August 2026 at Stourton

August on the Estate: Deer, Harvest, Logs & What’s Coming Up

It’s been another busy month here at Stourton Estates. An early finish to harvest has given us a little extra time, and manpower, to catch up on some much-needed jobs around the estate. From moving the deer and tackling trees and hedges to a rather dramatic end to our sunflower event, there’s certainly been plenty happening behind the scenes!

August Artisan Market

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our August Artisan Market hosted by Lincolnshire Makers. It was a very warm day, but fantastic to see so many visitors enjoying the estate!

Once again, there was a wonderful range of talented local artists, makers and producers sharing their work in and around the Roundhouse.

Supporting local businesses is a big part of our events, so it was lovely to see visitors browsing, shopping and making a day of their visit to Stourton.

Our Final Big Event of 2026 – More than just a…. Food & Drink Fayre

There’s still one big date left on the Stourton calendar!

Our More Than Just a… Food & Drink Fayre takes place on Sunday 13th September 2026 at Stourton Woods.

Bringing together food, drink and family fun, the event will be a celebration of fantastic local produce, homewares and delicious things to eat and drink, with plenty of activities to keep the whole family entertained too.

It’s the perfect opportunity to enjoy a late-summer day out on the estate and discover some brilliant local businesses at the same time.

You can find full details and admission information on the event page of our website.

We hope to see you there!

A Dramatic End to the Sunflower Event

The beginning of the month and the final day of our sunflower event brought rather more excitement than we had anticipated!

A fire broke out on a local contractor’s baler while working nearby. Thankfully, some quick thinking and fast action from Jamie, who was helping to move bales from the field, meant nobody was injured and the tractor was saved.

Jamie quickly cultivated the ground around the baler, creating a firebreak which prevented the flames from spreading and causing further damage before the fire crew arrived.  Our placement student was also on hand to return the header trailer from the corner of the field not far away!

The exploding tyres did, however, provide a rather frightening and dramatic spectacle for visitors watching from the bale stack in the neighbouring sunflower field!

Thankfully, everyone was safe and the situation was quickly brought under control – a timely reminder of how quickly fires can escalate in such dry conditions.

Kiln-Dried Logs – September Prices Held

Our kiln-dried logs have been flying out of the shed as people start preparing for the cooler months ahead.

We’ve decided to hold last year’s prices throughout September, but prices will be reviewed from 1st October.

So, if you’re planning to stock up ahead of autumn and winter, now is a great time to get your order in before the colder weather really arrives.

Around the Estate

With harvest finishing earlier than usual, we’ve been making the most of the opportunity to tackle some overdue estate maintenance.

First on the list was the rather overgrown leylandii hedge surrounding the bungalow at Hightoft. Using tree shears on the digger, we’ve reduced the hedge by around half, allowing some much-needed light back into the garden. We’ll give everything a final tidy when hedge cutting gets underway around the farm next month.

The timber has been chipped and will be used to make compost, creating a natural fertiliser and soil improver that can be spread back onto the land next year.

Elsewhere, Ed and Jamie have been busy removing dead and dying larch trees along the Jubilee Trail for safety reasons.

We’ve also completed our annual mowing of the wildflower margins in the arboretum. As well as keeping the area looking its best, this important job helps encourage regeneration ready for another display next year.

Weddings at Stourton

We had the pleasure of hosting the wedding of R & D during August. Their blessing was conducted by the bride’s brother in the shade of the arboretum with views down to the parkland. Glasses were raised and the couple celebrated in the safari tent incorporating an outside dance floor area, with photo booth, magician and outdoor games as well as a bell tent village for overnight guests. Congratulations Mr & Mrs Bodily, we hope celebrating here cements your love for each other and you have a long and happy life together.

Photographer: Forever Memory Photography

On the Farm

After a long wait, the rain has finally arrived. It is welcome, although we now hope it stops at the right time as the next cycle of fieldwork begins. The drilling equipment will soon be busy again. Our oilseed rape and cover crops have already been sown, and the combination of rain and warm soil following the hot summer should help them establish quickly.

Harvest was completed in the first few days of August. All the grain went into storage without needing to be dried, and the settled weather meant the harvest team had few late nights. However, the hot, dry conditions created other challenges. The team took extra care to clean dust, chaff and straw from the machinery, particularly the combine harvester, so that air could circulate properly and reduce the risk of problems. Overall yields were lower due to the exceptionally dry conditions and drought, so we hope for stronger market prices in the next few months.

We carried out deeper cultivation in fields affected by soil compaction after last winter’s sugar beet harvest. Most fields needed only a very shallow pass with disc cultivators. This encourages weed seeds to germinate before the next crop is planted and mixes in the farmyard manure that has been spread. Some fields are also returning to crop production after three seasons in environmental schemes. These will be sown directly, with minimal disturbance to the ground, to make the most of the crumbly soil and the improvements in soil structure gained during the break from cropping.

The cattle continue to grow well in the fields. The dry weather has left little grass for them to eat, so we are feeding them bales of silage from our winter supplies. We hope to take a late cut of silage in September to replace what has been used over the summer. All our older cattle have now been sold, and we are pleased with how they performed. We expect cattle to remain an important part of the farm business for years to come.

Deer Diary

We’ve temporarily moved the deer out of Lodge Park while we carry out some essential repairs to the fencing.

The first stage has involved taking down sections of fencing so we can safely access and remove diseased ash trees between the A158 and the park. Nothing will go to waste: the smaller timber will be chipped for use as boiler fuel, while the larger timber will be processed into our kiln-dried logs for sale.

We’ve also now separated the stags from the hinds in preparation for the rut. Looking ahead to the cooler months, the deer will soon receive a copper bolus and worming treatment to help keep the herd healthy throughout the winter.