June 2019 at Stourton

Pop–Up Pub Night – A huge thank you!

We started the month of June with a bang with the first ever Pop-Up Pub Night held at our unique converted Water Tower venue.

We were so lucky to have been blessed with perfect weather for this event. The views from the top of the water tower were glorious in the early evening sunshine. The winning quiz team was Clare Halligan-Hoad and her team from Boston College who won a gorgeous ‘Lincolnshire Hamper’ containing a selection of locally sourced produce to share out and enjoy.  Also, did you spot our ‘non-plastic’ glasses used on the night?

We would like to take the opportunity to thank…….

• the inimitable John Marshall for his pub quiz which proved both challenging and entertaining
• Ferry Ales Brewery for providing locally produced real ale for everyone to enjoy, which was served most professionally by our volunteer bar-man for the evening Adam Pounds so a special thank-you to him too!
• Willow Bull Steak Shack who ensured that everyone was kept fed with delicious venison, beef or vegetarian food – all tastes were very well catered for.
• The Stourton Estates Team who worked tirelessly to make sure that everything was in place for the smooth running (and taking down) of the event
• And last but not least everyone who came along on the night to support us.

We hope to run more quirky events like this in future so please keep your eyes peeled!

Family Camping Weekend & Open Day – Revised Open Day date – 28^th July!

The weather was not as kind for our Family Camping Weekend & Open Day planned for the weekend of 14^th June.  Unfortunately, due to the extremely heavy rainfall lots of areas of the estate which were key to the running of the event were so waterlogged that we had to cancel.

Instead we are planning another Open Day on Sunday 28^th July from 10am – 4pm.  Entry is free so bring your bike, run, jog or wander the estate at your leisure. Or enjoy the surroundings with coffee, homemade cake and a Sunday newspaper. There will also be children’s activities in the safari tent and we will be running Deer Safaris on the day.  Our Deer Safaris are very popular so early booking is essential.  Please visit this page to book your deer safari slot.  You can see how our red deer calves are growing, as well as see the majestic and characterful Stag Winston in his parkland surroundings.

First Wedding in the Arboretum this Year

We would also like to congratulate Adam and Amy who held their wedding ceremony and reception in the arboretum, whilst the weather was a little wet it did not dampen their spirits and we wish them every happiness for their future together.

 Educational Group Visits

We have been extremely busy over the last 6 weeks running our educational group visits. Once all are visits are complete we will have hosted 18 diverse groups this year and our visitors have included the WI groups, Brownies and Cubs, Horncastle QEGS, Royal British Legion and Young Farmers, to name but a few.

We’d like to thank you all for booking to come along and have really enjoyed sharing our estate with you.

If you are looking for a venue to hold a group educational visit in 2020 – whether you are a social group, club or charity then please get in touch.

 Forthcoming Events

 There’s always something to look forward to here at Stourton Estates, here’s a couple more dates for your diary –

 Sunday 28^th July 10am – 4pm free Open Day in the arboretum

 Friday 9th – Sunday 11th August 2019 – Beyond the Woods Festival

JoeFest presents Beyond the Woods – a vibrant, relaxed and family friendly music festival showcasing some of the best music around locally and from further afield, with headliners such as Ten Tonnes and Radio 1’s Scott Mills and Chris Stark. With camping in the deer park, family camping or glamping areas – full details & tickets at www.beyondthewoods.co.uk

14th September 2019 – Celebrate the season at our Autumn Festival and After Party

 Come and camp for the weekend or just join us on Saturday from 10am – 4pm to enjoy lots of family fun, activities, stalls, demonstrations and delicious food all wrapped up with some great live music all day. Entry is just £5 per car. The After Party is from 7pm – late with fantastic live music, food and a bar.  The Rye Sisters and Itchy Fingers will be playing along with this year’s headline performer Elliott Morris, one of the most sought-after young artists on the acoustic scene, plus he’s a local lad, originally from West Ashby – tickets are available for this gig now. Visit our website to book your tickets.

Landscaping products, developed on the estate, for all your Garden Projects

It’s the time of year for getting out in your garden. Whether you are looking to bark your borders, feed your planters with some rich manure or create a safe base to a play area, we have a range of landscaping products produced on the estate to help you.

This year we have introduced a new product called ‘Premium Pine Nuggets’.  This product is play registered and great for decorative covering of larger beds, borders as well as play areas.

All of our landscaping products come in easy to handle 0.7m³ builders’ bags and our prices include free delivery within a 20-mile radius of the farm.

Click here to see the full range.

Deer Diary

Undeterred by the wet and cooler than average weather, the deer have been calving in great numbers.  There are deer calves galore and all are doing incredibly well running along with their Mums.

We were unsure how such wet weather would affect the calving rates of the deer; however, it seems that rather than putting them off it has spurred them on.  It is believed that this is a response to there being lower than usual predator activity during wet weather in the wild.

The deer are very effective at calving and we rarely need to intervene in proceedings.  It is a daily delight at this time of year when carrying out our usual daily checks to find out how many new calves have put in an appearance overnight and where they may be hidden!

Come along to our deer safaris on 28^th July to see how they are getting on.

On the Farm

As the month of June dawned we were thinking that a spot of rain would be great for our crops which are in their vital growth stages where they are heading and the grain is setting in the ears.  We did not however plan for 150 million tonnes of it to fall on us all in one go.  In actual fact the land for the most part has stood up well to the deluge and we didn’t suffer from too much standing water. The flood defence system which helps to prevent flooding in Horncastle and along the Bain is situated on our land and has been tested for the first time since it was constructed.  It is impressive to see it at full operational capacity and for the most part worked well in keeping Horncastle dryer than in previous heavy rains.

It is currently the ‘calm before the storm’ where we await our crops to mature ahead of our busy harvest season.  Where necessary and due to the damper weather we have applied some fungicides to ensure that the crops fulfil their potential from a quality and yield point of view.  We hope to be ready to harvest our Oil seed Rape crop towards the end of July – as long as the weather dries up!

We look forward to seeing you soon

Helen & Antony