Fernhill Farm

Mendip Mind in Oil

2009-06-03T08:01:00.000-07:00

The Mendip Mind has been immortalised in oil thanks to Kate Lynch, amazing local artist. See the picture here. It's called 'Andy blade shearing on the Mendip Hills'. See the real thing at the Somerset Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury, until the 4th July. The painting is part of the exhibition 'Wool and its creative uses by Somerset artists and craft people'

Let us know what you think.

The Mendip Mind

2009-06-01T05:25:00.000-07:00

Just to let you know of two events that are coming up. We are having a Machine shearing course on the 10th & 11th June 2009 and a Blade shearing course around the 12th 13th & 14th June.

Running along side the blade snipping is our peg loom weaving course that allows the fleece to be woven into a thick, chunky, comfy rug while it is still hot off the sheep!

Peg loom weaving 10 am to 4:30 pm Saturday June 13^th

£40 includes materials

Home cooked Farm lunch

Nibbles & Hot drinks

Experience peg loom weaving while sheep are sheared using blades; in a beautiful light airy barn on the Mendip Hills. Call Sylvie on 077 48 48 58 76 or Jen on 079 03 58 46 95

The Mendip Mind

History of Fernhill Farm

2009-05-26T06:48:00.000-07:00

We’re often asked about the history behind Fernhill Farm and it’s quite a long tale as you can imagine. But the best place to go and read about it in an easily digestible format is at the Big Green Gathering website, here’s the link. We wrote it a few years ago now (it mentions Kyle but not Seth our youngest!) but it gives a really good picture of the Farms history. Get a cup of tea and a few biccies, sit down and have a nice read.

The Mendip Mind

Listening

2009-05-20T01:37:00.000-07:00

Remember we had all those school children up at Fernhill a few months ago learning about keyhole gardens and listening to Jane the Ugandan Farmer? Well you can listen to a great interview with Helen Kongai, Send a Cow's Agricultural Development Officer for eastern Uganda, when she was interviewed on BBC Radio 4's Midweek programme. Really good background. Helen Kongai is a Ugandan farmer who received a cow and training in sustainable agriculture from the Send a Cow initiative after the death of her husband. Since then she has become their Agricultural Development Officer for Eastern Uganda. She was visiting the UK to help promote Grow it Global project, encouraging schoolchildren in the UK visiting farms and learning about sustainable farming.

Wild Whittling Walks

2009-05-19T07:26:00.000-07:00

Wild Walks, now there's a nice idea. You could do lots around the Farm - we've got loads of different habitats here. Mini-beast trails along drystone walls, willow and water, amazing meadows, let alone the really Wild Walks you could have over the weekend when the Big Green Gathering is here! Our friend Adrian Boots is the local wildlife guru. He only lives around the corner and has helped us here at the farm with doing some wildlife walks for groups. He's written the new Wild Walks leaflet for the Mendip Hills AONB Service. You can get it from the Gorge Outdoors shop in Cheddar for a fiver. Very good and interesting.

Adrian runs Walk the Mendips where you can have mini-adventures camping out and learning bushcraft stuff.

The Mendip Mind is off to whittle a stick

Racing Stock

2009-05-07T09:05:00.000-07:00

Fernhill's fine racing stock at the North Somerset Show

Sheep Racing at the North Somerset Show

2009-05-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

Fernhill Farm shetlands go to the show for shearing and sheep racing:

After moments of intensive attitude training, 24 of our keenest shetlands were transported in their luxury vechilcle to North Somerset Show to be the main ring star sheep racing attraction. At 2.30pm, the first 6 jockeys mounted their woolly steeds and the public placed their bets. The tension mounted and the gate swung open....bounding, leaping and jumping, our Katmoget-go-go winning sheep crossed the line in just 7 seconds to win the first sprint and the lucky gamblers taking a chance, doubled their money.

