We’ve been sent a few lovely stories recently, and wanted to share them with you all. One involves a first trip to England, another a walk in Sweden. But we’ll start with Richard, whose decision to read the classified section in an old WWOOF UK newsletter turned out to be quite an important one!
Richard: It all started with a letter…
I joined WWOOF in 1976, when I was still living at home. In those days, you had to do two scheduled weekends before you could get the ‘Do It Yourself’ list of hosts. A printed list, of course. This was well before the days of the internet.
My first WWOOF visit was to a farm near Malmesbury belonging to Diane Cilento. Her partner at the time, Sean Connery, was not there! The other people sang madrigals while weeding the strawberry beds. We did meditation and I got cramp from being on the floor too long. We also spent some time in the local cider pub, and it was just wonderful. I was hooked!
But the story I wanted to share happened some years later.
In about 1995, the WWOOF newsletter carried a classified advert for ‘Natural Friends’, a dating agency aimed at the more alternative market. I filled in the contact form, sent off my profile and received various replies.
One came from Christine, who lived in a village about 26 miles away. I liked the tone and style of her letter, and her clear handwriting. So we agreed to meet.
And 31 years later, we’re still together and have been married for 26 years.
Birgit: A first visit to England
In August 2026, I went to England for the first time. It was also my first experience of WWOOFing. I spent four weeks at several very different places, and from beginning to end it was a fantastic adventure.
The farms couldn’t have been more different, but one thing was the same everywhere. My hosts were incredibly kind, generous and helpful!
My English, on the other hand, is… well, let’s just say it has plenty of room for improvement. But that didn’t stop my hosts from trying to have conversations with me. They were patient and somehow managed to understand most of what I was trying to say, which was quite an achievement.
I enjoyed helping out, and there were regular breaks for the most important part of British life, a cup of tea and a piece of cake. Somehow, everything always seemed much easier afterwards…
There was also plenty of time for sightseeing, going for walks and, of course, visiting a pub. You can’t spend four weeks in England without experiencing a proper English pub.
I tried quite a few things for the first time. Bell ringing, jive dancing and driving a mini digger. Not exactly your average holiday programme.
The other two WWOOFers were also very nice. We were made to feel part of the family’s daily lives. It was a wonderful experience, full of lovely people, tea, cake and a few things I never expected to do in England. I enjoyed every minute of it.
So… next year again!
Marc: This is the life!
A fond memory for me is from when I was WWOOFing in Sweden, in and around Nyköping. It was my first time in Sweden, and I stayed with a nice lady in a quiet village where most people were, let’s say, a little older. Beautiful place!
I got involved with the community, and every Wednesday morning a group would meet up for a walk. There were around 8 of us, with me being the youngest at 53, the oldest was a sprightly 86.
We’d walked for a while when we came to an area of rock. We all climbed up, sat down and took out our flasks of tea and coffee.
The oldest lady and I were sitting beside each other, and with that she turned to me with a big smile and said, “This is the life, this is the life.”
Do you have a WWOOF memory you’d like to share? We’d love to hear from you!
