Broome Park Farm, Farmhouse Bed & Breakfast Accommodation Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire

Had a great day out today, courtesy of Jodie at the Shropshire Hills AONB. The day was titled ‘Organic Farm to Fork’ and we started with a visit to Rhos Fiddle Nature Reserve, an SSSI managed by Shropshire Wildlife Trust, high in the Shropshire Hills. The views are stunning and it is so peaceful. Part of the management is the grazing of highland cattle - an unusual sight in the Shropshire countryside! The cattle are owned by local organic farmer, Trevor Wheeler, who introduced us to his cattle and hebridean sheep on the hillside, then took us to his farm a little way down the valley. This organic mixed farm trades as Clun Valley Organics, supplying meat and vegetables through local shops and farmers markets. We also viewed the eco cottage located on the farm, fully self sufficient with a wind turbine and solar hot water panels.

After a delicious lunch made by Zara from Myriad Organics in Ludlow we headed for Daysdrove Abattoir in Bishops Castle to see the next stage of the journey from farm to fork.  It was interesting to tour the building and see the care taken to ensure animals are slaughtered humanely. The business prides itself on the fact that animals have low food miles and are of a high quality.

Finally we visited Andrew Pugh, the local butcher, who gave a very informative demonstration on how to cut up and present a forequarter of beef, one of the less popular parts of the animal. To finish he produced samples of slow cooked chuck beef and salt cured brisket, both of which were delicious, but the salt beef was devine! Something I will try to reproduce at home!

When you come at stay at Broome Park Farm the rooms have a fantastic view over open countryside towards Neen Savage. However I can’t promise you will always get a view as dramatic as this! It was a double rainbow, with 1 arc behind the tree but I’ve only captured this view!

Here are our 2 newest arrivals, Davina and Blossom, whom we collected on Tuesday. They are still a bit nervous but seem quite happy with their noses in the trough! Hopefully we will soon have some baby chicks too as one of the hens is sitting on some eggs. The weather here has been fantastic recently, if any thing we are desperate for rain, particularly for the grass to grow into a good hay and silage crop.

All the lambs are now out in the paddock, although 1 ewe has yet to lamb - not sure if she will now! So far we have 9 kerry cross lambs and 2 orphans I have been bottle feeding with the help of lots of young guests!

These are the first lambs born this year at Broome Park. Once again the kerry cross shows in the black markings on their faces and knees. Mum was a little reluctant at first but hopefully she has now taken to motherhood and they won’t need to be bottle fed! There are 5 more ewes to lamb over the next few days - exciting times - hopefully they will all be twins!

The lovely Spring weather last week has brought the bees out of the hive and we were very pleased to find a healthy colony when we took a look last weekend! Now we must keep an eye on them to prevent them swarming like last year.

I have spent the last few months working on a new website and smart phone apps to promote rural accommodation in Shropshire. Our new website Shropshire Gold went live yesterday! The aim has been to bring together places to stay, visit and eat and also suggest themed itineraries to help visitors get the most out of their visit to Shropshire. Take a look at the site and see what you think!

Apps will be available for all types of smart phone over the next few weeks and they will be FREE to download via my site or the Shropshire Gold site.

Today I visited Witley Court for the first time in over 20 years. Owned by English Heritage, this evocative ruin is a relic of a long gone era. The house, when owned by the Earl of Dudley, was a rake’s paradise, home to lavish parties that lasted for days, a favourite haunt of the Prince of Wales, Edward VII. Partly ravaged by fire in the 1950’s and ransacked by bounty hunters the house is now a magnificent ruin.

The gardens have been lovingly restored and the 9 acre lake reinstated, a must see is the Perseus and Andromeda Fountain, firing a jet of water over 70ft into the air, it is only working between 1st April and end of October - today there were men in high viz jackets cleaning it out! I will certainly be returning soon to see the fountain in action.

I have finally finished this patchwork quilt to go in the Green guest room. A wonderful lady, Marilyn Howells, came and talked to Neen Savage WI in July and really inspired me to start a quilt. Mad as I am I decided on a double quilt which it has taken until now to complete! The patches have been machine pieced but I have hand quilted around each triangle - definitely a labour of love! The back is a bit of a disgrace - Marilyn will not be impressed - but I think the front is great and the colours will look fantastic in the Green bedroom.