A further 4 races followed with our Moveover Morrit & Black Flash trying their best but Katmoget-go-go's time could not be beat. To rapturous appaulse, the courageous racers left the ring and a respectable amount of funds had been raised for a local Mendip charity.

Thanks to all the helpers with our sheep and to the Show stewards

The Mendip Racing Mind

The Source

2009-05-06T10:17:00.000-07:00

Or should that be The (Mint) Sauce? Lambs are still popping out all over the place up here at Fernhill.

The Source though is a really good 'green' paper coming from Bristol. They're going to feature Fernhill Farm in an upcoming issue. I went to look at their website and have found an amazing resource and bank of knowledge. There's a whole section on Farming and Food! Kept me amused for hours. I think they're going to talk to us about the impact of the Big Green Gathering on the farm. We'll let you know when it's going to be in the mag.

The Mendip Mind

Sharing Fernhill

2009-04-29T12:41:00.000-07:00

We had our first proper residential group staying for a whole week! 24 people spent their time getting actively involved on the farm; feeding the pigs and our 18 baby piglets, attending to ewes & newborn lambs, collecting their eggs for breakfast and watching their first sheep being shorn with a few brave enough to have a go at shearing / sheep wrestling! They then spent their evening turning their freshly shorn fleece into a rug for their common room.

We had a team spud planting mission with a Mendip rain cloud for company, cooked sausages on our fuel-efficient stove in the garden. Then back to work using our home-grown willow to create pea and bean supports ready to take back for their own allotment project.

A true Mendip memory was their night nature walk with local ecologist Adrian Boots as their guide - discovery by starlight!

Next morning a lucky few opted to see dairy cows being milked, a visit to the cheese factory and ending up in the shop to buy their local cheese thanks to farmer Nick from Farmlink.

For their final evening here at Fernhill with the instruction from Alex (Chew Valley Charcoal) they completed the whole process of making charcoal ready for their party with their own hand made sausages and burgers. All washed down with the real taste of Cheddar ales and Somerset Perry. They even created their own entertainment for their party after a techno-team day VJ-ing using video images taken around the farm and mixing music and images, followed by an evening by the campfire with a sing-a-long.

A truely moving experince for all of us and one which we hope we can repeat. We love sharing with others the wonder of our lives at Fernhill Farm.

Since then we have just recovered from our biggest function yet - the in-laws Golden Wedding Anniversary Party. A sit-down lunch for 75 and buffet supper with music.

The Mendip Mind

BGG and the CLIC24

2009-04-24T01:21:00.000-07:00

We've been very busy lambing recently, it's that time of year.

The Big Green Gathering is coming back. The dates are 29th July - 2nd August. Music, dance, theatre, kid's area, sustainable homes, permaculture, crafts, healing field, food and farming, earth energies, campaigns, green markets, workshops, discussions ALL powered by the wind, sun and the people. Tickets are available at www.big-green-gathering.com

Another big event coming up is the CLIC24. Mendip's charity mountain bike endurance event. If any of the riders need accommodation before or after the event or want to come back and sample the great mountain biking in the area they can stay at Fernhill Farm. We're perfectly situated for riders to get on to Black Down or any of the other bridleways in the area. For more details about accommodation at Fernhill Farm go to the Stay page and click on the Mendip Hills Camping Barns link.

The Mendip Mind is back to the lambing sheds now to see how those contractions are progressing!

Letters from the Children

2009-04-08T07:40:00.000-07:00

Alongside our 'normal' farm life, the accommodation barn and being an active part of Active Mendip we're also involved in the Send a Cow and Grow it Global campaigns. You've

probably seen in past blogs that we've had Jane over from Africa to help local children understand global farming. We thought we'd share with yo

u some of the

letters the children sent about their visit to Fernhill Farm with Jane.

"Dear everyone at Fernhill Farm,

Thank you for letting us visit your Farm. I really enjoyed seeing the animals, making tip taps and bag gardens

. I also enjoyed digging up the mole hills and the tour around the farm.

