Moving into Spring – this is when everything comes alive at Wannies Retreat. Our Luing cows have their calves at foot and we go into our busiest time of the year – lambing! We lamb all our sheep outside in the fields surrounding the carriage and further afield. So many guests have seen lambs being born which I think is special. Most of the sheep have twins and you will see us as a family checking the sheep on a regular basis. The sheep tend to lamb quite happily by themselves but sometimes they need a helping hand. Once the lambs are born, we leave them to bond with the mother and when they are a day old, we catch the lambs to mark them (give them a number so we can ensure they are mothered up at night) and we pop a rubber ring on the tails and on the boys’ bits!! We find this is the kindest way as they are so small. Guests are always fascinated and watch us whizz around catching lambs, binoculars out. During the lambing season we have guests come down to the shed to see any pet lambs that need bottled fed and again this is really special as it is a real hands-on approach on a real-life farm (it can get messy!)
The weather has been just amazing for anyone staying at Wannies Retreat! The sun has certainly had his hat on and with the warm weather has seen the abundance of wildlife too. We are super proud to have such a collection of wildlife here with over 100 different bird species, red listed wax caps and wildflowers as well as a collection of bees and hoverflies. We are currently in discussions with Natural England and will bring you more info on this later in the year as it could have some exciting outcomes for guests!
The outdoor space at Wannies Retreat is very big with a huge grass area. With so many seating options you can take in the suns rays or chill out in the shade. We also have a BBQ on site ready for you to use with all utensils and foil etc. You can purchase charcoal from us as well as our very own beef, lamb and pork. You can buy burgers, sausages, steaks and all in the knowledge that you can not get more local and we are a high health status farm which is red tractor assured. The comments from guests who have had our meat is excellent and I am 100% happy that you would love it! Isabel and Finlay (my children) also sell eggs, fresh and free range direct from the farm. I can’t think of a better breakfast than our own bacon, sausages and eggs – yum yum. All set ready for the day ahead.
Saying that, as always farmers are never happy! We are now desperate for rain! All our fields have natural sources of water for the livestock and they are now dangerously low. We also need to look after our silage fields to ensure we have enough feed for next winter and the dry weather is starting to make a real problem.