Postponed - Family Fun Day!

Due to the exceedingly wet weather this week we have decided to postpone our Annual Family Fun Day. The new date, with excellent weather confirmed, will be Sunday 19th August at the same time 11am-4pm and will all the same activities as this weekend. As you can see from the picture above the River Tern that surrounds the farm has burst its banks this week too. Luckily, Ben has brought all the lovestock to the higher fields, but the wet weather has caused further problems for our event such as car parking.

We hope this does not cause too much inconvenience for yourselves - but farms in the rain are not the most exciting of places to visit.

However, there is plenty to keep us busy on the farm with the soon to be published 'Fight for Fordhall Farm' book. Watch this space for new developments and more news on the August event.

Excitment Builds for Fordhall Family Fun Day

Not long now! As the last minute plans click into place, the biggest day of the year (Sunday July 1st) at Fordhall Farm is shaping up nicely. There will be lots of food and craft stalls, games and activities for all ages, tractors, animals, the Market Drayton gymkhana, demonstrations, guided walks, raffle, refreshments and so much more, including a BBQ, Hog Roast and the ultimate Welly Wanging compeition.

The event is 11-4pm and the entrance fee is £5 per car or free to cycle - all proceeds go towards helping Fordhall Community Land Initiative remain sustainable.

July 1st is also our FIRST YEAR ANNIVERSAIRY since Fordhall Farm was secured by over 8,000 shareholders and put into community ownership. Shares are still being sold and will be available on the day so its not too late to own a slice of the beautiful traditional English countryside and to be part of this inspriational project.

Hope to see you all there!

Otter Heaven at Fordhall

Another brilliant volunteer weekend at Fordhall Farm with the sun shining and the enthusiasm bubbling. A huge list of jobs was proposed on Saturday morning and with grim determination and a healthy slice of team work the list quickly diminished.

Aside from clearing nettles, pruning hedges and moving log piles, there were two main activities: Coppicing to create a round house and other educational games; Building an otter holt. Starting with the first of these, Helen Howes taught volunteers how to coppice and worked together to start building an exciting roundhouse which can be used for school groups. Other educational tools that were created over the weekend included shopping baskets, orienteering disks and butterfly nets.

Now onto the otter holt. Hindered by the marshy area that logs were being carried over, the team worked amazingly well to persevere and create the perfect otter holt. The activitiy was led by Cindy Joule who rallied everyone together and filled them with interesting facts. After such hard work, volunteers jumped into the River Tern to cool off and revitalise.

Sunday 10th was also National Open Farm Sunday and there were educational games and information for all visitors available. The BBQ was popular!

All the work was in preparation for the Family Fun Day on July 1st. A tremendous amount was finished, especially considering the heat. The weekend booked up far in advance so please reserve your space for future weekends as soon as possible to avoid disapointment. Check out the events page at www.fordhallfarm.com for more information.

Perfect timing - http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article1917951.ece for more information about increasing numbers of otters (June 12th)!