I learnt that pina

pples grow on trees, Ugandan boys and girls sleep in separate huts, they had to walk two kilometres to get

water and a child had to grow their own food and sell them for clothes.

Yours sincerely

Joe

Longwell Green Primary School"

"Dear Jen,

I am writing to say thankyou for inviting me to your farm. I really enjoyed the trip.

The thing i enjoye

d the most was the tip taps and making it. I liked the African dance it was really fun and funny and walking around the farm.

Thankyou again

Ryan

Birdwell School"

"Dear Jen,

Thank you for having us around your farm it was really fun. My favourite part was making the tip taps.

When we were doing gardening I liked planting the runner beans and peas and when Jane was carrying the bottle of water on her head.

I like the walk with farmer Nick and when we got our hands really really really muddy. I like it when we made

tip tap and after we play fottball with the plastic bag ball.

Yours faithfully

Dominic"

"Dear Jen,

Thank you for letting us go and see your farm and the Ugandan farm.

It was very cool, i liked the tip tap and all the farm animals. Jane was verry nice and the way she sang was very good.

I made a bag ball but it didn't last very long.

Yours Sincerly

Lenny Chilcott

Birdwell Primary School."

I have many more with some lovely drawings to go along with them so would love to get them onto our website / blog soon.

Sorry have to dash now - we had 729 children involved (this project was conducted here, in Stratton on Fosse and Cornwall so many more children benefitted) but have to go and look after all the other bits of the farm now.

More soon from the Mendip Mind

Aardvarks on Zipwires

2009-04-01T08:07:00.000-07:00

Aardvark Endeavours are one of those outdoor adventure comapnies that we're involved with through Active Mendip. In fact Ian who runs Aardvark is a Director of Active Mendip like me. Aardvark are proud to announce the opening of a permanent archery range and air rifle range at Fernhill. Both archery and rifle ranges have been designed to be mobile as well, so subject to a suitable venue you can have these activities at your function or event. Coming soon to Fernhill will also be a zipwire, so the facilities on Mendip's newest venue just got better!

I might try some of our sheep on the zipwire but they're rubbish at archery, no opposable thumb you see.

The Mendip Mind

Jane on Mendip

2009-03-27T03:06:00.001-07:00

We're up to our eyeballs in school kids this week. Hundreds of them have come through the farm to visit our African farmer Jane. She's been amazing with them and very inspirational. I'll post more details next time. Here are some pictures of her and the children. Back to work!

The Mendip Mind

Glory Hole Garden Gets Growing

2009-03-19T02:51:00.000-07:00

Springs nearly here and our Glory Hole Garden is showing the first signs of the soil warming up. Green shoots are starting to emerge. These are great signs of the feast to come. The garden's provided quite a lot over the winter months but there's nothing like spring and summer for the proper bounty.

Jon the chef is getting all excited as well. He's in the lucky position of being able to wander or wonder from garden to kitchen prepping ideas and food in his mind. Then turning them into a reality for our guests. We get to sample them of course. Quality control, you see. As much as possible is grown and reared on the farm. What's not is made and bought locally like the cheese.

Take a look at Jon's menu on our website. This is just a sample of what he can do. It also includes his award winning Royal Smithfield menu.

The Mendip Menu Mind

Active Liaison

2009-03-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

Many of you probably aren't aware of our involvement in Active Mendip. I'm a Director of this Community Interest Company and Fernhill is right at the heart of it. Active Mendip is a group of all the outdoor adventure companies on mendip. They've come together to help themselves but also help Mendip. My role as a director is now 'landowner liaison'. Fancy indeed. But it's important. Go down Burrington and you'll find umpteen minibuses and kids scaling all over the rockfaces. That's great - people are getting active, staff are being employed, companies are growing. But let's not forget that it's a privilege to use someone else's land for our fun. We don't have a right to continue to use these rockfaces and caves for our fun. I'm going to be working hard to make sure local landowners see the broader benefits of activity on Mendip and how this area of outstanding natural beauty can benefit from it.

