Our History

We moved to Haddenham in July 1976. We were supposed to be moving to a small holding in Kent but at the last moment the owners decided not to sell. At the time Good Hope Farm was only a large potato field — which goes to show that some things are just meant to be! We managed to find grazing for the cattle and ponies and quickly started building barns and stables for the winter. You may recall that 1976 was the hottest summer on record with a great plague of biting ladybirds. They got everywhere!

In September the heatwave finally ended with great thunderstorms. It rained and it poured. All our grazing went to mud and the livestock had to come in early. To help spread the winter feed the local farmers suggested that we get stock feed carrots in from 'Snowy' Salisbury in nearby Sutton Gault. My husband, Bernard Power, was always thinking of new things to do. He decided to put some of the carrots into feed bags and take them to livery yards and stables in the London area. This proved very popular.

He then had the idea of selling them to the racing stables at Newmarket. All the stables would save their empty sacks which we would collect and bring back full of carrots. And people think that recycling is a new idea!

Having left school I trained as a pastry cook, becoming a fully qualified baker and confectioner, but decided that like Mum and Dad I would much prefer to work for myself. For 18 years I ran alongside them, covering most of the London area. We discovered nets to put the carrots in — so much healthier than the paper sacks — along with other ways of improving the business.

In 2001 I bought the farm from my Mum when she retired, after my Dad had passed away. Whilst doing business studies with a local waste company, I met my future husband Dave Wagland, who was a site manager there. Together in 2008 we formed D and N Wagland Good Hope Farm. We have carefully rebuilt the roots and fruits business into just Norfolk and Suffolk, allowing for a better customer service.

In early 2011 D and N Wagland started skip refurbishment, aided by the knowledge of Dave's years in the waste industry and his understanding of the need for proper refurbishment — to be able to advertise their company on anybody's driveway or in any business, however big or small.

Later the same year we tendered for and won a major contract to refurbish contract containers and public access gantries for a multi-million pound waste company in Cambridgeshire.