🚘The show field will be open so there is plenty of parking. Pls note if you're arriving before 11.00am the one way system will be set up - so entrance is via the cottages - see map below.

💪8.30-9.30 - Strength and Power Training with LV F**T

🍞9.30-11.30 Woodoaks Bakehouse and Fermentary - fresh sourdough, pizza dough, bakes and loaves. Pick up on day or pre-order via link below.

💃10.00-10.45 Zumba in the event field with Zumba with Flo

🫟11-3pm - Kids Crafts & Facepainting with Grow Wild Club and Amy.

🚲11.30 - Kids obstacle course with Watford Cycle Hub

🏅All kids arriving at the farm on bike will receive a medal! Courtesy of Three Rivers District Council

🎨12-5pm - Free art studio workshop with Barney and Brew

🇪🇸5pm - El Bocadillo UK Food Truck opens at Creative Juices Brewing Company

🍕The Tea Shack will be providing food and refreshments plus stonebaked Pizza throughout the day, with the extra delight of having their fab ESPRESSO coffee truck on site.

🍺Creative Juices Brewing Company Taproom will be open from midday and Street Food will be available from 5pm.

💜Don't forget to pop your head in to see the wonderful art exhibition by Louise Ungar in the taproom. Prints are available to order and all proceeds go to Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care.

🍞ORDER YOUR FRESH BREAD from Woodoaks Bakehouse and Fermentary here:- https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdY9n734O2ghcp6Ym7pfIiKTXig05BMMlUVrBWt7gEGMTYlxw/viewform?fbclid=IwY2xjawSDXEFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF0RDJkZW9VYVQxM1ZNY0Nlc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHgFU4XKqRGvlXTB4kJwv8og5CMASWyZcXbWodcVkeVG08X4r4kDSpXuTpHTZ_aem_QVT8g4ILKx8C54jzFNL-EQ

“Just found my first Song Thrush fledgling of the year while walking the farm this morning, present at Ladywalk Wood. Th...
23/05/2026

“Just found my first Song Thrush fledgling of the year while walking the farm this morning, present at Ladywalk Wood. This is fantastic news considering this species is on the amber list of birds of conservation concern.”

Posted yesterday by our local Maple Cross birder and wonderful eyes and ears on the ground - Paul Lewis.

Join us at Woodoaks Farm for an evening of all the good things!! Nature, movement & films about women doing cool stuff i...
22/05/2026

Join us at Woodoaks Farm for an evening of all the good things!! Nature, movement & films about women doing cool stuff in running 💚 🏃‍♀️ 🍿

This special event is hosted by She Trails Podcast, alongside for the run. The evening will feature three inspiring athletes Katya, Trina and Gloria whose films will be screening.

🏃‍♀️THE RUN PART: A 7km run from Rickmansworth Station to Woodoaks Farm. All levels - men and women welcome! Taken at an easy and sociable pace led by the Camino Ultra Community.

There will be some flexibility if you come from London with the run leaving from Rickmansworth station (metropolitan line) or also the option to just join for the movie.

🍿THE FILM PART: Open to all - even if you don't fancy the run.
Set in the majestic 16th Century Black Barn.

Film One : "Across Armenia with Katya" that ran the length of Armenia and set the first FKT (Fastest Known�Time)

Film Two: It's All Downhill From Here, follows Trina and Gloria on an adventure celebrating friendship, and creating space and visibility for older Black women in the running community

All wrapped up with a Q&A with the athletes who will share the evening with us.

Hope to see you there for an evening filled with joy, inspiration, stories and celebration. 🍿🏃‍♀️💚🌿

Cost: £10.00
Location: Woodoaks Farm, Denham Way, Maple Cross, Herts WD3 9XQ. (Junction 17 of the M25)

Click here to book your ticket: tickettailor.com/events/shetrailspodcast/2217018

🐝 Thanks for coming Maple Cross Reception Class! You totally made our WORLD BEE DAY!! 🐝It was really special to be able ...
20/05/2026

🐝 Thanks for coming Maple Cross Reception Class! You totally made our WORLD BEE DAY!! 🐝

It was really special to be able to share with you the opportunity to get up close to Bee Keeper Julian's observational hive and see the Queen Bee amongst her colony. The children all love to play the insect version of 'Where's Wally?' with her.

We were wondered if we were going to be able to teach this class much more about bees! They already knew that bees have 5 eyes! But we managed to pepper plenty more bee facts into their BEE-oootiful bright brains! 🐝💛

There's only a few months of the year when Julian can bring the bees out to meet the children - so it's always an exciting time for everyone!

When you realise bees’ role in the ecosystem and how they are responsible for pollinating a third of the food we eat, you realise how important it is to take care of them.

So wherever you are let's plant wildflowers, stop using nasty sprays in our gardens and help create safe spaces for these hive heroes to thrive. 🌼🐝

Thank you to Julian and ALL our volunteers and parent helpers. Your kindness makes a difference. 💚

Photos by Maple Cross School and Sue Lacey.

