Thursday 29 March 2012

Easter at Hartley Farm

Spring has well and truly sprung and its seems almost straight into summer! We have been busy at the farm putting the finishing touches to our outside areas as I'm sure many of you will have noticed. We have also been putting plans to our Easter event happening on Easter Saturday the 7th April. Before we get stuck into that here is some news from Hartley Farm over the last few weeks.



To kick off the Spring we have launched a number of new products in the shop. The first of this seasons Isle of Wight tomatoes from The Tomato Stall have gone down a storm with the pink beefsteaks proving hugely popular as the salads replace the stews! We also welcome back Bob Honey's Midford cider to the shop along with some rather marvellous sparkling Pilton cider all perfect partners to the British barbecue! We have also managed to get our hands on some great new rapeseed oil produced nearby just outside of Bath. Bath Harvest Oil is a beautiful rapeseed oil that is the perfect base for frying, marinading and dressing salads. These are just some of the highlights but we have plenty more too! Our taster days will be planned soon too to intropduce some of our new suppliers!

We still have lots of incredible Easter treats in store too so pop iin and stock up for the Easter weekend!





We have guaranteed our source of lamb this Easter from Uncle Steve Bowles. Steve farms his sheep at Church Farm, next door to us, on the same pastures we use for our cattle. His lambs are grass fed and reared outdoors in the fields between Winsley and Conkwell and is the same succulent, full flavoured lamb we have been serving from the counter in recent weeks.

Our own dry aged Aberdeen Angus beef is also available and our pork is currently from Hill House Farm in Box, farmed by Jamie Feilden and his team at Jamie's Farm.

Our lamb in particular but also beef and pork will be very popular for Easter weekend so please phone the farm shop on 01225 864948 for any enquiries or to reserve yours before we run out.

Please feel free to drop in and talk to our butchers about your requirements, they will be only too pleased to help out!




Family Fun Day

Easter Saturday 7th April 10-4pm
On Easter Saturday we will be opening up our farm for the day to explore with our tractor and trailer Farm Tours and Farm Trails. We will also be welcoming local children's author Tim Lerwill, or Farmer Tim as he may well be better known to read his new book "Market Day".

Our Farm Tours will be departing at 10:30am, 12:30pm and 1:30pm from the front of the farm shop. The tours will be on our tractor and trailer and ferry you around the farm to see our animals as well as learning about how we look after our farm and the environment too.

Our Farm trail will also take you around our farm, this time on foot, with a different route to be enjoyed at your own pace! We will also have a special Easter Trailblazer Quiz sheet available from the farm shop with the answers to be found out along the trail!

Farmer Tim will be reading from his new book Market Day in our marquee at 11:30am and 3pm. Kids and big kids alike can settle down for story time and get their copies of his three books; Snow Sheep, The Vegetable Patch and Market Day all signed by Farmer Tim himself!


In other news you'll be pleased to hear we have a new noticeboard! I'm sure many of you may not see this as big news but it is for us! Our old noticeboard was struggling to keep up with its workload, promoting events here and in the community. Our new noticeboard is in our covered area at the font of the shop. If you have something you want to advertise please let us know. We ask for a 50p donation to a chosen charity for 2 weeks on the board!

Over the next few weeks our Pet's Corner area will start to receive some new guests! Keep your eyes peeled for bantams, rabbits and guinea pigs to keep everyone entertained over the summer months.

That's all for our Easter edition - make sure our Family Fun Day is in your diary (7th April!) and we wish you all a great Easter.

All the best,
Tom

Friday 2 March 2012

Easter Family Fun on the Farm!




Farmer Tim
Easter Saturday (April 7th) will go down as our latest exciting event at Hartley Farm. As part of our first ever Easter Family Fun Day celebration, we will be hosting a children’s book launch by celebrity local author Tim Lerwill.

Best known for his ‘Farmer Tim’ stories – aimed at 3 to 8-year-old’s – Tim will be giving readings from his new book ‘Market Day’ in our garden marquee at 11.30am and 3pm. The readings are free to anyone visiting our Family Fun Day and children will be able to get into the spirit of farm adventures as they listen to Tim’s tales in a real farm setting.

We will also be offering tractor and trailer rides around the farm, Easter eggs galore, as well as face painting and other fun activities to keep the family entertained. It’s also easy to access with free parking so makes a great out of town event location for anyone living in Bath, Bradford on Avon or the surrounding countryside

We’re even hoping to complete our new farm trail in time for the Easter Saturday event so that visitors can explore the countryside around the farm and meet some of our pigs, chickens, sheep and cows – all reared outdoors.
We’re really pleased that Tim has chosen to launch his new book here and that we’re able to bring some of his farm tales to life through our setting!
Tim will be signing copies of his books throughout the day and there will be the opportunity to buy copies of all his stories at a special discounted price at Hartley Farm Shop
The farm café will also be open all day for full English breakfast, brunch, lunch, snacks, cream teas, cakey treats including hot cross buns, and the best coffee for miles around!