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!

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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!

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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!

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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

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!

Spring Time!

Spring is almost here and at last we are past the worst of the cold weather. It hit us late this year but more than made up for it with freezing weather which always brings tricky times to the farm! Our Angus cattle are more than up to the challenges with climates similar to those of the Highlands in their native Scotland! Our more demanding Gloucester Old Spot pigs on the other hand weren’t quite as prepared and so seeked refuge in our straw barns for a few weeks whilst the worst of the cold passed. I think all our animals will be looking forward to springtime as much as us now!

March is usually a quiet month on the farm with many seeds being sown but little harvested. Our market gardener Kate will be hard at workpreparing her beds for another fruitful summer. She has also started her ownblog which you can find on our website if you wish to keep in touch with progress in our veggie patch!

This month we will be putting the finishing touches to our Mother’s Day plans. Plenty of mum gifts will be in the farm shop so don’t despair! We are also hoping to host our Mother’s Day lunch too on Mothering Sunday so keep your eyes peeled on our events page as details unfold.

Fairly soon after Mothers Day, Easter is here! This year’s Easter celebrations will be bigger than before as we welcome the spring and open the farm for the day. On Easter Saturday we will be hosting local children’s author Tim Lerwill for the launch of his new title along with Easter egg hunts and farm walks.  Once again we will have more details on the event closer to the time.

All the best

Tom

Winter at Hartley Farm

The year is really speeding along now and it won’t be long until we’re all running around in the snow trying to get the last minute Christmas shopping done. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen again!

Last month was a packed month for us at Hartley Farm. We launched our new Full English breakfast, celebrated British Food Fortnight with some of our suppliers and hosted our first ever supper club event. Those who attended seemed to really enjoy themselves and we have been inundated with requests for the next one which is more than we could have hoped for.

Our first supper club in full flow.

Roasties being prepared for our supper club!

Throughout October we are alsoing running our “Build your own Banger” Competition for Sausage week which starts on the first week in November. The winning flavour will be on sale in the butchery and also available on our specials board in the café throughout the week.

Winter veggies are coming through now with everyone’s favourite, the humble sprout, not being far away! From our farm will also be more carrots, parsnips and cabbages. Game will become more available too so speak to our butchery team if you wish to reserve any pheasant, partridge, duck and rabbit. Most importantly our Christmas order form will be available so make sure you get your Christmas orders into the butchery in plenty of time – some items, particularly our homemade range,  maybe limited in supply!

Cold customers at last years Christmas Fayre!

Finally we will be hosting our annual Christmas Fayre at the end of November on the 26^th and 27^th November. We have decided to host this year’s event over the weekend as we hope to have many more producers and festive stalls on show. The days will run from 10-4pm and more details will be on our website under our “Events” page so be sure to check to keep up to date!

All the best

Tom

Autumn Arrives at Hartley Farm

As September starts to arrive I always look forward to more autumnal scenes in the countryside and the seasonal food available suddenly turns heartier. Salads and soft fruits give way to roots and with it summer spreads turn to stews and casseroles.

Wrapping hay bales.

The twelfth of August marks the “Glorious Twelfth” when Grouse comes into season. Duck, Partridge and Pheasant follow on from the start of September for the first two and a month later for the latter. Local game will be available from our counter as usual but be sure to order with Ed to avoid disappointment!

To help us make the best use of all this wonderful seasonal produce on our doorstep we have managed to convince our newest member of the Hartley Farm team to join us. Our new chef, Ollie, has been working with us for some time from a kitchen in the Cotswolds and some of you may have met him at our Christmas Fayre a couple of years ago. He brings with him a tremendous wealth of experience, knowledge and passion for working with food and as our farm continues to grow and produce more and more food the opportunity to join us here and put to best use all our home grown produce must have been too mouth watering!

Already we have seen steak & ales pies, vegetable terrines and baked egg custard tarts all with made with produce from Hartley Farm.

From the 17th September to 2nd October we will be celebrating British Food Fortnight in the shop. Details of how you can get involved and events at the farm will be on our website and also available in our newsletter. You can be sure that plenty of brilliant British grub will be the headline throughout the fortnight!

We look forward to seeing you all soon

All the best

Tom

Eighty Years in Winsley

For those of you who don't know, I (Tom) am lucky enough to be a fifth generation of Bowles' who have all farmed and worked in Winsley. At first it would appear we don't get out much but when I was faced with the oppurtunity to help run our family farm steeped in history in the beautiful Wiltshire countryside and help take it to future generations i'm sure you'll agree it wasn't a hard decision. Recently my grandfather, Bert Bowles, was asked to write a history of his life so far in our village of Winsley and below is what he came up with... 

I was born in 1931 and like my father and grandfather I have

 Herbert George with his children (1940)

lived all of my life here in Winsley. My Grandfather, Abel, was a farmer at Parsonage Farm on the road to Conkwell, but his business was a victim of the farming recession in the mid 1800’s. He then lived in Conkwell, working as a farm hand and raising his family of eight children. My father, Herbert, (pictured right) started work in 1890, aged eleven, on a farm at Claverton on the A36. His walk to work took him through Warleigh and across the river on a ferry at Ferry Lane. The journey was considered so long that he was allowed home every other week end!
 