Keeping active. The Mendip Mind

Stone Dancing, well sort of

2009-03-04T09:32:00.000-08:00

Blagdon races, Lucky Seven, Chanctonbury Ring, The Carousel, Timber Salvage Reel, Half a Sixpence, Ealing Broadway, Nottingham Swing, Strip the Willow, Swedish Masquerade, Gay Gordons, La Russe, Bridge of Athlone, Clopton Bridge, Black Nagg, Dashing White Sergeant, Witches Reel, Double Snowball, Twelve Reel, Square Frenzy, Oxo Reel, Apple Tree Square, Old Jo, Circassian O. What are they then? Would you believe they are the dances that 60 of us did at the Fernhill Barn dance last Saturday night. We all stomped and tripped out way around the dance floor with different degrees of commitment to the whole dance thing. But hey, we all enjoyed ourselves.

And the weather's looking good for this weekend when we've got an exhibition of stone carving ceramics and sculpture. There's a flyer with all the details on the home page for you to have a look at. Or there will be very soon when i've created the link!

Mind your Mendips. The Mendip Mind

2009-02-25T08:59:00.000-08:00

The Mendip Mind is back! After battling snow where our littl'uns were up to their waste and shifting sheep around like sudoko puzzle we're finally back to the Blog.

Five girls volunteered from GLADE to help us prepare for our school visits by planting seeds, building a bag garden, finishing of the key hole bed and best of all we now have a fuel efficient clay oven / stove. The girls mixed up soil, clay and sand to create the perfect medium

to slap together and create the stove - I think it will be perfect to burn / use up all the little willow wands too small for weaving.....and so the cycle goes on and I can hopefully have a nice cuppa while out in my garden for years to come - grand!!

Next stage is to move our Round-house made from hazel sticks and dried reeds (left behind from Big Green Gathering) on top of the stove to create an exact replica of an African small holding within our Glory Hole Garden. During the school visits I aim to get the hazel side covered with the clay mix and a chimney out the side and we are ready to cook!

Where are the tropical friuts and endless sunshine?

GLADE = Centre for Global and Development Education.

The Mendip Mind

Brrrrrr

2009-01-05T08:06:00.000-08:00

Snow, ice, frost, windchill, the Farm sits at about 300m above sea level so it's always colder and windier up here. Mind you the farmhouse and accommodation are nestled in a natural hollow around the pond. Putting the farm buildings in these slight depressions does take the sting out of the wind, Swallet Farm near the Castle of Comfort is just the same. People have always adapted to their natural surroundings and built their settlements to take advantage of these things; high on a hill for protection, next to rivers for power and food.

Following on from that principle we try and use the natural setting of the farm to our advantage in other ways. Sustainable living you might call it. Grazing the limestone grasslands, taking the wood from our land to renovate the barns and fuel our heating system, vegetable from our garden that's in a sheltered quarry behind the barn. Wool from our sheep insulates the place and pro

vides clothes. It's not normal to have standing water in ponds on Mendip, the porous limestone means it sinks away quickly, but we've created a series of ponds known as a Wetland Ecosystem Treatment to clean our waste water. It's definitely not natural to have tankers coming up to take your waste water away.

It is however natural to have some parties in our barns, we've lit up the trees in our hollow to create the right atmosphere. What do you think?

The Mendip Mind, keeping warm by the fire!

2008-12-16T06:28:00.000-08:00

Grow it Global on Fernhill Farm!

We're looking for volunteers during the festive period to help Grow it Global. As part of the ‘Send a Cow’ initiative Grow it Global is an exciting new education project involving thousands of pupils, who will visit UK farms for practical, fun sessions on sustainable development, food issues and climate change. We're looking for help to get African ‘Keyhole Gardens’ ready on the farm.

