October 2019 at Stourton

Welcome to our October 2019 Blog post – we have been very busy in the last month since we last wrote and have some great news and events to tell you about!

LOL in the Woods & Pumpkin Sunday Funday

We’ve hosted two very different events since we last wrote in September.  On 28^th September the arboretum was filled with laughter as we hosted LOL in the Woods, a great evening of comedy performances. The safari tent was full and everyone enjoyed a few drinks and some very tasty chilli whilst watching the acts perform. This was such as well received event that we already have our thinking caps on for next year!

What a lovely day we had on Sunday 20^th October for our Pumpkin Sunday Funday.  Thank you very much to everyone who came along to find our beautifully decorated pumpkins on our trail around the arboretum and join in the fun.   Wragby Brownies and Guides had great fun and worked very hard to create some truly stunning pumpkin creations!  The deer put in a magnificent performance for everyone who enjoyed the Deer Rut safari around the estate. Others had a great time enjoying learning some new circus skills and we hope you are putting your new found juggling and unicycling skills to good use.

As usual we’d like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who helped to make both events a success and thoroughly enjoyable for all who attended.  Thank you to Comedy Hotspot for organising the acts for LOL in the Woods, Party Workshops for coming to provide us with the circus skills training, Wragby Brownies and Guides for creating our beautiful array of pumpkins, and last but no means least to the extended Stourton Estates team and volunteers who as always worked really hard to welcome guests and help us put on these events.

Forthcoming Events:

Enchanted Woodland Lights – Friday 1^st and Saturday 2^nd November

We are very excited about this year’s Enchanted Woodland Lights – our special lit trail around the arboretum.

As you walk around you can really take in the beauty of the arboretum which is being specially illuminated with multi-coloured lights, atmospheric music as well as a specially created water feature within the woodland!

Also new for this year we are introducing some fire and LED dancers plus some extra special effects so if you came along last year it will be a different and enhanced experience.

At the end of the trail you have the opportunity to enjoy the ambiance of the flickering flames around the fire pits whilst you have a hot drink or toast marshmallows on our smaller separate BBQ grills!

A greater selection of refreshments locally produced food from Farriers Rest, Fleurs Kitchen, Curry Jacks and a licensed bar will also be available with additional seating in the safari tent where you can cosy up around the log burner indoors and extend your time here.

The gates open from 5pm – 9.30pm, don’t forget to bring your torch, sensible footwear and wrap up warm!

This event is perfect for those who are seeking an alternative to a traditional fireworks display at this time of year and is perfectly suited to small children and those with additional needs. Well behaved dogs on leads are also more than welcome to enjoy the peace and beauty of this night time event.

Tickets are available to purchase online and are £7 for adults and £5 for children.

Christmas at Stourton – 7^th December 2019

This year we are holding our Christmas event in the woodland setting of the arboretum.

You can enjoy a winter walk around our trails, go on a deer safari and enjoy a hot chocolate and mince pie in our safari tent.  We’ll have the log burner stoked up for you!  A selection of Christmas trees will be available as well as a wide range of tasty venison for you to take home and enjoy. ‘After Hours’ we are planning on showing a Classic Christmas film, with much debate surrounding the choice so keep your eyes peeled on social media and the event page on our website for more updates…

Entry to the day is free.  We will be open from 10 am until 4pm and are looking forward to seeing you.

Create your own rustic woodland wedding at Stourton Estates

We can offer a truly unique rustic woodland wedding experience and a setting which the happy couple and their guests will never forget.

Couples can host their wedding blessing and reception in our beautiful and unique safari tent which is nestled within our tree lined arboretum. Not only is the venue surrounded by some majestic woodland the safari tent has views across the lake with deer grazing in sight on our parkland. Festoon lighting throughout the tent and arboretum means that not only is the venue beautiful by day but twinkles by night! Our safari tent comfortably accommodates 80-100 day time guests with room for a dance floor and many more evening guests, however for those planning a larger day, we can discuss further options to accommodate more guests if required.

