Lowerfield Farm

Thursday 8 December 2011

Windy Thursday, shelterless pigs

Most of the UK has been buffeted by unusually strong winds today, and we've had our share here. Though nothing like the severe storm conditions further north (70-80mph in some towns and cities in Scotland, and 165mph on the top of Cairngorm), there's quite a bit of local damage such as overturned animal housing and damaged trees.
One of our heavy pig shelters has been migrating today and finally ended up in the neighbouring paddock, having been lifted clean over the stock fence. Therefore I opened up the fence between the two pig paddocks to let them all shelter together tonight; it'll be snug! It's the first time the boar has been in with the fattening pigs, so let's hope they get on OK. He's not trained to the electric fence yet so had already pranged his nose a couple of times before I'd come in tonight, rooting about to look for gaps in the fences.
For the bricklayers it's been a demanding one. They kept going through the day and are working on the over-window arches. They've made good progress on what can't have been a comfortable day up on the scaffolding. The heavens opened around dusk, but fortunately I think they had just about packed up by then.

Sunday 4 December 2011

Building update - walls rising

Walls up to mid-window level - End of week 3
The project has really moved on again this week and it's almost hard to remember what it was like a week ago. The focus all through the week has very much been upon the walls, which are now up to head height and the internal walls have also been constructed to the same level. Weather's been pretty good again, just a bit windy early in the week, and some occasional showers. Can't complain for late November / early December. May the luck continue.
The plan is that the extension should be enclosed (i.e. a battened roof) by the time the builders break for Christmas / New Year, but that will largely depend upon whether the weather holds. Then once the roof proper is in place and the work has moved inside, we will be altogether less dependent upon what's happening with the elements.

For the week ahead: Work will continue with raising the walls and building above window height. The arches will need to be build over the windows and doors and hopefully the joists will go on late in the week.
Internal walls added

Sunday 27 November 2011

Building Progress

Digging out floors
Well, the guys have really cracked on with the work this week and we've been fortunate that the weather's been good.
The floor area was excavated, pipework has been reset, the brickwork and blockwork has been built to the damp proof course level, and then on Friday the concrete floors were laid. Worryingly, it started to rain a little in the afternoon on Friday, but by yesterday morning it had cleared up and the concrete's drying well.
New Dining room (not completed!)
While the floor was still being dug out the bricklayers started work in the stables, removing dividing walls and digging up the existing floor. You can see in this picture that it's turning into an impressively sized room. While we were designing it I was wondering whether to go quite so long or retain slightly more for the stables themselves (Meredith & I still hope to have our own equines at some point in the future), but with incorporating the bar area in the dining room this will probably turn out to be a good size.
Walls to dpc
Concrete floors in - End of week 2

For the week ahead: we should see the walls shoot up a pace if the weather holds. One of the really exciting bits! I'm taking plenty of shots, as from past experience we know that a couple of months from now we'll have forgotten that it was ever different.

Friday 25 November 2011

Japanese TV visit

At the start of this week we were hosts to a crew from Japanese Satellite TV channel Fuji BS, and had a great time with them here.
With Yuko and Yumi as they were leaving
They were making a programme where two well-known lady presenters on Fuji TV, Yumi Masuda (益田由美) and Yuko Jogasaki (城ヶ崎祐子) had rented a car from Oxford and were using a SatNav to navigate their way to and around the Cotswolds.
Included in the filming was their arrival at the farm, collecting eggs and feeding the pigs in the morning, and having their breakfast. They were a really fun and friendly crew and it was interesting to see the work they put into the filming, including the close up shots of the cooked breakfast, detailed inside of our sausages, etc. and the kids really enjoyed seeing the crew at work.
We kept to English for the filming, as that was the theme of the programme and Yuko speaks very good English, and she translated for Yumi and the audience. Altogether great fun.
Aside from their time at Lowerfield Farm, they filmed going to Broadway Tower, at Moreton in Marsh market on the Tuesday, horseriding, The Slaughters, Bibury and the Cotswold Cheese Company. A busy schedule.
At work filming departure
The programme is due to air early next year, and the producers promised us a DVD copy which is something to look forward to . . . I think.

Sunday 20 November 2011

Footings in

Before and after - front of house
Before and after - site
Had a fraught couple of days to start the week, as we'd opted to do the ground clearance for the site, in order to save the plants we wanted and salvage firewood. It's also a good feeling to actually start the project off with some hard physical work on it ourselves (that old Protestant work ethic has a lot to answer for).
With just 3 scheduled days on site this last week a lot has been achieved very quickly. After the initial surveying and planning to avoid existing pipework, etc., the foundations were dug on Thursday / Friday and concrete foundations went in on Friday afternoon. It's been dry, bright and relatively warm, which allowed the schedule to proceed as planned for this weather-dependent phase.
The only real issue has been that during Friday afternoon, just before the first concrete truck arrived, the digger broke through the main pipe taking water out to the barn and animal troughs. For some reason the pipe had been laid with a dog leg from the house to the barn, so there was no way to know it was under there. Anyway, the builders very professionally worked around it, and aside from a slight change to the depth of concrete for that one corner, the only issue's been having to cart water to top up drinkers for the weekend. All should be fixed tomorrow.
Concrete foundations in - End of week 1

For the week ahead, weather permitting:
Monday the ground will be prepared for putting down the concrete floor, the bricklayers should start on Tuesday, firstly building up to the damp proof course level; the hardcore and concrete floor should then be laid; and hopefully we'll be starting the proper brickwork at the end of the week.

