My husband, David, and I moved from London to Ludgershall, a tiny village on the Bucks/Oxfordshire border, in 1999. We loved the area and David knew this part of the world well, having grown up nearby. I’d been working as a gemologist and David works in the City, but we decided to relocate with our young family to a house with a huge garden where we started to cultivate our own vegetables and keep chickens.

Our vegetable patch just kept on expanding (it now covers some four acres) along with our interest in organic and sustainable methods of producing our own food. We bought neighbouring farmland and started to breed English Longhorn cattle, Hampshire Down sheep and Middle White pigs. These pigs are on the endangered species list and were rarer than giant pandas at one point!

We were growing more than we could possibly consume or give away, so started thinking about investing in a pub to utilise our abundance of produce.

Then, in 2012, the pub in the neighbouring village of Brill came up for sale. It’s an incredibly pretty place and lies just a mile from our house and farm. The Pointer has been the village alehouse since the 1700s and is fantastically characterful, but was in a bit of a state when we bought it. We spent six months carefully restoring the original features, and opened it up to let in more light and create an open-plan dining area around the bar, with further dining space within an old stone barn and cosy spots in-between, to make it a comfortable place to drink and dine.

The Pointer is also the focal point of our ‘Field to Fork’ hub which we created to highlight the importance of local production, animal welfare, ethical farming methods, real traceability and conservation practices on our farm. We keep the kitchen well stocked with our fresh produce throughout the year, and what we don’t have, we source from local artisan producers who share our passion and philosophy.

Our Field to Fork concept also extends to our own village butchers’ shop, next door to the pub. In 2012, we also bought and renovated it and now butcher, John Wilkins and his wife, Ann, run it. It works as an outlet for our meat and also sells excellent, French-style produce from Chiltern Charcuterie, freshly baked bread, chicken and eggs from our farm and locally produced drinks. They also prepare and supply daily, cooked meals to two local schools using Pointer Farm produce and Brill village hall’s facilities.

Our ‘Field to Fork’ hub, has now expanded further to include a weekly Farmers Market, which we set up and run on Saturday mornings. It’s very popular, which we’re thrilled about. Our latest venture is four new guestrooms housed in a cottage directly opposite the pub. Opened a few weeks ago, they aim to make guests’as comfortable and spoilt as possible. thepointerbrill.co.uk