Our Story
Emma and Angus and their children have lived on their 122 acre farm since 2008. With a young baby in arms, they initially focused on establishing a flock of Scottish Blackface breeding ewes - which originated from Angus’s family farm on the Isle of Coll - and planting a Christmas tree plantation.
With a degree in agriculture and experience working on his Dad’s farm, Angus was accustomed to rural life but, with a background in nursing and teaching in the NHS, farming was a steeper learning curve for Emma.
From humble beginnings...
Angus and Emma and their daughter Katie spent two very cold and snowy winters, then a milder one, and a very windy one in a static caravan at 700ft above sea level, with their son Rory arriving along the way. At one point in the winter of 2012/2013 their very kind neighbour from the farm next door brought his tractor and hitched it to the caravan to stop it blowing away in the storms!
It wasn’t until 2018 that the Smith family started to diversify into Agrotourism; with the widening of their road allowing better access, a planning application was made for a farm shop. Angus and Emma set about designing a brand new green oak-framed building that is home to The Heron Farm Shop & Kitchen. The design brief was to create an open, airy and welcoming space with floor to ceiling windows, to allow customers the countryside views from the building. In 2022, a new building has been completed, the Heron Byre.