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Prince William sampled fresh strawberries and met a rather unusually named pig during a visit to a regenerative farm in Devon on Thursday.
The Prince of Wales toured the Apricot Centre, a 120-acre site near Totnes that combines sustainable food production with educational and wellbeing programmes focused on the natural environment.
William began his visit at the farm’s packaging facility, where staff were preparing lettuce and other fresh produce destined for customers, local markets and food banks.
Later, while visiting the strawberry patch, the Prince admitted he had been “eyeing up” the fruit earlier before stopping to sample one of the freshly picked berries himself.
During his visit, Prince William was introduced to Ginger Spice, a large ginger pig with black spots, who lives on the farm alongside other pigs named after members of the Spice Girls.
The Apricot Centre was founded in 2015 by farmer Marina O’Connell and her husband, psychotherapist Mark O’Connell. Together, they transformed a disused dairy farm into an organic enterprise that combines regenerative agriculture with therapeutic and wellbeing services.
Since its launch, the centre has achieved carbon-neutral status while increasing biodiversity on the site by around 400 per cent.
The operation has also grown into a successful business, with an annual turnover of approximately £1.3 million.
The farm uses a variety of sustainable practices, including agroforestry, permaculture, rotational grazing and crop rotation, enabling food production without the use of chemicals or artificial fertilisers.
New approaches are regularly tested across the vegetable plots and wildflower meadows, with pig grazing among the innovative techniques currently being explored.
Alongside its agricultural work, the Apricot Centre provides nature-based therapy programmes designed to support the mental and emotional wellbeing of children, young people and members of farming communities.
Education is also a key part of the centre’s mission. Training courses delivered on-site teach sustainable, chemical-free farming methods and are funded through a combination of government support and philanthropic contributions, allowing students to participate free of charge.
Rachel Phillips, the managing director who hosted the royal visit, explained the importance of helping young people connect with food production from an early age.
“We have young people that come out and see where their food grows,” she said. “Quite often they’ll come through and eat all the berries, or they’ll eat the cucumbers, or pick courgettes, then go back into the training centre, make something with them and eat it.”
She added: “You’ve got to create those opportunities to have positive experiences.”
Prince William’s visit highlighted his ongoing interest in environmental sustainability and regenerative agriculture, reflecting the wider ambitions of the Duchy of Cornwall to achieve net-zero emissions across its estate by 2032.
Throughout the visit, Prince William asked staff about the impact of climate change and extreme weather on crop production and sustainable farming practices.
Student Madeleine Cocken, 33, from Totnes, spoke about learning biodynamic farming methods that are not typically covered in conventional agricultural training.
“I don’t want it to be something that’s a privilege,” she said. “I want us to think about what we can grow in our climate and know where the food comes from.”
The visit concluded in the wellbeing garden, an area inspired by an award-winning display created for Bowel Research UK at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025. The garden features a gazebo and waterfall designed to encourage children to engage with nature and support their wellbeing.
