Troytown was, until recently, a traditional Scillonian flower farm. This has gradually been replaced by our tiny dairy herd of around four Jersey cows and three Ayrshire cows which produce most of the milk for St Agnes together with clotted cream supplying the local pub and café’s. We have recently diversified further into making delicious farmhouse ice cream. We also make our own hand-printed butter and yoghurt.

We keep a Hereford bull named Ding-Dong who sires all the calves, which are reared non-intensively on downland and produce tasty beef (steaks, burgers and mince). We also rear a few piglets, usually Tamworths, to provide sausages and chops for summer barbeques on the beach.

There is a small plastic tunnel where we grow tomatoes, cucumbers and aubergines, along with vegetables such as courgettes and corn on the cob grown outdoors. It is all seasonal produce and on a very small scale so it’s a matter of luck what you will find on offer. Our delicious new and second early potatoes are dug to order daily which ensures their freshness.

All of our produce can be bought in our small farm shop, where we also sell most varieties of gas cartridge, paraffin and methylated spirits, and have camping and calor gas cylinder refills available for exchange. We also deliver our produce daily around the island to many locals and to the self-catering cottages, using a quad bike as a milk float!

The farm retains its small flower fields, with high shrub hedges providing windbreaks. As members of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme we leave field margins uncultivated which encourages a rich diversity of birdlife, butterflies and flowers.

With no mains water or natural springs on St Agnes, we are responsible for our own supply. We have our own deep borewells at Troytown and collect rainwater from all the roofs in storage tanks. This is filtered and treated with UV light before use. With an ongoing programme of investment in water production and storage, we can offer our visitors normal facilities in the way of showers, flush toilets, and a washing machine. However, it is important that visitors to a small island appreciate that water is a precious commodity, and that it is always used with care and never wasted. Occasionally, after a prolonged dry spell, reserves can run low and some rationing may have to be imposed.

Mainland farmers are often amazed at what is produced on our 14 acres. We continue to develop our range of products always taking the feedback from our visitors into consideration.