A good way to get to know new people is for them to visit on one of our working weekends.  This means they meet most of us and enjoy Postlip in its stunning setting.  We're sorry that we're not able to accept volunteers for longer than these weekends.

Working weekends happen monthly on the weekend that’s got the second Sunday in it.  We all try to be here to spend the weekend taking care of important jobs in the kitchen garden & grounds, and on the house & tithe barn.  People work on these at other times, of course, but the main jobs happen on the working weekends and on the ‘Fun Day’, the third Saturday of every month.  

One of the winter estate jobs: pollarding the willows by the stream at the back of the Tithe Barn.

If you'd like to come and help us then we ask you to join WWOOF, World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (formerly Working Weekends On Organic farms).  This international organisation puts volunteers in touch with organic growers.  We’ve been members from the 1970s and much of the kitchen garden was reclaimed from wilderness by WWOOFers and community members.  Volunteering here as a WWOOFer gives you and us a bit of structure and some useful protections, so we now only accept WWOOF volunteers.  Membership also gives you a chance to visit lots of other WWOOFing communities.  When you join, you'll get a membership number and password and logging in with those gives you access to our page (amongst many others).  The page has a button "Contact host" and if you click on that you can book a weekend with us.   Please don't try to book direct with us through our usual email - we'll just go round-shouldered and slide you off to WWOOF :-))  more about WWOOF...  

Here's the walled kitchen garden where most WWOOfing happens, seen from a hot air balloon. Tithe Barn, Hall, Chapel and water garden are in the middle of the picture, with some of our woods beyond.

If you visit on a working weekend (usually Friday evening to Sunday teatime) then we’d find you a bed and lots of good food (we’re famous for feeding visitors well, whether veggie, vegan or carnivorous).  You’d spend the days working with us on whatever jobs the season demands, from planting and weeding to cropping, tree management and drystone walling.  Evenings are an ad hoc party in the Great Hall. If you come by train or coach to Cheltenham we can often collect and deliver.  We can usually welcome your children too, but do let us know in advance.  

Aftermath of a WWOOF meal, with Postlippers and visitors