March 2022 at Stourton

It’s fair to say that we have missed having visitors to the Estate and Woods in the last couple of years.  We have spent much of March planning and gearing up for a number of exciting opportunities to come and visit us again. Have a look below to see what we have on offer!

30^th April – Lincolnshire Wolds Outdoor Festival Activity Day

We are have been very busy gearing up for 30^th April which sees the first event on the estate this year. We are very pleased to organise this Activity Day to launch the Outdoor Festival at Stourton Woods which gives a wide range of businesses the opportunity to exhibit and share their activities right here!  The Lincolnshire Wolds has a full schedule of events with a whole range of  activities on offer for the duration of the festival and to see more of what’s on offer and to book your place(s) please click here.

There is so much going on at our Activity Day, it’s not to be missed! There are lots of activities to try and experiences to enjoy.  Here’s a brief list of what’s on offer:

• Bring your kids bike so they can try out a short off road mountain bike track created by Focus Rides, (it is important you book this in advance for more details please click here).
• Enjoy some relaxing woodland yoga with Isabella’s Sunshine Yoga, (bring your own mat if possible)
• Try a bootcamp session with Earn Your Fizz Fitness!
• There are two led walks taking place in and around the estate for you to book onto directly with walk leaders in advance:

• • a 9 mile walk starting at 11am from Stourton Woods, to book your place(s) please email Alex Russell on azze32@hotmail.com
  • a 4 mile walk starting at 10am from Hemingby Flood Defence, to book your place(s) please email Julian Fairchild on growlingbadger@btinternet.com

• Back to Bear will be on site for you to have a go at archery, crossbow and axe throwing
• Take part in a meditative dance workshop with headphones provided in the privacy of the orchard at 10.30am run by We Dance Free (please book in advance here)

• Bushcraft experiences will be provided by Wild woodcraft where you might learn how to create primitive tools, or how to build a fire!
• Go on a guided discovery about the world of hedges with a tour looking at the plants and wildlife that can be found in hedges and associated folklore with the Lincolnshire Wolds Countryside Service
• A short nature trail will be organised by Lincolnshire County Council– see their stand on the day!
• Learn and watch how to do fly fishing on the lake with fly tying techniques through the Featherbenders Fly Tying Club.
• You can visit the army truck and stand to see military kit and try to identify hidden equipment located in the woodland,
• The Woodland Trust will be bringing some activities for families and some FREE saplings for you to take home and plant locally,
• The Ramblers will also have an information stand promoting healthy walking
• Our very own Deer safaris will be running at intervals throughout the day; and
• Heritage Lincolnshire will be on site sharing details of activities taking place across Lincolnshire this season.

With so much to get involved with we suggest you wear sensible shoes and clothing.

You are welcome to bring your own picnics but there will be some delicious refreshments on offer throughout the day too.Early birds can get a bacon and egg roll from Amy Jobe’s Lincoln Russet  who will later be serving expertly cooked beef and venison burgers. Delicious sweet and savoury crepes (with gluten free and vegan options available) will also be on offer provided by Fleurs Kitchen.

To enable as many people to enjoy the event as possible a minibus will be running from Horncastle directly to Stourton Woods (and back!) at hourly intervals through the day.

If you have any queries please contact us directly and we will do our best to help you

Guided walks

There are also other walks taking place across the estate throughout May:

11th May: a 9 mile walk starting at 10am from Stourton Woods – to book email Geoff Newmarch – geoffreynewmarch1@gmail.com

11th May: a 3 mile walk starting at 8.30pm from Stourton Woods – to book email Geoff Newmarch – geoffreynewmarch1@gmail.com

18th May: a 9 mile walk starting at 10am from Stourton Woods – to book email Tony Dean – a.dean3@live.co.uk

25th May: a 9 mile walk starting at 10am from Stourton Woods, to book email Alex Russell – azze32@hotmail.com

Open Days: Every Sunday from May – September 2022

We will be open for visitors to explore the estate at their leisure from 10am – 4pm every Sunday (May – September 2022).  No need to book.  Just turn up at your leisure!

