November 2026 Newsletter
Annual Report 2025-2026
See what your support has made possible!
We are delighted to share the Farm’s new Annual Report and Accounts. It’s a chance to look back at the year, celebrate what we have achieved together and see the difference the Farm continues to make for our different communities.
Click here to have a read and discover what we have been up to, and what your support has helped us achieve.
Winter Fayre - save the date!
The annual winter fayre date has now been set - come and see us on Saturday 12th December for market stalls, hot food and drinks, a choir performance, kids activities, and plenty of opportunities for animal encounters. To book your ticket, please click here!
Veg of the Month - squashes and pumpkins!
This month we've had plenty of squash varieties being sold in our Farm Shop and supplied to local restaurants - Crown Prince, Queensland Blue, Red Piri, Honey Bear, and many more.
As we did not manually pollinate any of our squashes this season, we cannot guarantee the seeds that we're harvesting are true to type, as we don't know which pollen has pollinated which plant, and therefore which genetic traits of the seeds will hold.
You can absolutely come and buy some of our seeds - but it'll be pot luck when you're growing them next season!
We also donated a few beautiful pumpkins to our next door neighbours, the wonderful Allen Gardens Playgroup, where they undertook a harvest and cooking exercise with their children. They had a lot of fun learning about where our food comes from! (...next door, in this case!)
Images: top: our bountiful squash harvest, as harvested by volunteer Jo; bottom: children at Allen Gardens Playgroup carrying out a cooking exercise with a Farm pumpkin.
October Half-Term Recap
This half-term we were treated to some beautiful autumnal sunshine, which allowed our outdoor children's activities to go ahead without the worry of wet weather or battling with marquees.
On Tuesday we welcomed back Ben and Nathan from Exotic Explorers, who introduced us to a selection of their amazing menagerie. This time around we met a Vietnamese Forest Scorpion, an Amazon Milk Frog, a Blue - Tongued Skink, a HUGE Reticulated Python, and a beautiful, tiny (small enough to be swept away in high winds) White-Faced Owl. Around 60 children were able to handle and get up close to these fascinating animals, learning all about their habitats and adaptations.
On Wednesday we made collages from leaf prints in the garden in the sunshine, and Thursday we used one of the butternut squashes grown on the farm to make a sauce for our fresh pasta (using farmyard eggs).
What a special week! We are hugely looking forward to holiday activities starting again in Feb 2027.
Beatrix, our Herdwick Sheep
After struggling in October with her arthritis, we made the sad decision to say goodbye to our beloved Beatrix last month at the age of 11.
Born in 2015 at Downlands Grazing Partnership in Surrey, Bea lost one of her ears in a dog attack when she was around 8 months old. She came to live with us in 2020 after retiring for her conservation grazing career.
In the 6 years she was with us, she made a lasting impression on all who met her. Despite not being a sheep who enjoyed scratches, her sweet face and cheeky nature made her a firm favourite with staff, volunteers and visitors. Bea enjoyed trips to the London Sheep Drive to hang out with Herdy UK every year, and was the star of our shearing event each summer.
Her gorgeous wool will be turned into some lovely keyrings and will be available to purchase at our Winter Fayre on 12th December.
Thanks to the lovely House & Jackson Vets for always being there for our animals.
See below for a drawing of Beatrix by one of our volunteers, Natalie.
Blog Posts
This month we are lucky enough to have TWO incredible pieces about the Farm and our work, available to read on our website and Substack. Pop the kettle on, curl up, and click below to enjoy (and see further on for another piece about our Harvest Meal and Beatrix)...
Click here to read about our Natural History Museum Grazing Project, by Emma
Click here to read existing within, by Izzy
SITE DEVELOPMENTS
We have new pathways around some areas of the Farm now, increasing accessibility around our polytunnels and Office area. The new paved pathway leading to and from the donkey paddock will help improve donkey foot health now, as they’ll no longer be walking on gravel which can get stuck in the grooves of their hooves and cause infection.
We also have a new covered area by the Lodge, affording us another sheltered area that can be shady in summer and drier in winter. There's also some very pretty lighting on this new cover too.
HARVEST MEAL 2026
In mid-October we held our traditional annual Harvest Meal to feed our volunteer cohort and staff team, cooked expertly as usual by our Community Gardener of 25 years, Lutfun Hussein, and her Coriander Club gardening participants.
Click here to read a beautiful blog about this event, which also mentions Beatrix our sheep, as detailed above.
WINTER OPENING HOURS & FESTIVE CLOSURE PERIOD
A reminder that now the clocks have gone back, our opening hours have changed as they do annually, to 10am-4pm.
Also as usual, we'll be closed over the betwixtmas period (between Christmas and New Year) - this year that means our last day open will be Sunday 20th December, and our first day back open again will be Tuesday 5th January.
LITTER picking
We are happy to be listed as a local hub on CleanUp UK and would love to have your help to keep our Farm and the surrounding area looking green and gorgeous. If you'd like to drop in and help out when you have a bit of spare time you're more than welcome - to find out availability please click here to email us and book in (we do not take unscheduled drop-in bookings). We provide the picker, bags, gloves and high vis.
Stats for last month: 27 bags collected, across 34 pickers.
Looking forward to seeing you soon!
CORPORATE VOLUNTEERING
As a reminder, we run a fantastic team challenge programme here at the Farm, so if you or someone you know works for a company that has a CSR budget, we'd love to see you. More info and booking details via the button below, and the stats for last month were:
Total hours worked were 743; across 217 volunteers; who came from a total of 19 teams from different companies. Click below to bring your team!
Photo: Travelers Europe team at the Farm, 2025
That's it for this edition! Thank you for reading.
The Farm is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10.00am to 4.00pm.
We look forward to welcoming you soon.