Elmley Nature Reserve x The Small Holding

Elmley Nature Reserve

Elmley Nature Reserve x The Small Holding

This spring sees a special collaboration between Kent’s Elmley Nature Reserve, and chef patron of Michelin green starred and three AA rosette restaurant The Small Holding, Will Devlin.

Taking place from Friday 9th to Sunday 11th May, Will Devlin and his team will be in the kitchen of Elmley’s Kingshill Farmhouse for the weekend, bringing a taste of the one-acre farm at The Small Holding to the Reserve. The intimate gastronomic experience, featuring a hyper-seasonal tasting menu on the Saturday evening, will be a celebration of spring and its abundance inspired by the Reserve setting, where over forty years of nature restoration has made Elmley one of the UK’s most important sites for wildlife.

Elmley has a restorative effect on all those who visit, and the weekend will be an opportunity to enjoy great food from an acclaimed Kent-based chef, while taking time to slow down, relax and connect with nature.

A small number of guests are invited to join for the weekend in a house party setting, staying in one of Kingshill Farmhouse’s beautifully spacious en-suite bedrooms, designed with a boutique hotel style feel, by interior designer (and BBC One’s The Traitors’ “Faithful Frankie”) Francesca Rowan Plowden. Think big comfy beds, luxurious soft furnishings, bathroom products by natural fragrance brand Verden and expansive views out over the Reserve.

Chef Will Devlin and his team from The Small Holding will be creating and delivering the menus throughout the weekend with dishes inspired by the new season, its bountiful ingredients and Elmley’s unique setting.

Guests will arrive, and a light supper will be served in the Farmhouse dining room on Friday evening at a preferred time for each guest. Breakfast and a picnic-style lunch will be offered on Saturday, when guests will have time to explore the Reserve, enjoy a walk or wild swim, and be taken on a Land Rover tour.

On Saturday evening, a tasting menu with paired wines (or a non-alcoholic option for those who would prefer), featuring ingredients grown and produced on Devlin’s one acre farm, will feature, with wilderness views as a backdrop. A cooked breakfast will see guests on the road on the Sunday morning.

Kingshill Farmhouse sits in the heart of the 3,300-acre private estate and National Nature Reserve surrounded by wildlife. It is usually hired as a whole, for bespoke corporate and private events, and weddings, and this special weekend will offer guests a chance to stay in individual rooms. Each bedroom has its own individual character with spectacular views and are designed as a retreat to make the most of time away, and the restorative power of nature. Downstairs, Kingshill Farmhouse has five beautiful spaces on the ground floor from which to read, relax and enjoy a coffee or aperitif, but there are plenty of reasons to head out onto the Reserve too. There are miles of walking trails, hides for birdwatching, a swimming pond for outdoor swimmers, and weekend guests will be invited to join a wildlife tour with Elmley’s Lead Nature Guide. Wellness treatments can also be arranged.

Elmley director, Georgina Fulton said, “We are delighted that Will and his team will be joining us at Elmley and taking over the Farmhouse kitchen in May for this exclusive and special weekend. We’re so excited for Will to share the Elmley story through his food, and we look forward to welcoming our guests for what is set to be a weekend of fantastic food and wildlife experiences, within the unique nature setting of Elmley.”

Will Devlin said, “Elmley is a wild and inspiring place, immersed in nature and the abundance of wildlife that live on the Reserve. This is a very special collaboration bringing together our innate understanding of wild and seasonal food from nature’s larder and our farm at The Small Holding to a pioneering, 40 year-long nature recovery project, which is a story of hope and inspiration.”

Will Devlin x Elmley weekend (9-11 May 2025) starts from £1376 based on two people sharing a Farmhouse room including accommodation and eight-course seasonal tasting menu and paired drinks.

Editors’ notes:

Elmley National Nature Reserve | Kingshill Farm | Isle of Sheppey | ME12 3RW
01795 664 896; www.elmleynaturereserve.co.uk | @elmleynature

The Small Holding | Ranters Lane | Kilndown | Kent | TN17 2SG
www.smallholdingrestaurant.com | @the_small_holding_

Dates: Friday 9 to Sunday 11 May 2025

Will Devlin x Elmley weekend includes two nights’ accommodation, Friday supper, Saturday and Sunday breakfasts, Saturday picnic lunch, Saturday tasting menu with drinks pairing, and Land Rover / wildlife tour. All extras are chargeable.

Check in from 3pm on Friday 9 May and check out by 10.30am, Sunday 11 May. Guests are welcome to enjoy the Reserve from 10am on the day of arrival and stay until 5pm on the day of checkout.

About Elmley

Elmley is the only family owned and managed farm to be designated a National Nature Reserve in the UK. It is 40 miles from London, in North Kent.

Elmley is renowned for its abundant wildlife and conservation successes, particularly with regards to breeding waders such as Lapwing, Curlew, and other ground nesting birds.

Since 2014, it has been possible to stay overnight on the Reserve, allowing guests to fully immerse themselves in the landscape and its wildlife - Elmley is the only National Nature Reserve in the UK where this is possible.