His business career started in 1900 when he became the Landlord of the Seven Stars here in the village. In those days the village was a busy mining community and his trade was dependant on the thirsty miners and the many small farms from the surrounding hamlets of Conkwell, Ashley, Haugh and Turleigh. The busy mine at Murhill was the main employer, and when you visit the mine entrance you can easily imagine the hive of industry, and still see the route of the rail track that took the stone down onto the canal. Apparently, the track was a loop, whereby the weight of the full trucks going down pulled the empty ones back up and the only energy required was to operate the breaking system. Once on the canal the stone went all over the country, and just off Oxford Circus in London, you can find Winsley Street which I understand is named after the village from which the stone to build the area was sourced.
As a child, I was told many stories of those days. My father brewed his own beer at the pub and sold his Best Ale for a halfpenny per pint, and the ordinary for a farthing. Apparently the village policemen would do his rounds at 10;30pm  each evening and a pint of best always left on the stone mounting block on the road side, to ensure there were no misunderstandings about closing times!

The local farmers would milk their cows in the morning, load the milk onto their horse carts and rendezvous at a milk collection point in the village. From there it was taken to the milk factory at Staverton. For most farmers, the only source of fresh water was at Turleigh Trows, so they would then continue on there to refill their milk churns with water, before returning to the farm for a day’s work. However, for some characters a brief stop in the ‘Stars’ was too tempting! There they would discuss the issues of the day and the arguments would become more passionate as each pint went down. The journey home was navigated by the horse and I was told it was not uncommon to find the farmer asleep under a hedge or stone wall around the lanes, while the horse grazed the grass verges.

Just after the First World War, my father realised his ambition and left the pub to start farming at Church

Bert's brand new Massey Harris Combine, 1956.

Farm. My early childhood memories were of life on the farm during the Second World War. I remember the anti- aircraft guns and searchlights in the fields on the road to Conkwell, the air raid warning sirens from the Winsley Hospital (now Avon Park) and the prisoners of war working on the farm. There was a great community spirit despite the difficult times and I remember the whole village school being sent onto the farm at harvest time to help comb the fields for an ear of wheat or potato that was missed by the farmhands. The scarcity of food was on eveyone’s minds, and I remember when a pig was ready for slaughter, the whole village seemed to know about it and it became a community event on the farm. Everyone helped with the process in return for their rare pork supper. The village centre was the Church, Pub and School (now the Social Club) and many trades were based at the Manor, from where the local Blacksmith and Farrier worked. The Hospital site was also a large local employer as the nation struggled with the ravages of Tuberculosis. The fields between the road and the hospital were markets gardens and always full of gardeners producing food for the patents and many local people worked on the site as gardeners and maintenance staff.

The village started to grow rapidly in late 1940,s when the area from King Alfred’s Way through to Dane Rise was built. Its now hard to imagine that the small road which leads to the Church Yard was then the main road to Conkwell and the access for lorries delivering to the farms. The building of the Tyning Road area in the early 70’s and then the bypass completion in the 80’s means the Village is now much bigger than the one I grew up in. In those days a strange face was a talking point and a car passing through was the event of the day. However, as my grandson Tom now builds his business in the community I can’t help thinking that ideas like ‘localism’ and ‘carbon friendly’ are only new words to describe the old ideas. Perhaps we are just going round in circles?

Richard's Spring Rant!

As a farmer all my life I've seen many changes and challenges in the industry throughout the years. Now in it's latest state our farm produces solely for the shop. Through this blog Tom allows me to keep everyone updated with the bigger picture and generally get things of my chest.... So to my first topic!

DEFRA has recently published figures showing that we now only produce 59% of the food we consume. Not since 1968 have we been so dependant on food imports. NFU president Peter Kendal recently argued that the Government must change its policies to encourage more self sufficiency.  Over the past decade governments have repeatedly insisted that: ‘ food security is based on an international trade’. In other words it’s cheaper imported – but for how much longer? With political instability in Africa and fuel apparently heading for £2.00 a litre, surely shipping perishable food around the world could soon be a very expensive and possibly unreliable pass time, and things can change very quickly! 

Our tractor fighting last winter's snow!

 Here we try to maximise the food we produce but in a sustainable way. We have recently signed up to the Bradford on Avon Community Area 2050 Carbon Neutral Declaration, so work on reducing our carbon footprint in underway. Our new Case Tractor has an innovative new engine which will run on used vegetable oils which we can produce on the farm.  However, the biggest area for carbon reductions would be investment in renewable energy.  As nearly all of our produce is now stored / prepared here on the farm for the farm shop, we use a lot of refrigeration with electricity consumption to match. Our options range from a wind turbine to Solar PV panels or Bio- mass digesters, but it’s a very big investment and will no doubt be the subject of future rants. 

We would welcome your thoughts too.

All the best

Richard