This is a great opportunity to walk miles of trails across the estate, bring your bike and cycle, run – or just relax and see the red deer in the normally private parkland, woodland and lakes.

Refreshments will be on offer and there are fully flushing toilet facilities within the grounds!

Deer safaris will be running throughout the day which are wheelchair accessible.

We are looking forward to welcoming you to our working family farm – well behaved dogs on leads are also very welcome.

A small car parking fee applies (every penny of which is re-invested into the grounds to maintain and keep it open for you to enjoy).

19^th May 2022: Wellbeing Day

Join us in raising funds for the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance and LRSN (Lincolnshire Rural Support Network) with a day concentrating on good physical and mental health.  Focus your mind on what’s important and energise your body!

Take time out of your day-to-day pressures and take part in sessions on overall wellbeing and nutrition.  Learn more about the critical work LRSN do on a day to day basis, the importance of good posture & physical exercise plus how good nutrition plays such a crucial role in our lives.

Leave feeling energised and refreshed – ready to make some simple changes to your daily routine and improve your overall wellbeing!

To book your place please click here.

On the Estate

Dan and Guy have been busy tidying and removing cut timber from one of the woodland areas and taking it up to the farm to convert into our logs. They are currently in the kiln being dried for our last batch of logs this season. They have also finished planting the last remaining native trees around the roundhouse – we just hope the deer don’t eat them!

Our Landscaping Products have been flying out the shed. The team has been busy drying, grading and bagging our range of products ready for the spring rush.

Landscaping Products – Available to order online!

As we write this news story, the snow is falling, however spring is/will be upon is very soon and our attention moves to sprucing up our gardens and outdoor areas for the summer.  We have a large range of landscaping products available to order, with delivery to your door.

We recommend some Garden Bark Chippings. This product is so versatile.  It’s great for tidying up your beds, in chicken runs and for foot path areas.  Prices for a 0.7 cubic meter builders bag start at £65 with discounts available on orders of 2 or more.

Delivery is free within a 20 mile radius (by road) of our farm in Baumber, Lincolnshire. If you live outside of the free delivery area please contact us to discuss your delivery.

On the Farm

A fair bit has been going on since the last blog to say the least! As discussed last time, we have applied our first ‘dressing’ of nitrogen fertiliser to our winter cereal crops and two onto our winter oilseed rape crop.

The final field of sugar beet for the ‘2021 harvest’ was eventually lifted having been in the ground for a record-breaking (for this farm and not in a good way) 363 days. This is now sat on the pad awaiting delivery, let’s hope we can get it delivered to the factory before it closes next week.

Our spring drilling campaign has so far gone smoothly, with all of the barley and the vast majority of the oats now sown. We have also managed to drill a couple of smaller and slightly awkward fields of sugar beet. Mother nature has now intervened with snow of all things, which will hopefully disappear and allow us to get finished up.

Next on the agenda will be nitrogen fertiliser applications to all of the spring crops as well as the second applications to winter cereals. Our thoughts will then turn to some weed control and working out our fungicide strategy as the season progresses to keep the crops free of disease.

Deer Diary

With the weather turning warmer this month the deer calves were released early from the warmth of the roundhouse and they can be seen frolicking in the woods enjoying their new found freedom!  They’re still having a top up of silage as the grass isn’t growing quickly enough to keep them full up…

Since they moved out the team have then spent some time clearing out the roundhouse removing temporary fencing and straw and clearing it ready for the summer season here where it will double as a shelter for events days.  Whilst there are still some bales in the car-park it is looking tidy and we’re seeing the first signs of buds and spring colours in the grounds on the estate.

Both main stags Wilson & Nelson have shed their antlers – a real weight off their minds quite literally – they very conveniently left them near the gateway for Antony to collect so we didn’t have to hunt too far!

We really are looking forwards to seeing you this spring and summer.  We hope that you can make the Activity day, Wellbeing day or an open day throughout the season.

Antony and Helen