Growing Together: How ValleRuan Olive Oil Took Root Across the Roseland

Olives growing in an olive tree

Diggers planting olive trees at The Old Chapel

Olive trees freshly planted at The Old Chapel

Every good olive oil has a backstory. Ours doesn’t begin with sun-drenched Tuscan hills or ancient Mediterranean groves – it begins here, on the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall, with a handful of landowners, a bit of borrowed ground, and a mad idea shared by two blokes named Nik and Rik.

Their question was simple: Could olives grow in Cornwall? The answer, as it turns out, was yes! But not alone.

From Olive Oil Vision to Valley

When Nik and Rik first dreamed of producing the UK’s very own extra virgin olive oil, they didn’t have rolling estates or industrial-scale groves. What they had was belief, determination, and a whole lot of goodwill from the local community.

Farmers and landowners across the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall began stepping forward, offering unused but surprisingly perfect pockets of land. Slopes that were too awkward for machinery, fields too small for modern farming, sunny patches tucked behind hedgerows – suddenly, these forgotten corners became fertile ground for something entirely new.

The Olive Grove Patchwork Begins

Among the first of ValleRuan's friends to come on board were Manor Farm and The Old Chapel, both offering up land that would become foundational to ValleRuan Olive Oil's early success. These weren’t just token plots – they were ideal: well-drained, south-facing, gently sheltered from Atlantic winds, and basking in Cornwall’s mild, sea-tempered climate.

With their support, and the help of other likeminded growers, a patchwork of olive groves began to spread quietly across the Roseland Peninsula. Each site was slightly different – some windswept and wild, others warm and tucked away – perfect for testing how British olives might behave in a variety of microclimates.

It wasn’t just about land, either. These landowners brought experience, local knowledge, and a genuine spirit of collaboration. Some helped dig, others lent equipment, and all shared the same quiet curiosity: What if this actually works?

A New Kind of Farming

ValleRuan Olive Oil was never a solo venture. It grew from neighbourly generosity, a shared sense of adventure, and the belief that this corner of Cornwall could do something remarkable.

Today, as we walk through olive groves that once grew little more than brambles and wildflowers, we’re constantly reminded: we didn’t build this alone. ValleRuan is rooted in the Roseland – not just in its soil, but in its people.

And as the olive trees continue to thrive and the oil continues to flow, we raise a bottle to those who offered a field, a fence, or simply a word of encouragement when it mattered most.

ValleRuan – not your average British drizzle.