IF you think running a Canoe and Kayak Centre 450ft up in the Golden Valley is an odd place to open a boat business, then climbing the steep winding lanes to paddle one on a lake may seem even more out of place.
Paul and Philippa Hale, of Burhope Farm, Orcop, set up the centre as a diversification project on their working farm.
They won first place and £750 for their innovative idea in the Hereford Corn Exchange Trust diversification competition.
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The trust makes awards and grants for the advancement of agriculture in Herefordshire every year.
The couple moved to the farm, which had a thriving dairy herd, 12 years ago. But, as tighter margins reduced their profits, they needed to look outside their own industry to make ends meet.
Both Paul and Philippa, who have two children Joseph and Olivia, love living on the 160-acre farm but knew it was time for change.
When the 110-strong dairy herd was replaced with sheep and crops were planted on the land, there were redundant barns.
"Totally by chance, a friend of my dad mentioned there were not enough boat suppliers.
"We had empty barns and the type of business was specialised so meant it didn't matter where it was set up as people would travel anywhere," said Philippa.
Paul converted one of his open fronted buildings into a shop.
"We started out very carefully but, in 12 months, we saw potential and expanded to sell not only the canoes and kayaks but accessories and clothes, then we built a lake so customers could try before they buy," she said.
This landlocked part of the country with spectacular views in the valley has actually turned out to be an ideal place to open a canoe and Kayak centre as it offers space unavailable in town shops.
"The area also has 100 miles of river flowing so when people came to look around, they wanted to stay so we then had to set up a caravan site and build a shower and toilet block, too," said Paul.
The working farm - with sheep, horses, ponies and pigs together with a shop - demands full attention from both Paul and Philippa and the couple have found it easier to work from the kitchen table, where typical family muddle surprisingly merges well with a new flourishing enterprise and paperwork, orders and catalogues vie for space with farm life.
In the midst of this unlikely partnership, a full feeding bottle acts as a reminder that the diversification is in fact, a necessary extra to preserve a traditional way of life for Paul and Philippa to live the life they love, caring for livestock and new life.
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