ABOUT US
We are a place of acceptance and mutual sharing of skills: growing vegetables, looking after animals, cooking communal meals, doing carpentry, and other activities too depending on the abilities of those living here at any given time.
It is a place where all can give and all can receive.
Our story
Our founders, Tobias and Francesca Jones, moved here in 2010 with a vision to create a place of refuge.* From small beginnings they built up much of the structure and community that we find here today. They and their family then moved to Parma in Italy in July 2017, handing over to Chris and Katharine Thompson, who in turn handed over to the Hime family in the summer of 2023.
We live out a vision to offer hospitality and support to people of all faiths and none who, due to a current crisis, a past trauma or some other need including history of offending and addiction recovery, seek refuge in our small, woodland community.
We seek to help to improve the physical and mental health and wellbeing of up to 50 adults each year through the provision of a therapeutic living environment which gives our guests the opportunity to enjoy and benefit from the natural woodland environment, as well as learn new skills, improve their mental health, wellbeing, life chances and employability.
The centre of WHW is unconditional love and grace; we believe in a God who is love and so all are welcome. We hope that all who stay here will experience acceptance and encouragement in this diverse, creative and hospitable extended family.
*If you would like to know more about how Windsor Hill Wood got started, read A Place of Refuge by Tobias Jones, available from all good bookshops.
Being community
Our warden team lives in the main house where there is also a shared communal space which consists of a kitchen, a large sitting and dining room, a bath/shower room and laundry room. As a Christian home offering hospitality, part of our rhythm of life includes the opportunity to pray silently together in our small but beautiful chapel. Not all have a faith and attendance is optional, as it is for our weekly bible study.
We don't charge rent to guests though all of us contribute to a common purse for food and bills. Because some of the people here are dealing with addiction issues, the entire site is dry - meaning, of course, no alcohol - and is drug-free. We don't accept any violence, physical or verbal.
We share the tasks involved in the management of the woodland, looking after our animals and growing our own veg. We eat our meals together and take it in turns to cook.
Windsor Hill Wood is what it is because of the contributions of so many, near and far, be they volunteers who help on a Wednesday, local experts on woodland management, people who make financial contributions or the wide variety of guests who stay here for just a few days or many months. All have something to give and all receive something back too.
Who we are
Our wardens
Windsor Hill Wood is run by our wardens Toby and Helen Hime, who live on-site with their daughter, Grace, and son, Emmanuel.
The Hime family (pictured) have been at Windsor Hill Wood since 2023.
our environment
We are blessed to be located in a naturally regenerated woodland setting and we take our responsibility to steward this environment seriously. We generate electricity from solar panels and we heat the main house, huts and water with a biomass boiler and woodburning stoves that are fuelled by wood from felled trees on site.
Windsor Hill Wood is recognised as a special habitat for some rare flora that thrive here due to the depleted soil. The woodland that has grown since the old quarry closed provides a valuable habitat for many insects and birds (including tree creepers, nuthatches and also spotted fly catchers that visit in the summer). Dragonflies darting over the pond, where great crested newts have also been found, are a special delight. Badgers, foxes and deer wander the woods at night. We actively manage the woodland and pond to enhance its biodiversity and the enjoyment of this environment is one of the many joys of a visit or stay with us.
We minimise waste and food miles by growing and rearing our own food and utilising Fareshare supplies from supermarkets that
would otherwise be wasted.
Our facilities
Rock house
Guest accommodation
Working facilities
The Chapel
Woodland studio
Forest school
Accommodation for the Warden family and Assistant Warden together with a communal kitchen, dining/sitting room, bath/shower room and laundry.
Six self-contained units which are a mixture of shepherd's huts and stone buildings.
Boiler house, workshop, greenhouse and garden store as well as two large polytunnels for growing vegetables.
A small quiet space for reflection that we call the "chapel" beside the wildlife pond.
Used for training, guest therapy sessions and workshops and which is available for public hire (more information below).
There is an area set aside to be used by a local forest school (not run by Windsor Hill Wood).
woodland studio
In 2025 we converted an old building into a Woodland Studio. This is in a secluded woodland setting and is used for events, training, therapy and meetings for guests and volunteers. We are now pleased to be able to be able to offer this building to the general public for hire.
Facilities include:
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Heated room (4.5m x 4.5m) with seating capacity for up to 9 adults in the round or 20 in theatre style.
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Outdoor seating area
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Tea/coffee making facilities
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Projection screen
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Modern composting toilet
Parking Constraints:
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More than 6 cars would require special arrangements
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Access from car park is approx. 25m via a gently sloping forest track which would not be suitable for those with mobility problems.
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Hirers would need to respect other users of the site. No loud music, no alcohol and exploration of the wider woods by arrangement only.
Hire Charges:
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£15 per hour with negotiable rates for regular hirers.
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To make a booking or visit the Woodland Studio please enquire below.
