Working Farm Stay in Lancaster
Four places to sleep on a farm that is still a farm — pears, a small dairy herd, and breakfast made from what came in that morning.
Still a farm, with guests in it
Orchardly is ninety acres between Strasburg and Willow Street — nine of them pears, the rest hay and pasture for a dairy herd small enough that all of them have names. Ellen's family have farmed it since 1961; we started taking guests in 2003 because the barn roof needed doing.
Nothing is staged for you. Milking is at six and five, the eggs get collected whether or not anyone is watching, and in September you will be handed a bucket if you stand still long enough.
- Ninetyacres, nine of them pear orchard
- Adairy herd of eighteen, all named
- Fourplaces to sleep, sleeping two to eleven
- Twentyminutes from Lancaster, ten from Strasburg
Breakfast, the run of the place, and no schedule
There is nothing to book and nothing extra to pay for. Come out when you wake up.
Breakfast from the yard
Eggs from the hens by the machine shed, pears from the orchard in season, bread from the bakery in Bird-in-Hand. Served in the farmhouse kitchen from seven.
Milking at six and five
You are welcome at both. Children are usually welcome to help, adults are usually less keen the second morning, and nobody has to do either.
The whole ninety acres
Walk any of it. There is a mown path around the pear blocks and down to the creek, and a gate at the far end that takes you onto the rail trail.
Dogs, with one rule
Yours are welcome anywhere except the milking shed and the hen run. Ours is called Biscuit and she will find you within ten minutes.
A fire pit and the wood for it
Down by the orchard, laid and ready. We will light it if you ask and leave you alone if you would rather.
Park at your door
Every stay has its own spot. The lane is gravel and fine for any car; we will tell you honestly what it is like after heavy rain.
Four Places To Sleep
Two rooms in the farmhouse, a hayloft above the old dairy, and a stone springhouse on its own. Rates include breakfast.
Rates include breakfast and are for the whole party, not per person. Send us dates and we will tell you what is free — nothing is charged to hold a stay.
Roughly how it goes
None of it is compulsory and none of it costs extra.
Friday, after four
Come up the lane and park at your door. We will show you where things are, which takes about five minutes, and then leave you to it.
Saturday, six in the morning
Milking, if you want it. Otherwise breakfast is in the farmhouse kitchen from seven and nobody minds what time you come down.
Saturday, the middle of the day
Walk the pear blocks, take the path to the creek, or go through the far gate onto the rail trail. Strasburg is ten minutes if you want a town.
Saturday evening
The fire pit by the orchard is laid. We will light it if you ask. In September there are pears to pick and we will not stop you.
Sunday, out by ten
Earlier than most places, because the rooms are turned around by hand. Leave bags in the farmhouse and stay as long as you like.
Breakfast is what came in that morning
The beds behind the farmhouse do most of the breakfast between May and October — chard, cabbage, strawberries, whatever the deer have not found. The rest is eggs from the yard and bread from the bakery in Bird-in-Hand.
In February it is honest to say the tomatoes came from a shop. We will tell you that rather than pretend.
- ✓Eggs collected the same morning
- ✓Pears, plums and apples in season, from the blocks behind the barn
- ✓Bread from a bakery ten minutes away
- ✓Vegetarian and gluten-free done properly if you tell us in advance
Come and stay on a working farm
Four places to sleep, and weekends in September go first. Tell us your dates and we will write back this evening.
What people say afterwards
Our two spent the whole weekend collecting eggs and following the dog, and neither of them asked for a screen once. That has never happened on a holiday before.
Breakfast was pears off the tree behind the barn and eggs from the hens we had met the day before. You cannot fake that and you cannot buy it in a hotel.
We took the whole farmhouse for a family reunion — eleven of us, one long table, and the farm carried on around us. Ellen and Paul were exactly as involved as we wanted and no more.
Things it is fairer to say now
A farm is not quiet
There is a rooster, the herd comes in twice a day, and the tractor starts early in hay season. If you need silence, the Springhouse is furthest from all of it.
The wifi is thin at the edges
Fine in the farmhouse, patchy in the Hayloft, effectively absent in the Springhouse. Some people book the Springhouse for exactly that reason.
Bring boots
Nine acres of orchard and a path to the creek. In spring it is mud, in August it is stubble, and neither is kind to good shoes.
Children are genuinely welcome
Most of our guests bring them. There is a cot, a high chair and a gate at the top of the farmhouse stairs, and the hens do not mind being followed.
Asked most often
Can the children help with the animals?
Yes, and most of them want to. Milking is at six and five and children are welcome at both; eggs get collected mid-morning and that is the popular one. The only places that are off limits are the machinery shed and the bull's field, and both are gated and signed.
Is breakfast really included?
In every rate on this page. It is cooked in the farmhouse kitchen from seven and it is eggs from the yard, fruit off the trees in season, and bread from the bakery in Bird-in-Hand. If you are in the Springhouse we bring a basket down rather than make you walk up.
How noisy is it, honestly?
There is a rooster, the herd comes in twice a day and the tractor starts early through hay season. Most people find they stop hearing it by the second morning. If you know you will not, take the Springhouse — it is the furthest building from the yard.
Can we bring a dog?
Yes, free, anywhere on the farm except the milking shed and the hen run. Ours is a collie called Biscuit who will attach herself to you. If your dog is not good with other dogs, tell us and we will keep her in.
Can we take the whole farmhouse?
Yes — four bedrooms, the kitchen and the long table, up to eleven people, three nights minimum. We move out to the cottage for the duration. Families do it for reunions and it is the booking we most enjoy.
What is there to do nearby?
Strasburg is ten minutes and has the railroad; Lancaster is twenty. The rail trail runs past our far gate. Most guests do less than they planned, which we take as a compliment.
Check dates
Tell us when you would like to come and where you would like to sleep. We answer in the evening, once the animals are done — and nothing is charged until you arrive.