The first thing you notice about The Good Farm is the space. Six hectares of it, stretching out around you in every direction.

Tucked into the countryside around Alfambras, just outside Aljezur, the farm feels worlds away from the busier side of the Algarve. The air is warm and dry, the roads dusty, and there’s that particular quiet you only get when there’s very little around you. Just birds, insects, a drum from the wind farm and the occasional breeze moving through the trees.

The two farmhouses sit amongst all of this, totally private from each other, with their terraces looking out onto the land. Mornings start slowly here. Coffee outside, bare feet (we didn’t wear proper shoes till we returned back to the UK) on the warm tiles, waking up to sunrises and shepherds delights skys and the bright moon as night came in

There’s no need to fill the time. You can wander around the farm, sit in the shade, pop to the lake or simply stay put and let the day stretch out.

And there’s something particularly nice about discovering The Good Farm now, while Petra and Harry are still building it and figuring out exactly what they want this ambitious ethical project to become. People use the term soul businesses a lot now, it can feel quite trite, this is a business fuelled by their souls and desires of how we treat our planet. You get the feeling that the land itself is going to have as much say in the future as they do.

The Good Farm, The Algarve: The House

The accommodation is currently, made up of two cosy farmhouses, each around 60 square metres, with plenty of privacy and their own outdoor space.

Inside our one (they are both identical), it feels more like staying in a beautifully considered countryside home than checking into a traditional hotel. There’s space to properly settle in, cook, read, leave your things lying around and, most importantly, do very little.

The terrace is a natural extension of the house, where we spent most of our time, sun rain or cloud. Mornings are for coffee outside, afternoons for lying around in the sun, popping to one of the many beaches and evenings for sitting with a meal made up of the natural produce as the day cools down.

 

The Good Farm, The Algarve: The Land

Then there’s the farm itself.

Six hectares of countryside gives you plenty of room to roam, and there’s something very different about waking up surrounded by this much space. It’s quiet, but not in a sterile, wellness-retreat kind of way. You hear birds, the wind and whatever is happening on the farm.

And the farm is very much part of the experience.

During our stay, Petra brought us cucumbers, tomatoes, pears and sticky sweet figs from the harvest. It sounds like a small thing, but eating something that has just been picked from the land you’re sitting on has a profound impact on how we cherished the meal.

It’s these little details like the fresh flowers from the farm thoughtfully placed around the house that make The Good Farm feel less like somewhere that has been built for tourists and more like somewhere you’ve temporarily been invited into.

 

 

The Good Farm, The Algarve: The History

The Good Farm is the project of Dutch couple Petra and Harry, who are still very much at the beginning of it all.

There’s something quite nice about discovering a place at this stage. It hasn’t been overworked or polished into something that feels overly designed. You can see the ideas taking shape, while still getting a sense of the original reason for being here: the land, the slower pace and the freedom to spend a few days doing things differently.

Petra and Harry are also looking beyond the traditional summer escape. They’re planning longer stays over the winter for digital nomads  which makes a lot of sense here and building more farmhouses. Rather than coming for three nights and cramming in every beach, restaurant and sunset you can find, you could actually settle in for a while.It’s a pretty pretty compelling alternative to a London winter.

And because they’re only just getting started, there’s a sense that The Good Farm is going to keep evolving. It will be interesting to see what it looks like a few years from now.

The Good Farm, The Algarve: The Area

 

One of the best things about the location is that you get the best of both worlds.

The town of Aljezur filled with pizza, ice cream, vegan baked goods and acai bowls  is around ten minutes away, while the nearest beaches, our favourite Monte Clerigo and Bordeiras are only 15-20 minutes away.  So you can spend the morning exploring the coast, grab a fresh fish lunch somewhere nearby and then retreat back to the farm without having to get in the car again.

The Costa Vicentina is also a welcome change from some of the busier parts of the Algarve. It feels wilder here — big stretches of coastline, huge beaches, little roads winding through the countryside and considerably less of the holiday-resort feeling. Huge huge waves which are dream for surfers, but for us beach goers still fun to paddle around in the cold Atlantic seas on the hotter days.

But I’d be lying if I said we spent all our time exploring! The beauty of The Good Farm is that you want to be there…a lot..

The Good Farm, The Algarve: The Verdict

I’ve thought about the view at The Good Farm every day since getting back to London. There was something about waking up, stepping outside and seeing nothing but the land in front of you that’s been surprisingly hard to shake.

Maybe that’s what makes this place memorable. It’s not just about one big wow moment, but all the small little moments there,  breakfast outside, warm afternoons on the terrace, fresh figs from the farm and the feeling of having nowhere else you need to be.

Petra and Harry are still at the beginning of their journey with The Good Farm, but you can already see what they’re creating. A place that feels personal, connected to the land and somewhere you can genuinely switch off.

I’d go back in a heartbeat.

To find out more about the farm, how to stay and what they are building look here