“This place means a lot to us,” sighs Graham Lennox.
His voice breaks up a little as he tries to put the last 30 years at Doonies Rare Breeds Farm into words.
Taking a deep breath, Graham looks the other way to hide the tears forming in his eyes.
After a few seconds, he continues: “It’s the people’s farm – it always has been. But to us, it’s just home. It’s our happy place.”
We are speaking at the ticket hut at the Aberdeen farm’s entrance, a place passed through by generations of families over the decades.
The wall behind him is covered in drawings, recently gifted to him and his wife Debbie by little visitors from all across the north-east.
One of them is from a wee girl who has been coming to the farm every second weekend since she was a toddler.
Another one paints the image of a happy family feeding a horse, with the words “We will miss you, Doonies!” written in an endearing scrawl at the top.
“This place holds 30 years of memories,” Debbie smiles as she looks at the drawings.
“Those who came when they were little now bring their own daughters and sons. It becomes a tradition, I suppose.”
But in less than two weeks, it will all end…
We wanted to see just what life is like at Doonies Farm before it closes for good. During our day with Graham and Debbie, we also find out:
- What the closure will mean for the couple who have made Doonies their way of life
- What will happen to the animals
- How families paying their final visits feel about Doonies Farm, including a teenage girl who wants to win the lottery so that she can bring it back
Owners dread sad moment now just days away
After running it for nearly three decades, Graham and Debbie will shut the gates for the final time on August 21.
Aberdeen City Council owns the land, and is signing it over to become part of a new multi-million-pound energy transition zone.
Those behind the plans say the 134 acres are needed amid efforts to rejuvenate the local economy and create new jobs.
The hundreds of animals will be sent to new homes, with the couple pretty much in the same boat.
“It will be an emotional day,” Debbie says.
“We’ve been here for so long, it’s hard to imagine leaving. It’s sad for us, and it’s sad for the visitors as well.”
Despite the circumstances, you feel nothing but joy as you walk into the Cove institution.
Carrying a crate of chopped up vegetables, Graham greets me with a smile followed by his two loyal – and very eager – bearded collies Archie and Ghille.
As Debbie shows me around, an energetic “Hello!” echoes from behind our backs.
It’s their neighbour Helen McGowan, who has been lending the Lennox family a hand with the farm for more than 20 years.
A brief chat about the moody weather, and she takes her post to ensure the children’s buckets are full of lettuce and carrots for the animals.
What does farm mean to next door neighbour Helen?
“My kids have been coming here since they were little,” the 58-year-old tells me.
“My youngest, Emma, was eight when we first came – she is 38 now.
“We didn’t even live here at the time, but the answer to ‘Where are we going?’ was always Doonies. And that’s the way it’s been ever since.
“Now their kids are growing up here – with the geese, the sheep and the horses.”
It’s hard not to smile as Helen describes the farm as an idyllic place where kids can have a fantastic time.
‘It’s not just a farm, it’s their home… Everything will be gone’
She tells me there is no other place like Doonies.
But the mood instantly changes as I ask about its looming closure.
“Heartbreaking,” she says, also through tears.
“It’s hard to put into words. It’s not just a farm, it’s their home.
“Obviously, I’m not going to lose them as friends – no matter where they move, we’ll keep in touch. But it’s not the same. They will be gone. Everything will be gone.”
What’s the average morning like for couple looking after 250 animals?
It’s another dreich Saturday morning in Aberdeen – one that most would probably prefer to spend cooped in with a cup of tea and a book.
But not Graham and Debbie.
They have been up bright and early to check on the animals, feed them and get ready for another packed day of visitors by the time I show up at 9am.
“There is no sleeping in late,” Graham jokes.
“There is constant work here – all day long from 6am, and sometimes even earlier. You finish up for the day, you go to bed and then do it all over again.”
Having spent my summer holidays at my grandparents’ farm, I’m no stranger to the early mornings and heavy work you need to put into this.
But while I swapped my muddy hoe for a pen and notepad, Graham made farming his “way of life”.
How did Graham come to run Doonies Farm?
And when I ask if he would have done anything differently, he simply says: “I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
He tells me running Doonies has never been “merely a job”, and that he grew to love the countryside when he was a little boy.
Born in a family of teachers, he spent most of his childhood at an old farm near Glenbuchat, learning the trade on the back of the neighbour’s tractor.