A Keyhole Garden is a type of kitchen garden that is part of Send a Cow's natural gardening training in Africa. It gets its name from the shape of the keyhole that you see when viewing it from above. The design incorporates a central 'basket' where compostable waste is placed and water is poured which in turn feeds the surrounding plants. They have many different forms, and are epecially useful in areas where good soil is scarce, often supplementing diets with nutritious vegetables.

In the spring an African farmer will visit Fernhill Farm to give demonstrations of gardening techniques that are easy for children to adopt at home or at school.

Could you spare a few hours on Saturday 27^th December 10am-2pm to get involved in this unique global project? There will be hot drinks and food from the Glory Hole Garden at Fernhill ready for you and all the tools and instructions will be provided. If you would like to find out more details please contact Jen Hunter on 07903 584695, mail@fernhill-farm.co.uk or www.fernhill-farm.co.uk

The Mendip Mind

Ladies Night Success

2008-12-04T01:36:00.001-08:00

We held the Ladies Night at Fernhill last weekend. Huge success. Over 100 ladies came along to share food, drinks, shopping, music and chatting. This was all in aid of nearby Priddy Pre-school. Here are a few snaps from the night. And yes there were even men enjoying themselves!

The Mendip Mind is off for a lie down after all that. Got to get my strength together for the Active Mendip Christmas Party this Saturday.

Meet Mendip Meat

2008-11-25T11:43:00.000-08:00

Get your orders in for our amazing meat boxes - just right for family get-togethers, Christmas parties and the like. All the meat is reared at Fernhill Farm to the highest natural standards. We're not officially organic as our herds are used to graze different areas on Mendip and although these different sites are generally nature reserves the owners, like Somerset Wildlife Trust have not got organic status because they're not in the line of meat production.

We've got;

Aberdeen Angus Beef Boxes - 10kg boxes at £8/kg. Selection of Fillet, Sirloin and Rump Steaks, Braising Steaks, Mince Meat, Prime Roasts and Slow Roasts.

Shetland and Shetland X Lamb, Hogget and Mutton Boxes - at £7kg. Selection of legs, shoulder, chops and breast. Whole and half lambs available.

Pedigree Saddleback Fresh and Cured Pork Boxes. Mixed boxes from £7/kg - £10/kg. Chops, roasts, gammons, bacon sausages, hams, salami and chorizo.

Please place your order with Jen on 07903 584695 jen@fernhill-farm.co.uk

Available from 17th November onwards.

2008-11-20T03:16:00.000-08:00

Here's a bit of feedback from our Woolly Weekend.

We welcomed 4 families along and transformed 120kg of fluffy sheepskin off-cuts into colourful patchwork and luxurious woven rugs. Mums and children grappled with peg looms to weave strips off their favourite colours to make dense, warm, cosy bed rolls and bum rugs. They took all these home to treasure.

There wasn't any time for felting this weekend and sadly our spinning lady (she does stand still sometimes ;-) was ill. So the dads continued contentedly sewing patchwork masterpieces using large suture needles and thick leather threads.

Fun in the fluff den entertained younger ones and until a candlelit dinner with lots of drinks enticed the weavers away. Fantastic food from Jon the Chef left everyone warm and cosy. The teenagers then put on an impromptu play on 'the love of wool to take the chills away', a great little play.

We've also been donated an old piano that makes a fabulous echo around the wooden barn while many fingers fiddle and play!

The Mendip Mind - here to stay and play

International Fernhill

2008-11-13T10:50:00.000-08:00

Back from paradise now to welcome international visitors. On the 30th October we were pleased to welcome a delegation of regional agricultural advisors, from Vietnam, led by the Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Planning and Investment! They were on a study tour in England. Their interest with Fernhill lay in the way our farm has engaged with the public through farm diversification. The methods we use to source and use national and regional grant funding, like Environmental Stewardship, were talked about a lot. Our WET reedbed system for purifying waste water and our other sustainable features like the wood boiler and wool insulation were also keenly discussed.