Saturday 12 November 2011

Improvements to the B&B

Since October 2010 we have been planning some redevelopment of the B&B and this is finally going to get underway in the coming week. In short, we will be adding a large extension to the northeast side of the building, converting half of the stable block, and connecting the stable block to the main house (or rather re-connecting the stable block - there are marks on the farmhouse Cotswold stone walls showing that it was attached at some point in the past).


The work will be staged in order to minimise any potential disturbance to guests. We will be closing The Lynches to all but exceptional bookings from November 14, due to the fact that it would overlook the building work. Dark Coppice and The Dingle will be closed after New Year. Rooms on the south side of the house will remain open throughout, as they should be unaffected.


What will this add to the guesthouse? Well, this gives us a great opportunity to make a major upgrade to our facilities.
a) Dark Coppice and The Dingle will be enlarged by incorporating the current bathroom areas into the rooms themselves, and larger, newly equipped ensuite bathrooms with large shower cubicles will be constructed in the new build.
b) The Lynches will disappear as a guest room as a new, much larger room with dual aspect, the main one of which will be a fabulous view towards the Cotswold escarpment, will be constructed in the new build.
c) Our current dining room will be converted to a new ground floor guest room, with a new ensuite bathroom constructed between the house and stable block. This room will be equipped for ease of use by guests who are less mobile.
d) Half of our existing stable block will be converted to a new feature dining room retaining many of the original roof characteristics as exposed beams. This dining room will be much larger, able to seat all guests at one sitting, and will also incorporate a new bar area.
We will also be greatly improving our private accommodation.


These developments will take Lowerfield Farm up to 8 letting rooms, all ensuite, and 7 of which will be larger 'superior' standard rooms. With two guest rooms on the ground floor, it will also help us cater better for the many guests who prefer to have rooms avoiding stairs.
All work on the guesthouse is scheduled for completion prior to the Cheltenham Festival in early March 2012.

Thursday 10 November 2011

Boar arrival

After trying with artificial insemination for our sow for some time, we have finally decided to go with having a boar on site. Talking about the issue with Sarah from Old Farm near Moreton in Marsh recently, she asked me if I had been lying on the lass' back and tickling her belly while trying it, and those could be some of the reasons I've not been successful. As she's now about 20 months old & 'getting on', we decided to purchase a boar from Sarah & Simon and let nature take its course.
He arrived with us on Wednesday, so we'll now keep him for a couple of months and see if he can work his magic. He's a fine looking fellow - a Duroc / Hampshire cross - and black save for his white socks. I often can't get out to feed the pigs until after dark now the nights have drawn in, and though I can't miss the others with their colouring and noise, he does just seem to appear out of nowhere, being the strong silent type.
Knowing he was about 120 kilos we were rather naively expecting something a bit larger, but our old girl dwarfs him. We can now guess that she's more like 250 kilos; no wonder I have trouble shoving her around these days.

Tuesday 8 November 2011

FarmStay video

At the start of October we had a team from Podcats come to film at the B&B, as we were kindly selected by FarmStay UK for the promotion as one of their advertising properties.
The resulting video was released last Friday - November 4th - and I have now added it to the homepage of our website.
We're thrilled with it, though neither of us much likes the sound of our own voices (contrary to what some might think!).

I'm posting a copy here . . .

Saturday 30 July 2011

Hay making

Bailing
We've had a good, dry week this past week and so had our hay cut on Monday and then bailed after a couple of days drying in brilliant sunshine. Its great to have that sorted now after the previous week of threatened rain. The sheep are currently trimming down part of the field and, once the bails are in and stored, we will let the goats sort out the remaining stalks. Really not intending to make a corny pun, but I'm sure they'll have a field day. Talking of which, the kestrels and buzzards are so prevalent right now, making the most of the lack of cover left for their
All done and dusted
prey.

Tuesday 26 July 2011

New piglets

Today we had some new piglets arrive from Adam Henson's farm. These are 3 Tamworths that have only just been weaned, so are a little under 10 weeks old. We had a dramatic few moments as one of them slipped out of the back of the pickup and headed for some undergrowth. I envisaged a few hours of trying to catch the slippery little fella or chasing him down miles of hedgerows, but fortunately I managed to distract him behind the greenhouse and John, who delivered them, sneaked up on him from behind and grabbed him securely.
My son's not mad about the experience of transferring piglets to their new home, as they squeal and squeal until they're released.
As you could guess from the photos, they're quite happy with bags of runaround space. They're now in a run next door to our older pigs and are getting used to each other. Once we send two of the older ones to the abattoir next week, I'll put them in with our Old Spot sow.    

