In February 2020 Nick and Annie Benge bought 10 acres of Devon farmland just north of the village of Roborough, in rural North Devon (OS Grid Ref: SS576175). The two fields were a mixture of grazed pasture and rush pasture, and had been used for low-intensity agriculture for the last 15 years or so. The west field was semi-improved grassland that had been grazed by sheep, and the east field was wet and had just been cut periodically for animal bedding.

The fact that the site already had ancient Devon bank hedgerows and a supply of clean spring water from above allowed for significant habitat creation, with an overall aim to create a biodiversity hotspot. The surrounding land also had Devon banks, woodland and fallow fields with no intensive agriculture, so the new habitats would blend into and reinforce the existing plant and animal communities.