We are excited to be attending Maple Lodge Conservation Society open weekend. We will have a small stall so come by and ...
15/05/2026

We are excited to be attending Maple Lodge Conservation Society open weekend. We will have a small stall so come by and say hello and learn about what Woodoaks Farm is doing to support conservation across Maple Cross and how you might be able to get involved

Whatever the weather, Compost Club keeps going 💚Rain clouds, sunshine, curious cows and even groups of visiting school c...
13/05/2026

Whatever the weather, Compost Club keeps going 💚

Rain clouds, sunshine, curious cows and even groups of visiting school children - there’s always something happening down at the compost bays at Woodoaks Farm.

Each week, our incredible volunteers help turn food waste, weeds and farm materials into rich, living compost ready to feed the soil and support future growing across the farm 🌱

And while they work, they also help bring learning to life for the children - and cows - who stop by to watch, ask questions and investigate what’s happening in the heaps.

Because compost is fascinating once you start digging around in it 🌿

Our Compost Club meets on Wednesday mornings 10-11am - why not come along and give it a try?

There’s something really special about seeing people come together around a shared love for nature, community and the fu...
12/05/2026

There’s something really special about seeing people come together around a shared love for nature, community and the future of Woodoaks Farm 💚

Last Friday, volunteers gathered in the Black Barn for a planning and update meeting led by Ranger Steve.

Today we hear from regular volunteer Suzanne Smith, who shared her reflections from the morning:

“Last Friday's planning meeting for the volunteers was a great session. It gave many of us - 30+ people - the opportunity to get together, meet new members and chat about what future developments on the farm might look like.

Steve led the morning with a presentation about planned wildlife monitoring at Woodoaks Farm. This will offer training for both current and interested new recruits. Not only will this extend our skills even further, but the data collected will be of vital importance - both locally and nationally - informing us on the state of nature now and for generations to come.

Programme Director Rose also gave the team updates and exciting visuals on the Black Barn project. Aside from the obvious disruption and practicalities of managing the site during the building work, everyone is really looking forward to the many opportunities and enhanced working environment this valued new structure will bring to our beautiful site.

There's certainly a lot to keep us busy and look forward to in the year ahead, and no doubt we will get to meet lots more new volunteers eager to contribute to the amazing projects that are gradually transforming and benefiting our local community.”

Thank you Suzanne - and all our incredible volunteers who give their time, energy and care to Woodoaks Farm 🌿

We’re also hugely grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for supporting the Black Barn project and helping make these future plans possible.

We’ve been busy with Education at Woodoaks recently, welcoming lots of local school children onto the farm - and what fu...
11/05/2026

We’ve been busy with Education at Woodoaks recently, welcoming lots of local school children onto the farm - and what fun it has been discovering just how much life is all around us 🌿

A little while ago, for Earth Day, a group of Year 2 children from Maple Cross JMI joined us on the farm armed with magnifying glasses, maps and field guides, ready to search for bugs, birds, trees, plants and animals across different habitats.

We slowed down, looked closely and investigated what we found.

After walking “100 miles” (as one child proudly told us 😄), we gathered in the old Black Barn with heads full of discoveries. Together, we shared what we’d found and built a woolly web of interdependence.

As we removed a few creatures from the web, we watched it begin to fall - a simple but powerful reminder that everything in nature is connected.

And from that came a shared promise to care for the world around us 💚 Thanks for joining us, Maple Cross JMI!

We were grateful to Norah and team "Save Three Rivers Swifts" who comprise of two local women that became great friends ...
11/05/2026

We were grateful to Norah and team "Save Three Rivers Swifts" who comprise of two local women that became great friends through their shared interest in Swift Conservation. They have recently gifted us with Swift boxes to put on Sally Findlay's house.

This team work hard alongside other wildlife groups and organisations to advise local people on swifts - preserving nest sites, siting boxes and using callers and all things swift related.

You may have heard the recorded swift calls as you pass St Mary's Church where they helped to install a swift box in the bell tower!

Working with Herts and Middx Wildlife Trust they've also helped to install boxes at Stockers Lake.

Swifts are incredible fliers. Once they leave the nest, they won’t land again until they return a few years later to breed, lay eggs, and raise their young.

Apart from that brief period, they spend their entire lives in the air - eating, mating, collecting nesting material, and even sleeping while flying. They manage to sleep on the wing by resting one half of their brain at a time, allowing the other half to stay alert and keep them airborne. Now wouldn't that be handy in humans!

In the UK, the Common Swift is now on the Red List of Birds of Conservation meaning it’s at high risk and needs urgent help.

Their numbers have dropped by more than half in the last few decades as a result of new builds with roofs that don't have gaps, fewer insects and a change climate.

Norah told us:"It's currently eyes to the skies" season when the early arrivals start appearing. Some have already been seen in Tring.

Our local swifts who fly into Mill End usually arrive in the second week in March so it could be any time soon! Keep watching out folks!

Thank you to Gordon of Slabside who took to the ladder to put the boxes in their new position ready for swifts to arrive one day! It may take some years but it will be worth the wait!

Address

Woodoaks Farm, Denham Way
Maple Cross
WD39XQ

Website

http://www.woodoaksfarm.com/, https://bit.ly/3EgJE37

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