Elmley hosts bespoke corporate and private events and weddings, including on an exclusive hire basis, offering an inspiring setting for gatherings of all sizes.

About Will Devlin and The Small Holding

The Small Holding is a kitchen and farm in one acre of land on a country lane in Kilndown on the Kent and East Sussex borders. The restaurant is open for dinner on Wednesday evening and Thursday to Saturday for lunch and dinner costing with an eight-course Full Acre menu costing £95 per person and a five-course Half Acre menu costing £75 per person, with the option of a wine flight. A three-course Garden Menu is available on Thursday, Friday and Sunday lunch time, priced £55 per person. The 34-cover restaurant has a Michelin Green Star for Gastronomy and Sustainability, Three AA Rosettes and Three Circles from the 360 Guide.

The Small Holding x Elmley

Kingshill Farmhouse, Elmley Nature Reserve where The Small Holding weekend on 3-5 April will take place

Will Devlin from The Small Holding, Kilndown, is collaborating with Elmley Nature Reserve on the Isle of Sheppey, to cook a special dinner at Kingshill Farmhouse.

Taking place over the weekend of 3-5 April, it is a chance for guests to be immersed in nature, but in utter comfort, soaking up wilderness views and soaring skyscapes, whilst enjoying food cooked and served by one of Kent’s best chefs and his awarding-winning team from The Small Holding.

Named in The Good Food Guide 2020 as ‘Chef to Watch’, Will Devlin will cook a bespoke tasting menu in the beautiful kitchen diner of the newly, and lovingly, restored and renovated 18th century, grade II listed Kingshill Farmhouse. Sitting in the heart of the 3,300-acre reserve, the huge glass sliding doors have vast views out across the marshes where it is easy to spot a hare hopping past, wading birds and a barn owl hunting over the reeds. Just an hour from London and 70 minutes from The Small Holding, Elmley feels a world away from the city.

When booking this special weekend, guests will be able to choose one of the five beautiful, individually designed bedrooms by interior designer Francesca Rowan Plowden, each with sweeping views of the reserve. Special touches including roll top cast iron baths, each with views, the gorgeous reception rooms, and the huge kitchen diner make Elmley an incredible place to stay.

Arriving on Friday night, if they wish, guests will have use of the well-stocked honesty bar and charcuterie and cheese boards prepared by The Small Holding using their own house-cured meats and local Kent and Sussex cheeses. Saturday breakfast will be a simple affair prepared by the Elmley team, before cocktails, snacks and tasting menu by The Small Holding in the evening. Saturday dinner and Sunday brunch will be served communally around the farmhouse kitchen table.

During the weekend guests can pre-book in-house holistic therapies, while wildlife tours, hosted by Estate manager Gareth Fulton, who runs Elmley with his wife Georgina, can also be arranged. The charming towns of Whitstable and Faversham are nearby, while some guests may just prefer to curl up with a book in one of the many cosy reception areas and gaze out across the breathtaking views.

This special weekend costs from £400 per person, for two nights, based on two people sharing a room, and includes a tasting menu and paired wine flight on the Saturday evening by Will Devlin and The Small Holding team, and Sunday brunch including a Full English, homemade breads, pastries and jams and of course, lots of fresh coffee and tea. Friday night charcuterie boards, additional drinks, tours and / or treatments are additional extras to be booked through Elmley.

To book please visit https://www.elmleynaturereserve.co.uk/huts/kingshill-farmhouse.

About Elmley

Elmley is an independently owned and managed National Nature Reserve and is a conservation site of international importance, where farming and conservation go hand in hand. As well as being one of the most important UK sites for breeding waders, it is also renowned for raptors, owls, and hares, along with rare bees, dragonflies and flora. Elmley is the only National Nature Reserve in the UK where guests can stay overnight. The property is ideal for staycations and celebrations and can be hired as a private whole house rental, and on select dates from 2020, individual bedrooms will be available on a B&B basis. www.elmleynaturereserve.co.uk Instagram @elmleynature

About The Small Holding
Will Devlin, 31, is the chef owner of The Small Holding, a kitchen and farm on a country lane in the village of Kilndown on the Kent and East Sussex borders. The 26-cover restaurant was voted the best restaurant in Kent at the Taste of Kent Awards and is set in one acre of land, permitting a unique connection between farm and table. Growing, foraging and cooking the best ingredients is at the core of The Small Holding, with daily changing menus, using home-reared and home-grown ingredients from the farm, which is less than 10ft from the kitchen. www.thesmallholding.restaurant Instagram @the_small_holding_

“A group of folk growing amazing things, then pulling them out of the ground, sometimes knobbly and lumpy, then cooking and serving them. It’s perfectly imperfect and I wouldn’t change a thing.” Grace Dent, The Guardian

The menu reads like a list of all that is good in a British Larder. Self-sufficiency, careful sourcing, purity of intent and an absolute focus on flavour. It’s easy to fall in love with The Small Holding for the warmth of the staff, its good intent and deft execution.” Tony Turnbull, The Times

For more information please contact Hannah Blake or Charlotte Allen
Hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk (07730 039361)
 charlotte@elmleynaturereserve.co.uk (07595 881931)