Power House at Old Walls Hydro
Leat carrying water from the West Webburn

Dartmoor First award winnersAbout Us

The main house and farm at Old Walls have been powered by green electricity since 1936 from a small plant on the West Webburn River. However the full potential of the river was not fully used – only enough energy was created to supply the power needed on the holding.

Old Walls Hydro

Miles, who grew up at Old Walls, has been interested and enthused by waterpower since his childhood and recognised the potential of the river to generate far more power than it did for so many years.

In 1995 we began a brand new micro-hydro development on the same site and created Old Walls Hydro. The new plant uses the maximum head of water from the river, within the boundaries of Old Walls Farm and generates enough electricity to supply approximately 80 homes with clean, green power.

Waterleat Lodge

One of the homes powered by Old Walls Hydro is Waterleat Lodge, built by us over many years, when time away from the farm allowed. It is situated on Old Walls Farm near the leat.

Waterleat Lodge has been designed to make full use of the home generated electricity, the only exception being the heat from a wood burner for the winter months, but home grown wood is used in it!

We moved into Waterleat Lodge in 2009 and our son Luke, and his wife Hannah, moved into the house at Lowertown Farm and now run Lowertown Farm B&B and Dartmoor Horse Retirement Livery.

History of Old Walls Farm

Old Walls Farm has been in the family since 1946 when Miles’ grandfather bought the property. Miles’ parents then farmed it with dairy cows, and Miles was born here during that time. He moved to live just a mile and a half away as tenant of Lowertown Farm, a bigger farm, after he married Gail. Miles is actively involved with both farms.

Old Walls house is now home to Yvette and Chris, our daughter and son-in-law, and their two children Dylan and Ivy, who are now the fifth generation of our family to live there.

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