Ewe arrivals expected at the Farm!
There are sleepless nights ahead for the farm staff at Tatton Park as the much-loved farm in Cheshire East heads into lambing season. How do staff members wind down after a long night-watch? By counting sheep of course!
24 farm ewes are due to lamb. In total the farm staff are expecting – hooves crossed – seven single lambs, 16 sets of twins and one set of triplets between now and the middle of April.
Visitors to the farm during Lambing Fortnight (from Tuesday 8 to Thursday 17 April) can expect to see many woolly new arrivals. During this special fortnight visitors can meet the new spring lambs, listen to educational talks and take part in fun creative activities. Of course, there is also the possibility of our visitors being lucky enough to see lambs being born!
This year’s lambing fortnight includes a charming new farm trail to find Little Baa the lamb. He’s one of Kim Lewis’s characters from her popular farmyard stories (www.kimlewisbooks.co.uk). Kim’s original artwork will be on display and visitors will be able to `meet the author’ on Saturday 2 August.
In addition to the farm’s mainly Suffolk cross flock, there are also three rare breed Leicester longwool ewes expecting 5 lambs between them. The Leicester longwools are considered ‘vulnerable’ on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust’s watch-list and so the addition of potentially more females to the Home Farm flock is very special.
Farm manager, Jayne Chapman said: “Lambing is really hard work but all the effort is certainly worth it as soon as you see, smell and hear the arrival of the newly born lambs. Nothing is more endearing than seeing the lambs happily skipping about in the spring sunshine.”
Seeing a new born lamb being fed is just one of over 101 things to do at Tatton Park. A brand new campaign (including a new website available April 17) will launch this month featuring 101 of the best possible experiences to be enjoyed at Tatton this year. These range from feeding Tatton’s deer their daily breakfast to singing happy birthday with a rare breed pig: watching the Vikings invade Tatton’s Old Hall to escaping in to a New Zealand rain forest. www.101tatton.org.uk
Home Farm opening times and prices
The farm is open for high season (until October 26, 2014) Tuesday to Sunday from noon-5pm (last entry 4pm).
High season prices for single attraction entry: adult £6, child £4 (aged four to 15 years of age), family £16 (two adults and up to three children).
Totally Tatton Ticket (entry to three attractions: mansion, gardens and farm): Adult £11, child (aged four to 15) £5.50, family (two adults and up to three children) £27.50.
National Trust members pay 50 per cent entry to the farm. Park entry charge of £5 per car applies to all.
Please visit our website www.tattonpark.org.uk or call 01625 374400 for more information.
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