We took them on a farm tour to see the saddleback pigs, the grassland and woodland management systems, the Aberdeen Angus beef production and how we're establishing a new orchard. Then back to the Camping Barn for an innovative lunch.

Jon, our resident chef cooked a Mendip/Vietnamese style lunch - pork, veg and noodles went down a treat. Digestion was helped by local cider. Our guests remarked that 'the meal was the best they had had during their stay.'

The Mendip Mind

Welcome to Paradise

2008-11-05T03:32:00.000-08:00

The Mendip Mind and family are off sunning themselves on a beautiful island this week. Normal service will be resumed next week. In the meantime have a look at the new pictorial tour of the accommodation barn on our website.

The Mendip Mind

2008-10-30T08:37:00.000-07:00

Meaning is in the person not the word. But these are a few words we're using to describe our accommodation as we're struggling for a better name for our 'camping barn'; arcadian holistic warm cosy hyggli (Danish, pronounced 'hoogly', no direct translation but it's the feeling you get when safe, comfortable on a big warm sofa during a winter's evening with a cup of hot chocolate and a smile on your face) woolly woody relaxed earth contented natural entertaining nook touch look welcome comfy family sharing happy flexible double pond settle glory source home conscious insulation projection meeting fair calm underfloor instinctive sustainable curious different adventure practical simple peaceful plateau story tale eat meal content rest breath curve dry envelope local history myth friendly unusual untreated free kindling art paint russet tranquil undisturbed content stable soft sheltered protected listed generations full pleasurable satisfying

See if our meaning fits your meaning, stay at Fernhill Farm

The Mendip Mind

Woolly Weekend

2008-10-23T02:32:00.000-07:00

It's a Woolly Weekend ahead! We've gathered a selection of materials, tools, ideas and wool enthusiasts to get creative with a mass of fleeces and sheepskins. All we need is you! Try your hand at spinning, knitting, crocheting baby booties or use a peg loom to make a bum rug or double bed roll. Try your hand at delicate felt making or go bigger and make a mighty wall hanging. There really will be something for every age and ability.

And all this will be happening in the unique camping barn. Prices start at £40 for the Woolly Weekend. To book or for more details contact Jen on 07903 584695 or jen@fernhill-farm.co.uk

The Mendip Mind

Digital Training Farm?

2008-10-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

Viral campaigns, email marketing, rss feeds...the Active Mendip bunch are holding their first training seminar here next week to explain all of this. One of the members is a lecturer for the Chartered Institute of Marketing as well as running a communications company and organising the CLIC24 mountain bike marathon. Busy bloke. He's going to do an overview of Digital Marketing for the members and others.

Digital marketing is crucial during the credit crunch. Effective marketing is definitely vital now and digital stuff can be virtually free - you've got a website haven't you? Make sure it' working effectively for you, that's what we're looking at now. Updating all the images to reflect the changing farm adding new downloads etc. Dead important at the moment.

If you want to come along the seminar is next weds 9am - 12noon, costs £30, what a bargain! Call the Active Mendip secretary to book a place on 07590 687537 or email jim@vmcg.co.uk

The Mendip Mind - digitally developing the farm!

Dress Like Today is Important

2008-10-10T00:48:00.000-07:00

Today is really important. Today, right now, is reality. This means it's really important. So dress like it matters. Those people who have a grip on life are conscious people. They are awake and aware. They don't let life be a random set of events that happens to them. We should all make our life's a series of stimulating challenges, rewarding and enriching and with a conscience.

We dress like it matters on Mendip. We dress for the weather and with a conscience. We shear our Shetland sheep, which has some of the most amazing natural colours and produces the finest fleece for spinning, knitting and weaving. This gets turned into men's jerkins, children's jackets, boot liners, scarves, boas, rugs and on.

We're not saying you have to go around looking like some country bumpkin with some scratchy woolly on (our fleeces are spun to be smooth), just think about what you're wearing. Does it reflect you well? I saw some boots the other day, not my style but trendy, made from old bike bits - inner tubes and tyres. That matters

People are also booking their Christmas experience at Fernhill Farm. It will matter big time if you haven't booked your party yet and you find every is already booked.

