| About Relaxed In 2009, we (David Chidgey and Jack Smellie) left our Oxfordshire village and headed to the South West to set up a small (1-acre) smallholding on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall. After seven years we emerged from the moorland mist and retreated 500 foot downhill to Chulmleigh in Devon where our adventures started again, this time on a glorious TEN acres!! We moved with two sheep, four goats, two alpacas and 45 assorted poultry (chickens, ducks, turkeys) and within the first year added more sheep, more goats, more alpacas.... more everything in fact. Over the years we have also kept geese, quail, rabbits, rhea, cows, emu, guanacos and even ponies! In 2024 we gradually downsized until by the end of the year, we no longer had any livestock and now, our lives revolve more around giving the land back to the wildlife as we start to 'wild' all our acreage through pond building, tree & hedge planting and creating as diverse a range of habitats as we can!! Part of our long term plan is to involve our local community as much as we can. It is a huge privilege to own the land we do and it feels very important to share our space so other people can benefit from being immersed in their natural world and helping to improve the bio-diversity. We began by planting trees and building ponds and need to offer huge thanks to Keiran, Devon Wildlife Trust, Devon County Council, The Trees Trust and Tamar Trees for supplying us with upwards of 1400 trees (all free via a variety of schemes and grants) and for their invaluable advice, as well to Nick Benge from Roborough Rewilders for digging our ponds and creating our banks and scrapes. We are also hugely grateful to everyone from Chulmleigh and beyond who has helped plants all our mini copses and hedging. We still make rugs for smallholders from their own fleeces and one day, we might even make ourselves a few more, using up all the fibre we still have from our own sheep and alpacas. Use the Daily Diary link above to follow our journey here at Cadbury Cottage. Relaxed: Cadbury Cottage, Chulmleigh, Devon. EX18 7AR (scroll down for a map and directions) Tel: 01769 581175Â Mob: 07929 204386 & 07929 204521 Email: jack@relaxed.org.uk
Find us using What3Words:
 If you come via Chulmleigh you need to head north out of the village towards Tiverton and Kings Nympton on a road called Back Lane. We are about a mile and a bit out of the village on the left hand side. The house is magnolia in colour with a blue Volvo in the drive. If coming via South Molten head out of the town towards George Nympton and we are about 7 miles down that road (B3266) on the right BEFORE you get to the village of Chulmleigh. You will pass Cadbury Barton (Farm) and an agricultural machinery business just a quarter mile before us so you then know we will be next! Sat Nav usually takes people to Cadbury Barton so if you hear those dulcet tones: ‘You’ve reached your destination’, then if travelling south, you need to carry on for another ¼ mile, if travelling north you need to go back another ¼ mile! We have a drive-in/drive-out driveway so whichever way you come, you can just drive straight in. We also have a sign on the verge by the south entrance. |