As well as beautiful surroundings we want to make the day as special as possible for any couples considering us as their venue of choice.  We will provide a dedicated point of contact for our couples to answer any questions they may have, to help them to plan their day and to make it personal to them.

Our woodland wedding package includes the following:

• Exclusive use of wedding venue and parking area
• A solid hand-crafted wooden bar, fully licensed with staff to serve you all evening
• Beautiful wooden trestle tables and chairs
• Luxury toilets
• Rustic outdoor picnic tables
• A fire-pit with benches surrounding supplied with our very own kiln dried logs
• Festoon lighting decorating the safari tent
• Giant poles with festoon lighting guiding guests from the parking area to the arboretum
• Dedicated space for a catering facility with water supply close by
• Log burner within the safari tent for heating and fuel (weather dependant)
• Overnight camping available for your guests within the grounds of the arboretum
• Car parking and overnight parking for guests until 2pm the day after
• Up to 3 meetings and site visits prior to your event with a dedicated single point of contact through email, telephone and face to face appointments
• We pride ourselves on building great relationships with high quality local Lincolnshire based suppliers including caterers, wedding dressing, florists, stationers and cake makers, the details of whom who we will happily share with our couples
• Plus all the technicalities such as a 30Kva 3 phase generator and water supply for caterers and bands/disco’s to use

We are aiming not to restrict our couples in what they wish to have on their dream day so catering and decor choices are completely up to them, however other options that they may wish to consider include:

• A fully catered option (POA)
• Adding a Tractor & Trailer tour to see the Red Deer and parkland or as transport guests to and from St Swithin’s Church, just a few hundred metres from the venue.
• Hire of our Horsebox Trailer Bar as a prosecco bar or as an alternative to main bar in the safari tent
• Event Manager on site on the day to co-ordinate the smooth running of your wedding day
• Hire of a beautiful honey bell tent for you to stay in overnight
• Use of the camping field (a short walk from the venue) for your guests

Please view our wedding gallery to see what can be achieved within our tent and to see views of the setting itself.

If you’d like to find out more about weddings at Stourton Estates then please visit our dedicated weddings page or don’t hesitate to contact us.

For helping us to create our gorgeous wedding images we’d like to thank:

Finishing Touches Wedding & Event Hire

Dreams to Reality Design Ltd,

Limewood Flowers

David Harrison Photography

Old Farmhouse Flowers

Finishing Touches Wedding & Event Hire

Lily Rose Cakes and catering

IMAGES PROPRERTY OF DAVID HARRISON PHOTOGRAPHY.

On the Farm

Can someone please turn the taps off? To say that October has been a bit wet is an understatement!  Like many farmers across the country we are incredibly frustrated by the current weather. The sheer volume and frequency of rainfall has meant we are unable to get on the land to drill our winter cereal crops for next year. While we still have time for winter wheat (you can sow winter wheat on easy working land through until February/March if conditions allow) the seasonal cut-off for sowing winter malting barley is fast approaching. At this time of year the land doesn’t tend to dry so well, time will tell whether we will be able to drill any winter crops our heavier land. Typically the rape that we did get in the ground earlier in the season is not fairing so well either! Immediately following drilling of the oilseed rape we entered an extended dry spell, which both harmed overall establishment and put the crop under a large amount of stress. This has meant that cabbage stem flea beetle has had a good go at the plants that did grow.  On the plus side…….it’ll soon be Christmas!!!

Deer Diary

The autumn rut is in full flow!  Our 2 stags are now with their ladies (the hinds) and will remain so until the middle of November. Winston is enjoying a new field away from the other stags whilst Nelson (our new chap, who really ought to be re-named Roary!) is located on the other side of the woods.  Separating them in this way is essential to avoid fighting and unnecessary injuries. They still ‘roar’ to each other across the parkland, but won’t meet until things have finally calmed down at Christmas. In the meantime, Dan is getting used to his new deer feeding machine which is a welcome addition to the machinery fleet. This bale un-roller is designed to pick up, carry and unroll a bale of silage in record time with minimal hassle (for Dan at least) and we are delighted that the deer love it too.

We look forward to seeing you at one of our events soon

Antony & Helen