After attacking (sorry - pruning!) the shrubbery at the front of the house, John has now decided to lay the hedge between the paddock and the big field. This is a long overdue task as the hedge currently resembles a line of straggly trees. Hopefully laying it will encourage new growth and provide more ground cover for birds and insects. The only downside may be that the paddock is more windswept - it certainly was today when I took John a well deserved cup of coffee!

I have spent the last few Tuesday evenings making bunting for the Severn Hospice Shop in Cleobury. A group of friends have been meeting throughout the winter to quilt and Jayne volunteered our services! First we made yards of red bunting for the Valentine’s Day window display - see it in the shop now!

Next we were asked for Spring colours for the 1st anniversary party at the shop on April 9th so this is the result of our labours - I must say we think it looks fantastic - come along on the 9th to see it up! (Crooked Steeple Morris are also dancing to help the celebrations!).

I have finally found something to blog about this year! I always like to offer guests a selection of cereals, local yoghurt from the Dairyhouse at Weobley and this morning fresh fruit salad, all laid out on the dresser. A new touch for this year are the sparkley lights a la Nigella Lawson! I put them up for Christmas but they look so good I have decided to leave them - it brightens the room!

After a very enjoyable but lazy Christmas Day we headed out for our annual Boxing Day walk. This year we took the easy option and decided to walk along the lanes as the ground was still very snowy. At the Ford we came across John’s brother and cousins who had been checking out the river. The River Rea had frozen completely upstream of the Ford and they had been testing the ice - it was possible to walk under the bridge - not something to be recommended and something I wouldn’t have attempted except for the tractor and the fact that it had already been tested! However I got quite a buzz from saying I had walked on water!

Here at Broome Park Farm I am planning the tastiest Christmas ever! Yesterday I travelled through fog and ice to Denman College, home of the WI to see Mary Berry demonstrate tried and trusted Christmas recipes with a twist, I will definitely be trying her mincemeat galette - shortbread, mincemeat, marzipan and apples. Today the weather was glorious (but very cold!) and I travelled to Strefford Hall Farm Shop for a Discover Local Tasty Christmas event. We walked around the farm, looking at the beef, sheep and hens they keep to supply the farm shop then retreated to the warmth of the farmhouse kitchen for a delicious meal made from Christmas leftovers, expertly prepared by Simon Smith - The Shropshire Chef. After lunch Simon demonstrated how he had prepared lunch and we made bread and butter pudding with left over cake and pannettone and Shropshire Fidget Pie. This is our local dish - a type of pork pie made with cooked pork (we used turkey!), apple sauce, potatoes and crispy bacon - scrumptious!

I am now able to offer our own apple juice all year - or as long as my stocks allow! Last week I took bags of our apples to a nice young man in Bewdley who has pressed them and pasteurised the juice. I collected 104 bottles today and couldn’t wait to taste the juice - it is delicious - not too sweet but not too sharp either and a lovely pale golden colour!

I have had some labels printed and I must say the bottles look very smart, together with the oversize postcards and fridge magnet calenders I got free with the order!

Off to the first of our Christmas band gigs tonight with our new Musical Director - Looking forward to lots of mince pies!

John has finally agreed to cut back some of the shrubs and trees at the front of the house, my preference was for a total replant but at the moment he has reduced everything by about 50% and I will see what grows back in the spring! Hopefully this drastic pruning will improve the views from the guest bedrooms and also has led to the discovery of an extra foot of drive! Already it seems lighter in the dining room, despite the gloomy weather at the moment.

Yesterday I spent a very enjoyable day at Blists Hill Victorian Town, part of the Ironbridge Gorge group of Museums. The day had been organised to show off the latest enhancements to the town, a living museum reflecting life at the turn of the 20th Century. The pharmacy shown featured on the recent TV series ‘Victorian Pharmacy’ and I enjoyed chatting to the candlemaker in his tiny workshop.

There is so much to see just at Blists Hill - children of all ages love to change their money at the Bank then spend it in the shops, particularly the sweet shop and newly opened fish and chip shop! However Blist Hill is only 1 of 10 award winning museums located around this World Heritage site, home to the birth of the Industrial Revolution. The museums range from Enginuity - hands on science for children to the beauty of Coalport china.