2008

Farm Open Day - Spring lambing - Sunday 13th April
Farm Open Day - Open Farm Sunday - Shearing and WoolCrafts - Sunday 1st June

For a few days of the year, we open the farm to the public. Our open days focus on events in the farming year and aim to provide an opportunity for visitors to experience first hand and learn more about farming activities and how they fit into our farming system and the industry at large. We hope that these events will help visitors to understand how our farming system allows us to manage the countryside for wildlife and how our farming and conservation activities are interlinked.
All open days open from 10am until 4pm.

Visitors are advised to bring wellies or boots to open days.     Sorry no dogs allowed.

For photos of previous farm open days, visit the Gallery.

 Spring Open Day    Sunday 13th April 2008

Baby animals galore!!
See the spring baby lambs, born since the beginning of April at a rate of around ten lambings per day, so you have a fairly good chance of seeing a lamb being born in front of you. The very new lambs and their mothers are transferred to lambing pens to give them a chance to bond properly and for us to make sure that the lambs are feeding from the ewes and keeping warm. Any family groups that we want to keep an eye on are moved into a small yard in the lambing shed. There will be plenty of room for visitors to the pens and yards.
Two of our Berkshire sows have farrowed recently and you will be able to look in on the piglets. Sows can get stressed when people come near their babies, so you can't get quite as close as you can with the lambs.
Our chestnut Sussex cows have been calving since just before Christmas, and you will be able to see a good range of ages and sizes of calf from the viewing passage.

Farm Walks

Admission

Competitions

Children's activities

Kirstie's mum Sue will be running the children's corner with colouring and craft activities.

Farm Shop

The farm shop, which usually closes at lunchtime on Sundays, will be open all day selling our lamb, beef and pork, as well as local chicken, chutneys and sauces, and juice.

Farm Open Day     Sunday 1st June 2008

Our theme for this year's Open Farm Sunday event will be sheep husbandry and traditional farming. As well as demonstrations of sheep shearing with modern and antique shearing equipment, and working sheep dog demonstrations by Farmer Mark, this Open Day will give visitors the chance to find out about wool processing and spinning.
Mark will give sheep-shearing demonstrations every half an hour or so with modern day electrical shearing equipment and, to compare how technology has changed, with an antique hand-wound shearing machine. The handpiece is very heavy and has interchangeable cutters which must be kept sharp in order to shear the fleece in one go without pulling or getting stuck. Mark will demonstrate the special technique for holding the sheep and explain the process during which the fleece is shorn.

Bob, our Countryside Ranger, will lead a guided walk around the farm at 2pm to give visitors a chance to ask questions about how we created and farm the chalk grassland. There is also a self guided trail on the farm - you can get details and a leaflet from Surrey Wildlife Trust, or Bob will have some on the day.
Our farm produce will be on sale and we will have refreshments available.

Last year, we enjoyed the company of the Epsom Spinners, who demonstrate hand spinning, carding, weaving and other wool processing techniques. The ladies also brought friendship bracelet kits, which were very popular. Everyone had a chance to spin their own piece of wool to take home. We are pleased that the Spinners will be back again this year. The Epsom Spinners are a group of the East Surrey Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers.

Young children will be able to follow the Wool Trail and older children will enjoy the Woodland Treasure Trail around the farm.

Refreshments will be available and there will be an area to sit down for grandparents and others!
Entrance is still absolutely free but we will have a collection box on entry for donations to FARM-Africa who run the Farm Friends 'buy-a-goat' scheme.

We are running this open day as part of the national Open Farm Sunday network of events. Click here for more information.