Acton Scott Historic Working Farm is funded and managed by Shropshire Council and is part of the Acton Scott Estate.
Acton Scott Historic Working Farm - 2012 Season
Tuesday 3 April - Sunday 4 November.
We are not open on Mondays except for Bank Holidays.
Open weekends and Bank Holidays 10.30am - 5pm
Open weekdays 10am - 4.30pm
About Acton Scott Historic Working Farm
Acton Scott Historic Working Farm is one of Britain's leading working farm museums and is situated in the 18th century Home Farm of the Acton Scott Estate. Conceived by Thomas Acton more than a generation ago to keep alive the 19th century farming practices he grew up with, the farm was the first of its kind and has been much copied since. Today, we specialise in practical demonstrations of historic farming using traditional skills and period horse-drawn machines. You can see farm life unfold on the land, around the farm yard and in the cottage with each day being rounded off with milking by hand.
Television Coverage From Acton Scott
Acton Scott’s television profile has significantly increased since 2007 when filming started for the hit BBC series Victorian Farm, and its follow-up Victorian Farm Christmas (both aired in 2009). In September 2009, a new project, 'Ben Fogle’s Escape in Time', was filmed. Presented by the explorer and broadcaster, and aired in July 2010, this series was rather different to Victorian Farm, in that it followed two real-life families for a week at a time as they took up the challenge of becoming Victorian Farmers on the Acton Scott estate. Many of the experts and craftsmen featured on Victorian Farm appeared on “Escape in Time”, along with several members of staff, familiar to visitors to the farm.
Voices from Shropshire's farming past
You can now listen to people from Shropshire's farming community remembering their rural way of life in early 20th Century Shropshire. Over 150 tapes were originally recorded in the early 1980s. These edited versions are made available for the first time via the link on this page.
In 2009 our new traditional rural craft and trade courses (offering wide ranging opportunities to experience and learn anything from Hedge Laying to Smocking and a host of other skills in between), proved extremely popular. A continuing programme of courses for 2012 is available. Please telephone the Museum Service if you require further information or access the programme from the web.
Rare breeds
Visitors of all ages will love the Longhorn and Shorthorn cattle, Tamworth pigs, Shropshire sheep, poultry, ducks, geese and heavy horses.
Museum shop and cafe
Our shop sells a variety of gifts, traditional household goods, books, souvenirs and ice cream. Throughout the day our cafe offers home cooked hot and cold meals, snacks and drinks in the setting of the refurbished and restored former School, originally built by Frances Stackhouse Acton in the late 19th century to educate the children of the Parish. This programme of restoration and refurbishment was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the European Regional Development Fund and Shropshire Council, with advice provided throughout the restoration process by the Acton family. The cafe is also open to non-farm visitors.
Other local attractions
Build a day around your visit: Discover this beautiful corner of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty through two way-marked routes, the Acton Scott Amble and Waggoner's Wander. The County Squire's Stroll is a new permissive footpath developed by the Acton Scott Estate in partnership with the Shropshire Way and Shropshire Council, supported by Natural England. The route has been chosen to take in many of the locations used in the Victorian Farm BBC TV series and explains findings from the recent Acton Scott Heritage Project. These walks have short-cuts for those with less time to explore. Walk guides are available from the museum entrance.
The historic market town of Church Stretton is only five minutes away by car. It offers a range of specialist shops and places to eat. The Long Mynd is nearby and at Craven Arms, just four miles to the south, you can find Secret Hills - the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre, Stokesay Castle and the Land of Lost Content.