Skyrim Farming Guide: How to Start a Farm in Whiterun

There is a ton of new content in Skyrim: Anniversary Edition, and one of the more anticipated additions is the ability for players to run their farm. Farms have always been a mainstay in Skyrim, being scattered around the map with NPCs tending to crops. Now, players can run their own farm in the greater Whiterun region to grow their crops and even care for a stable of horses. This activity is one of the first things that players of Skyrim: Anniversary Edition will want to experience.

Players should know that there aren’t multiple farm locations to choose from; instead, there is a single controllable farm, the Goldenhills Plantation located in the Whiterun hold, that players will be able to take over, customize, and upgrade. The farm is located to the East/Southeast side of Rorikstead and is marked on the compass by a symbol of a sickle cutting wheat. As players get close, they will see the symbol appear on the compass. Again, this is different from Skyrim‘s player homes, which offer several options in other locations.

To access the Goldenhills Plantation, players must finish two separate questlines. Luckily, both quests start at Goldenhills and are pretty easy to catch. When first arriving at the farm, a ghost will attack players. Killing the ethereal guardian of the farmhouse initiates a questline that will teach the player more about the family that used to run Goldenhills plantation.

How to Start a Farm in Skyrim’s Whiterun Hold

The questline initiated by this fight, “The Unquiet Dead,” requires the player to investigate the farm and provide some retribution for the family that used to live there. Luckily, this means there is no need to delve into Skyrim’s many Dwemer ruins. Instead, the quest starts by reading a note found on a corpse outside the home that tells you the man was poisoned. Then, players can go inside, get to the basement, and hit the button to the left of the entryway to the basement room. Hitting the button will trigger another fight and expose a laboratory where players can find and read Jonquil’s journal marked by quest markers. Players discover that Jonquil believes Rin’s father, Urval, killed her son, and players will need evidence of his guilt.

Then, players can go up to the attic and read Urval’s journal, which will indicate that it was a witch that killed Rin, and Urval planned to kill her himself. To find out what happened to Rin, players will need to leave the farmhouse and run East/Southeast from the front door until they come upon a hill with three trees. Just behind these trees is a boarded-up well and Rin’s bones. There, players will find his toy sword, which they can bring back to complete the quest. Once this quest is completed, players can start the questline that teaches them how to run the farm, upgrade it, and even hire a steward (similar to Skyrim‘s variety of followers).

TheElder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition is available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC.

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