Windmill Hill City Farm is a 4.5-acre green space in South Bristol, 20-minutes’ walk from Bristol city centre. It offers education, recreation and therapy for local people and is a vital hub for the community.
In early 1976, after the World War II demolished shops and forced communities to move away, local people met to discuss the clearance of the derelict area at the bottom of Windmill Hill; they wanted to see this site being used for the benefit of the whole community.
People got involved in active fundraising, organising events and raising awareness and recycled or unwanted materials were collected for use in developing the site.
“The idea was to show local people – to say ‘Yes, we could do this here!”
By 1979, An Urban Aid grant enabled the Farm to employ a full time farmer, a workshop organiser and an administrator. Most of the other work on the Farm was done by people on job creation schemes such as YTS (Youth Training Scheme) and YOP (Youth Opportunities Programme). Volunteers continued working hard to develop the site.
Nowadays, you’ll find community gardens, a variety of farm animals, a play area, picnic areas and a café and farm shop.
They also have a children’s nursery and indoor and outdoor spaces to hire, including a 5-a-side football pitch.
Entrance to the site is free, but they are a charity and encourage donations.
Goats are almost as friendly as dogs!
This is me having a breakfast tea in The City Farm Café! Is the social heart of Windmill Hill City Farm and reflects its ethos by offering home-cooked, carefully sourced food.
Their menu is constantly changing.They only serve meat when their own farm-reared meat is available. They took this decision to reduce their own footprint as a business, and to start a conversation about how much meat should be part of a sustainable diet.
They use all the fresh produce they can from the farm itself, and the money paid for these ingredients supports the farm’s charitable work.
In my opinion, the place of The Windmill City Farm it's the core and the spirit of this Green Capital!