Snakehall Farm Gates are Open

Come take a virtual peek at our 18 organic acres. Our Farm site boasts lots of quirky places to grow differently at The Prospects Trust.  We are Cambridge County Farm tenants, as a charitable trust we do not own the land but we have grown the site. Our Co-workers are happy to give you a real life tour upon request but why not take a little stroll through all our farm has to offer remotely too?

Snakehall Farm Site Illustrated Map Feb 2012

The Tea Barn Main Building

At the heart of Snakehall Farm you will find our Tea Barn.  The Tea Barn is our largest indoor space at Snakehall Farm and is the community hub of the farm. 

As part of our 30th Anniversary, we raised a staggering £30K in grants, donations and raffle tickets! We have invested this anniversary fundraising into a brand new space at Snakehall Farm, we shovelled the hovel and renovated the old lean to area into a fully accessible Tea Barn extension – thanks to all of our Farm Friends, donors and funders we have even more space for Tea, to shelter from the seasonal weather whatever it may be and we look forward to using this space for events, workshops and training.

The Enterprise Kitchen

The capital development of our Enterprise Kitchen was backed by ITV’s People’s Millions in 2015 to create an accessible and 5* Food Safety commercial space used to transform seasonal surplus stock into a wonderfully unique produce range of chutneys, jams and preserves. With the support of Global’s Make Some Noise in 2022 we are now running supported training placements in the Enterprise Kitchen at Snakehall Farm.  Working with Mamma Julie on Mondays to make the perfect Prospects Preserves, particularly the most popular onion chutney, and with Izzy mid-week baking all the Unwrapped cakes, brownies, flapjacks and no-sausage rolls our Enterprise Kitchen would make even Mary Berry well jel! 

The Office

Take a step into our Reception (wipe your feet first please) where you will receive a cheerful welcome. The Reception, formerly the main farm office,  is where the meeting and greeting takes place, the phones are answered and all the admin is done.

Our office was once a small work space but with the farm growing, the office and its team have grown with it.  We were lucky enough to get support from Cambridgeshire Community Foundation & RTF, who kindly funded our office expansion.   The works on the office started late September 2018 and through sheer determination and disregard for what the wonderful English weather decided to throw at them Tom, Mark and team had the new office extension up and running in November.  

We are now offering supported Co-worker Placements in the Office, learning admin, reception and customer service skills. 

The Big Barn

Again the name says it all. The Big Barn is where we keep the big “stuff”. Home to our vehicles, lawnmowers and tools, as well as being used as the largest undercover work area. We have the Big Barn zoned into areas, from a woodworking area to the potting machine, we don’t mind the floor getting muddy but you do need to put your tools back into the right place.

The Wood Work Workshop

The home to our famous Snakehall Sparkly Reindeer!  The Farm and Garden Teams collaborated to construct a fully accessible workshop inside the existing Big Barn on the farm.   The hardworking teams have built an internal workshop within the Big Barn, using up-cycled, re-cycled and donated materials. It has a mezzanine floor so we can store all the essentials a farm needs, it is insulated so our Co-workers can escape the cold fields in the wintertime and with your help it has been kitted out with tools on toolboards to make this a fully functioning Woodwork Workshop.

We are always seeking hand tools, electrical tools and the finishing touches to turn this super new space into a special farm facility that all can access, learn and create new Prospects Products. We have been very lucky to secure a grant of £5,000 from The Screwfix Foundation, electrical donations from McLatchie Electrical and lots of pre-loved tools from sheds across Cambridgeshire to help this new venture grow.

Out on the 18 rural acres of Snakehall Farm

The Polytunnels

The Farm Team grow a polytunnel quicker than a pumpkin here at The Prospects Trust, with 17 (at the current count) these tunnels create a year round growing space for our Co-workers to nurture our organic produce, flowers and work in a protected environment.  The Polytunnels of Snakehall Farm are our success in growing organically in all seasons and all weathers.  They are a vital part of our farming assets and such we are always looking for Polytunnel Partners to sponsor a tunnel or two. These donations help us re-skin the tunnel frames when poked too many times by a cane, rotavator or Co-worker or blown away in by the fenland winds. You can donate online or read more here…. 

Our Chickens

Our feathered flock of egg laying ladies really enjoy their new found freedom of the farm. Mostly ex-battery hens they enjoy a new way of life and repay us with lots of lovely eggs.  The original hen house was our first charity HQ, a 1960s caravan, demonstrating our organisational growth and also our zeal to up-cycle. Our girls have outgrown this coop and now have a bespoke build super roost.  We have just relocated our ladies to a new hen area, with 2 shelters, more room to range in and even their own chicken swing. With an “eggstatic” round of applause to our Corporate Volunteers; Skanska, Manit Construction and Astra Zeneca, who all gave their time, expertise and sheer physical might – the flock is happily roosting in their new home.

Snakehall eggs are available in our farm shop for a donation and our feathered friends are a great project for our Co-workers to get involved in caring for animals. If you are interested in sponsoring the Snakehall Hall Farm Egg project or even adopting one of our girls we would love to hear from you.

The Pond Zone

As part of our organic growing central to our success at Snakehall Farm we have a rain water irrigation system harvesting all of the water running off our barns, tunnels and roofs. As part of this complex water system essential to our growing at The Prospects Trust we also have a pond. In 2021 we added a new lining, a pond dipping platform and the most beautiful floral bank. Its a place to ponder!

The Far Field

We have plans afoot for our Far Field. Take a look at our Where the Wild Things Will Grow post for all the latest.

The Orchard

Planted by Co-workers of Snakehall Farm, Granta, Highfield Special Educational Needs School pupils and pre-schoolers from Reach and Swaffham Prior, our small orchard of traditional East of England apples and pear trees, is an area ripe for growth. In 2022 we are establishing a new Orchard Therapeutic Horticulture Zone, with a new Co-worker Potting Shed of Possibilities, an enclosed orchard area and even our first ever accessible portaloo. Placements start in September 2022. To read more…..

The Coppice & Nature Trails

Planted by the founders of the Trust our Coppice shows our roots of the charity in tree form, from saplings in the early 90s to now a tranquil tree space providing habitat to birds and woodland creatures. At the heart of the coppice is a small meeting point around the hearth and lots of connecting walks out and around the farm site. The Farm Team use this space for Co-workers needing time to relax and the Garden Team bring back lots of chippings to make the winding pathways accessible.

The Open Fields

18 acres is a sizeable plot for any Care Farm to manage, our Farm Teams have created plots within the open fields to grow to certified organic standards a wide variety of crops. Every season the team are planting, tending and harvesting the very best we can grow in the open fields. If you haven’t had a Snakehall Farm new potato fresh from our open fields you are truly missing out.

The Farm Shop at Snakehall Farm

Topped up daily during the week by our Co-workers and stocked on a Saturday by our Farm Volunteers, our Snakehall Farm Shop is an honesty based veg shed of delicious, fresh, seasonal organic edibles. Pay by Paypal, Cash or even bank transfer.