What the Dorset Coast Taught me This Week

As many of you may have gathered from my last journal, I felt it was time for a little break. So, last week, Tamara and I headed down to the south Dorset coast for a couple of days—the first time we’d had a trip sans enfants in a few years! We stayed at a beautiful...

A Tale of Woe on the Path to Net Zero…

Oh, what a week it’s been. At this rate, it feels like we’ll reach Storm Zachary by the end of February. Our originally planned closure has been delayed, unfortunately, so we’re open as normal this week. A little rant, if I may… Some background to why we were planning...

The Christmas Journey: Finding Joy Along the Way

Last week my son, Henry, said to me that the saddest part of the year for him is around 8 pm on Christmas Day. I remember that feeling so well—the moment when all the anticipation, excitement, and merriment seem to settle into the past. You realise that it wasn’t just...

Paws, Rest & Reflect

Have you noticed the manic frenzy of wildlife recently? Birds whistling through the night, trying to find the best nesting spots for spring. Foxes barking all day long and into the darkness, seeking the plumpest earthworms to keep their protein levels up. Me neither....

Richard Reflects on 50 Years in Winsley

Last month, our local parish magazine, The Winsley Weaver, celebrated its 50th anniversary. My father, Richard, was invited to reflect on the changes in the village over the past half-century. For those who missed it, I’m sharing his piece in this week’s journal. So,...
March

March

March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb as they say. I can’t help thinking about this as I write this month’s blog just off the back of two bracing storms in Ciara and Dennis. The latter part...

October

October

Well, here we are heading towards the end of another year already. This is certainly the business end of the year for us in the farm shop and all of the efforts in planning and preparation over the...

September

September

September at Hartley Farm Darkness has started to set in earlier in the evenings but the trade-off has been some picture-perfect autumn scenes at the beginning and end of the day. The sloes and...

August

August

Last month we bought a new (old) member of the family back to the farm in the shape of our 1953 Fordson Major Tractor. As a special feature, I thought I’d ask my father Richard to write this month’s...

July

July

July has certainly had more of a Summer’s feel to it compared to a very wet June. With the kids breaking up later in the month all hands have been on deck to bring a new feel to our outdoor areas to...

June

June

I always challenge myself not to start our monthly blog with any reference to the weather, but alas once again I will fail. My interest in what the weather is doing and how the grass is growing has...

May

May

This month has been a busy month for us as the kind spring weather meant silage making began and the beginning of building up our feed stores for our cattle for next winter. The balance of rain and...

April

April

This month we kicked off the year’s event’s calendar with our Spring Farm Open day. Thank you to everyone who came to the farm to see a little bit of what we get up to behind the scenes. We hope you...

NATURE NOTES PART ONE

NATURE NOTES PART ONE

Welcome to Hartley Farm Nature Notes My aim is to give you an idea of some of the things you might see or find around the farm.  I hope you will find it interesting and informative, and hopefully...

Upcoming Events

[decm_event_display show_feature_image=”off” show_name=”off” show_category=”off” show_weburl=”off” show_excerpt=”off” show_detail=”off” included_categories=”all” _builder_version=”4.4.6″ title_level=”h3″ title_text_color=”#762C67″ title_font_size=”20px” duration_font=”||||||||” _i=”2″ _address=”2.0.1.2″ /]
Basket