A Busy Springtime on the Farm
With Summer just around the corner, we’re reflecting on a busy Springtime at the farm. From new life out on the pasture to new guests and events in our stables, The Farm at Avebury has been a hive of activity this Spring!
Farm Life During Spring
Spring is a really exciting time on the farm. After a relatively dormant winter, where nothing much happens, things suddenly take off with an injection of warmth into established winter crops. Farmers are always maligned for being complete weather bores and constantly moaning about too much rain or not enough and we are no different! We've had an exceptionally dry winter this year which has actually been positive for most crops and things have been looking really great. We had some well timed rain to get the spring crops established but since then it's been relatively dry with everything starting to look a bit parched. It's such a critical time for crop development and any stress in the plant caused by drought can have a significant impact on our final yield. Fortuitously we’ve had a couple of really good rain showers over the past week with more forecast over the next week - a relief for us but perhaps not so much if you’re staying with us and hoping for some sunshine! Luckily the stables are perfectly cosy and there’s plenty to do around Avebury on a rainy day.
Spring on the farm is also a time for new life with our latest crop of piglets being born in March. We also take some orphan lambs in that the kids bottle feed until they are big enough to head out to the fields. Our girls love taking the holiday let guests down to show them how the lamb feeding is done!
Our cattle have also gone out to pasture, they love getting back into the fresh grass after a few months keeping out of the worst of the weather in a warm dry shed. To prepare for the move we spent a couple of mornings repairing fences to ensure the cows don’t wreak havoc on the roads!
Keep an eye on our Instagram for our latest arrivals - the highland cattle! There has also been talk of alpacas too…
Events on the Farm
July sees our first anniversary of the launch of our accommodation and event spaces, it’s been a pleasure to have hosted a number of exciting events throughout Spring in The Granary and The Barn.
We’ve had Barbury Shooting School join us for breakfast and lunch to fuel their clay pigeon shoots in the Kennett Valley.
Roger Oates Design hired The Barn for a team meeting and planning session. A lunch of Beckhampton beef, gammon and salads was laid on, followed by amazing brownies from Kim’s Kitchen.
Social Marmalade visited us for an Instagram reels workshop.
Wild Flower Retreats held their latest one day retreat with pilates, reflexology and wellness sessions alongside an amazing lunch.
We donated a Sunday lunch to raise money for Ukraine last month.
We hosted a clothing sale for Worn Preloved.
We’ve also enjoyed hosting a large 40th and a couple of hen dos, as well as lots of other great guests.
So to Speak regularly book The Granary. They are an amazing organisation who offer meaningful speech and language therapy, strategies and ongoing support to preschool and school aged children and their families.
As well as these fantastic events taking place over the past few months, Katrina and Alice have loved coming up with event ideas for the team at Boden ahead of a 'corporate event' in June. It could be sheep herding with Raise the Baa, sourdough making with The Baking Chambers or Yoga with One Day Retreats.
The Stables Accommodation
We’ve had lots of wonderful guests stay in our accommodation including the team from Time Out Magazine and Ally from Marie Claire who has kindly shared a review of her stay. Jessica from Waitrose Magazine and her family were a huge help feeding the lambs during their visit!
The courtyard sits in the centre of our accommodation and has been brimming with spring delights including alliums and tulips. As the evenings are getting warmer, guests have been able to enjoy the fire-pit and barbecue for cosy alfresco evenings.
If you’re looking to stay with us in the coming months, please do make sure you take a look at our booking calendar and book early to avoid any disappointment. We look forward to welcoming you to The Farm at Avebury!