8th June, 11.00am – 3.00pm * FREE ENTRY *

• farm walk
• sheep shearing
• cider tasting
• tractors
• butchery demo
• animals
• tractor and trailer rides (from 12.00)
• cheese tasting
• pig roast
• tea and cakes
• meet the farmer and more!

Dogs welcome on leads please & remember to dress for the weather!

We can now count the pregnant ewes left in the barn on two hands and most of the flock are now enjoying the sunshine out in the fields. There are more than 400 lambs now – come along and see them if you get a chance over the Easter weekend. Our short walk is still available for kids to win an egg/chocolate bar by answering 3 easy questions and for the grown ups, have a go at counting the sheep in the Fosse Field for a chance to win a hamper. The walk is open this Thurs/Fri/Sat during shop opening hours.

Fresh Meat & Asparagus:

There is plenty of fresh meat in this week (especially lamb) and the burger machine has been on overtime ready for the bank holiday weekend. Just in time for Easter we have our first Asparagus of the season @ £2.20/bundle.

Dates for your diary:

17th May – Cider Tasting - 11.00-3.00. Come and try our “Righton’s Ruin” cider plus we’re having a table top sale in the barn. Refreshments available…

8th June – “Open Farm Sunday” – Watch this space for details

NB. The  shop will be open as normal over the Easter – Weds-Sat 9.30-5.00pm (including Good Friday)

Come and see me @oldfarmdorn (ewe can follow us on twitter too!)

Easter Farm Walks

9th-12th & 16th-19th April

9.30am – 5.00pm

Follow the trail, see the lambs, find the clues to win an egg and help Simon count his sheep for a chance to win a local hamper & why not try an Old Farm Espresso, Latte or Cappuccino.

Have an Old Farm Easter Feast with home produced lamb, beef, pork and eggs plus

• Local Cheeses and Paxton & Whitfield crackers
• Home cooked ham
• Dale Street Deli salami, chorizo and air dried ham
• Local veg, yogurts, butter, apple juice, milk & cream
• June’s cakes, La Tradition bread, The Pie’s the Limit pork pies
• Oil from R-oil & Cotswold Gold (including infusions with chilli, lemon & garlic)
• Spot Loggins Ice-cream
• Extract Coffee

Nominations for the 2014 Cotswold Life Food and Drink Awards need to be in by 18th April. We won the “Best Farm Shop” category a couple of years ago with the old shop but now we’ve moved maybe we could be in the running again? Just to be shortlisted is great as you get to go to the awards dinner – we could do with a good night out!

Click here to nominate on line.

3 weeks on from the first lambs arriving we are now nearing the end. It has all gone by in a bit of a blur – Simon and I are starting to look a little worse for wear. We can’t burn the candles at both ends any more so Simon stays up late and I do the early shift.  I quite enjoy my early mornings out on the farm, the picture below was on one of the rare frosty ones.It was harder getting up yesterday and today though as it’s dark again at 5.15 and Simon had a shock on Sunday morning as he went out at just gone midnight, spent an hour or so in the lambing shed but then it was 3.00am when he got to bed! The ewes and lambs have been enjoying the sunshine over the weekend, it’s a far cry from last year when we had sheep stashed in avery available nook and cranny to protect them from the cold.  It certainly helps milk production to get the ewes out on the grass so the lambs should get off to a good start this year.EASTER WALKS: We’re opening up the Farm Walk over the Easter holidays (during normal shop opening hours 9.30-5.00, Weds 9th-Sat 12th and Weds 16th-Sat 19th) so come along and see how the lambs and crops are doing   and why not try a coffee (other drinks are available) in the new outside seating area at the shop (or inside if rainy)!

New arrivals at the farm this week:

1. Spring (for now at least)

2. Lambs

Bang on the due date we had 2 doubles and a single. You’re welcome to come and take a look – instead of having to go through the mud to the lambing pens we’ve cleared out the stable next to the pigs (just opposite the shop) so you can take a look at the latest arrivals next time you come.  Toilet and hand wash facilities are available in the shop, please wash hands before eating if you’ve been in the “animal zone”!

We have been busy in the shop over the last few weeks, not necessarily with customers (January is always quiet) but trying to sort out the next phase of our big plan…

You may have noticed a smart new arrival behind the til, she’s called Zoe, she’s from Italy and she makes great coffee!! Yep, we have finally installed the coffee machine and can now offer you an espresso, macchiato, americano, cappuccino, hot chocolate or even a cup of tea – there is space to sit down or we can do you a take away if you’re in a hurry.  Our friends from Extract Coffee are looking after us providing not just great coffee but training too so we hopefully know what we’re doing!!  They select only 100% Specialty Grade Arabicas from single farms, estates & co-ops, ethically sourced from growers around the globe. Take a look at their website for more info.

Thank you for your patience, I promised to get the Christmas order form out after half term and am running a little behind (as ever). It’s a 2 pager this year – I tried to get everything from turkeys to mince pies in one place but there are spaces too for the things that wouldn’t fit.

Go to our Christmas Order Page to download a copy or pick one up in the shop.