The Mendip Mind

ABC CBA

2008-10-01T06:40:00.000-07:00

ABC CBA - a wise man once told me this phrase. It stands for All Been Changed Changed Back Again. For this sums up the weather at the moment. Mind you I don't worry about the weather changing it's when the weather stops that I'd begin to worry!

ABC CBA also sums up the new barn. One minute there's a group of youngsters in there learning about farming, the next it's a workshop on spinning sheep's wool and tonight it's a venue for the latest 'Lads Nite Owt'. Apparently that's an informal business network meeting, and yes women are invited. We always new the barn would be multi-purpose, we can section different areas off, remove the sleeping areas, bring in more seats, feed 1-100 people or more. It really has All Been Changed Changed Back Again. Whatever you want from the barn I'm sure we can provide it.

Here are some shots from inside the barn to wet your appetite. Get in touch with us if you'd like a proper look around.

Charcoal, Saddlebacks and Best Wishes

2008-09-25T01:42:00.000-07:00

What's the best way to keep warm over winter? Make charcoal. Standing next to the burner on cold winter days on top of the Mendip plateau is the green way to get a glow on. Alex from Chew Valley Charcoal is taking up residence at Fernhill Farm. He takes wood from loads of local woodlands, helping those small woods that are in desperate need of tending. Visitors will be able to take away bags of charcoal and get that Mendip glow in their own home or on the BBQ!

Talking of winter, we're holding a Ladies Christmas Fair in the new barns in aid of Priddy Pre-school. It will be on November 29th. We're after any stall holders who want to sell their wares. Get in touch with us for more details.

We're selling pedigree Saddleback Maiden gilts and some weaners in the coming weeks. Get in touch with me to discuss prices etc. If you have no idea what a pedigree Saddleback gilt is go to www.saddlebacks.org.uk to discover the wonderful world of Saddlebacks.

Best wishes to the 3rd brood of house-martins who've set of on the epic journey south. We always take it as the sign that summer has nearly arrived on Mendip when the house-martins come back. Til then I'm off to stroke my Saddlebacks!

The Mendip Mind

We Love Wet Summers!

2008-09-18T07:26:00.000-07:00

Well, to be more precise our waste water treatment process, commonly known as a reedbed, loved the wet summer. Back in April it was just a field, a few months later we've got a wetland system that treats all our waste water. Filtering it down through a series of ponds full of native plants and thousands of willows around the edge. The willows have grown 6ft in as many months. You can almost sit and watch them grow. The amount of wildlife around the ponds is fantastic. Standing water is a rare habitat on Mendip, water just seeps through the limestone geology normally, leaving great caves but few ponds. So the reedbed is cleaning our water and providing an incredible home for wildlife.

We had the Mendip Hills AONB Service Sustainable Development Fund panel up today for a guided tour of the reedbed and wood burning boiler, which they helped to fund. They also got to have a bowl of home made soup in the new barn that was opened a month or so ago. More about the the semi-circular barns next week though.

The Mendip Mind

Fernhill Farm Launches Camping Barns

2008-08-05T22:24:00.000-07:00

Andy and Jen invite you to the opening of our newly refurbished camping barns and to enjoy a Fernhill Farm Experience.

Have a go at sheep shearing, or try your hand at making breads, wool rugs or charcoal.

Explore the glory hole gardens, find the frogs, feed the piglets and relax by our dragonfly pool.

A day full of activities in association with Active Mendip with home-cooked food and entertainment.

Each day from 12 noon and into the evening on 12, 13, 14 August.

For more information and to book text 07712 616797 or 07903 584 695 or email us at mail@fernhill-farm.co.uk

We look forward to seeing you.

Fernhill Farm - WELCOME

2008-04-22T23:21:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Fernhill Farm BLOG