Thursday 21 July 2011

Plum collapse

fallen branch
We're located just a short distance from the Vale of Evesham, famous for its fruit and vegetable production and, true to form, we have an abundance of fruit in this season. Our plum, pear and apple trees are well laden, to the point that our main plum tree partially collapsed earlier this week. One of the main branches of the tree in our front garden snapped off at the weekend, and I'm still in the process of clearing it up.
Still plenty of fruit on the wounded tree
As well as salvaging the wood for our log fires over winter, I'm collecting as many of the unripe plums as I can to hopefully use them for chutney, green plum jam, and maybe even some plum liqueur. We've also been foisting them on (sorry, offering them) to friends. So far I've collected four baskets worth, and we still have most of the plums on the tree.
The branches and any slightly damaged plums are going to the goats, who now seem to have developed quite a taste for all things plum.
Nothing goes to waste here if we can help it!

Tuesday 19 July 2011

Fairford Air Tattoo

Took the kids down to the Fairford Air show on Sunday. Despite it being a pretty dreary day weatherwise, we had a great time. Managed to see the Red Arrows as well as some other international display teams, the last remaining Vulcan in flight, and a fully armoured Eurofighter Typhoon, which stymied any conversation. Meredith was fascinated by the grumbling feeling that we all got in our stomachs due to the percussion from the engine noise.
There are always a few unlikely display bonuses at these events, and the Ford Display Team did it for us. The 'stunt' driver spun his car around to park between other vehicles, as well as circuiting the ring on 2 wheels.
A good day out. Despite performing Chinooks, Spitfires and all the rest of it, I'm sure that, bizarrely, the highlight of the day for Darius was still seeing two guys dressed as Star Wars troopers!

Wednesday 15 June 2011

Local Scenery

I decided to stop and take a few shots on the way back from my daughter's swimming lesson at Chipping Campden last evening. We halted at one of our favourite viewing points down on to the village and it was a lovely, quiet, balmy evening. Unfortunately this leaves the shots slightly hazy in the distance, though the sun was shining and it looked pretty clear to the eye.

Chipping Campden from Kingcombe Lane
There are so many wonderfully picturesque spots in the local area, and I'm including a few of our photos. We might yet look at using some on our website.

Chipping Campden from top of Hoo Lane
Willersey Hill. Flat topped Meon Hill in the background.
At the top of Willersey Hill

Friday 10 June 2011

Introduction to Animals I

This is Max.
Max has been with us since November 2007 when we had him from a gentleman in the local village of Badsey who felt he could no longer adequately look after him following the untimely death of his wife.
He has been a fantastic family dog since and we love him dearly. He was originally a rescue dog, and is now about 10 years old. We don't know his background, but he's clearly cut out to be an omega animal as he can even get bullied by our sheep and ducks. Pretty useless as a farm dog in many ways, though he will chase off a fox (from a distance), but he's a fabulous guard dog and barks a welcome to many a guest.
Loves: walks (obviously, but this is the big one), the kids, catching balls (which he is very good at), running back and forth outside the pig paddock and pretending to get upset by them.
Hates: fireworks, shotguns, anyone getting angry.
Oh, he does really love attention from invited guests as well.  

New website

Phew! Finally, got the new website uploaded last night and have spent today tweaking it. Still much more fiddling to do, but we're pleased that this site is much more along the lines of what we want to portray. We inherited our original site from the previous owners, and have made upgrades to it but it's not really been 'ours'.
Hopefully we won't see bookings drop right off now!
Our lovely friend Heather has been through the site with a fine tooth comb today and given us superb feedback with the benefit of her successful background in tourism. It's all rather exciting - well, for me anyway.
Next stage . . . get the Japanese site sorted [note to self]. I've started the translation and will shortly be pouncing on one or more of our Japanese friends to tidy it up and make it appealing to the Japanese market. 頑張ります!(rather untranslateable, but something that doesn't work in English along the lines of, 'I'll keep at it!' said earnestly).

Monday 6 June 2011

Busy Monday . . .

Well, that's the end of Monday and the start of a new blog.
It's been a hectic day as I'm in the process of revamping the Lowerfield Farm website and putting in many ungodly hours to do it. We're pretty pleased with the result, but I still have a way to go to get it finished, and have yet to have some friends and relatives try to navigate around it and see what needs to be changed.
It should be a vast improvement in terms of what we can edit, but also in providing all the information we really want to have available for potential guests.
This blog is a part of the new approach.
Let's hope the subsequent entries are occasionally more enthralling.