And he hasn’t looked back ever since.
The 66-year-old worked at various farms across the north and north-east, on his eventual journey from Donside to Doonies.
He came to manage the site, which has been an attraction since the 1970s, for the council in the 1990s.
And when the site was under threat of closure 14 years ago, he took on the lease to keep it going.
Since then, Debbie and Graham have been devoted to Doonies – raising their two daughters Emma, 35, and Alice, 30, to love it as much as they do.
Graham puts on a brave face while arranging closure of beloved farm
They can’t do anything to save the farm this time – but Graham still tries to remain positive.
For the last few weeks, they have been hard at work to find a new home for all of the animals, which will be moved next month.
“I’m getting older so it’s probably time to retire anyway,” he laughs.
“It’s not easy, however, life goes on.
“There has been so much happiness here through the years; so many children coming, meeting the animals and having fun. We are just glad we were able to give them that.”
And what do those making their final visits think of Doonies Farm?
Before we know it, Doonies is bustling with kids of all ages.
You can hear laughter coming from every corner as they rush to give treats to each sheep and cow they meet along the way.
Seeing them running around the farm sends me back to my childhood years…
Geared up with my wellies and a tiny hoe – specially made to suit my size – I would spend hours weeding or collecting fallen apples to feed the piglets.
The days always seemed too long, as I was counting down the minutes until the clock struck 7pm and I could finally head to the field to collect the sheep and goats.
Having grown up in the city, there was no better way to spend my summer holidays than trudging around in the mud without a single care in the world.
And this is exactly what Doonies gives children from all across the north-east.
Now all grown up, Aberdeen mum Karen Sutherland treasures the memories she made here as a child.
Looking at her daughters Jessie, six, and Elsie, three, play at the farm, she says: “I don’t remember a lot from my childhood, but that I do vividly.
“It’s always been a nice place to come out with your family, and it’s a shame we’ll lose it.”
She adds: “The kids now get so excited when we say we are coming here.
“They are still a little apprehensive when they approach the animals but that’s why this is so good for them.
“They get to be around them and learn. And not many who didn’t grow up in the countryside have that opportunity.”
‘We wanted to come one last time’
Just a few feet away, eight-year-old Austin Bruce and his brother Dylan, six, are gently offering some carrots to a few of the rare breed sheep.
These little ones are Austin’s favourite because they are “friendly and really fluffy and cute”.
Can’t say I disagree with that assessment.
The pair had come all the way from Peterhead with their mum Alana Furst and granny Marilyn Furst to see the animals before the farm closes for good.
Holding a blue bucket with treats for Dylan’s favourite animal – the 18-year-old horse Hazel, Alana says every day out at Doonies is “just wholesome”.
She adds: “I really want to bring the kids one last time.
“It’s a beautiful and relaxed place that everyone can enjoy and afford.”
Huntly family among many making final visits to Doonies Farm
Our conversation is interrupted by a sudden poke in my back.
It’s Hazel giving me a not so gentle hint she wants more treats. And as she realises I don’t have any, she quickly loses interest in me and moves on to the next family.
I admit defeat and am just about to leave when I meet the Thomsons – a lovely family from Huntly, who have been regular visitors for more than a decade.
Do you have happy memories of Doonies? Let us know in our comments section below
Teen’s lottery win pledge to reopen Doonies
This is probably the last time for 14-year-old Lauryn, who has also been coming to the farm since she was a toddler.
She and her sister Isla, 10, have nothing but praise for the farm.
Lauryn says that if she ever wins the lottery, she would open a place like Doonies because she can’t imagine a world without it.
Their mum Gillian adds: “It’s quite the drive from our home, but we’ve come as much as we can because the kids love it here.
“The moment they get in, they rush to the animals – each to their own favourite. And everyone is always so friendly. There truly is no other place like Doonies.”
They give back their now empty treat buckets and wave the farm one final goodbye.
And as the sun sets on Doonies Farm, Debbie and Graham are in a reflective mood.
“We can’t thank people enough for their support over the years,” Debbie says.
“It’s been a long road and we thank everybody from far and near who has ever come to Doonies. We have always appreciated it, and always will.”
There’s more information on Doonies here if you want to visit one last time before it shuts.
In pictures: More than 40 years of happy memories at Doonies Rare Breeds Farm in Aberdeen
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