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

I have had another interesting day today thanks to Jodie at Discover Local. I visited Mahorall Farm to discover how they make cider. We started with an interesting talk about the history of the farm and of cider, including the fermentation process. Next we headed out to the orchards, partly along a designated nature trail around the farm - this is downloadable from thier website. Fortunately the weather was dry and sunny and the views down the Teme Valley and beyond are breathtaking. Our walk took in an established comercial orchard and a recently planted orchard on the farm. Then it was back to the farm to learn the secrets of cider making! I was surprised to fnd it very similar to the process we use for our small amount - we must be doing something right. Finally we got to taste the finished product, ranging from dry still cider (scrumpy) to a very pleasant sparkling medium version - highly recommended!

After that we headed to Nash Village Hall where we enjoyed a tasty lunch prepared by Jane from The Courtyard in Ludlow, who then demonstrated the art of chutney making. Also served with lunch was Tickmore apple juice from Brimfield Common.

This afternoon the Band played at Tenbury Applefest - a celebration of all things apple! There was cider, apple pies, a hog roast with apple sauce and of course lots of apples. We are lucky enough to have Frank Matthews nearby - a well respected grower of all types of fruit trees. They have over 200 different varieties of apples and many were displayed in a huge marquee. I had guests stay with me recently visiting their apple tree that Matthews were trialling due to its tolerance of wet conditions. If successful it will be called Gressingham Lady so look out for it! 

Tomorrow is our annual apple pressing day! I must confess our cider from last year is not much good although Amy and Adrian have supposedly made a quality brew - I hope they bring a sample for us to try tomorrow!

I love the feeling of satisfaction at this time of the year when all the fruits of our labours in the garden are gathered in! This is the extent of my pumpkin crop - not great considering the number of plants I had but probably enough! There is lots to gather at the moment - damsons, apples, sloes and other hedgerow goodies. I attended a fantastic course on Tuesday organised by Shropshire Hills AONB, in the morning we walked the hedgerows around Craven Arms collecting fruits and berries and in the afternoon made goodies from our bounty. I am now going to make hedgerow jam, butter and ketchup!

This weekend has been Ludlow Food Festival - one of the busiest weekends of the year! Becky and I managed a couple of hours there on Friday - I am always amazed by the number of local producers in our area, we are very lucky because we can shop from most of the exhibitors throughout the year without travelling far. On Sunday our local country holiday group were manning a stand at the Festival and I had volunteered to organise it! Although I say it myself the stand looked quite smart and there was certainly a lot of interest - maybe that had something to do with the samples of homemade cake and Shaun the Sheep stickers we were giving away! Anyway I am exhausted now!

Yesterday evening I joined a walk around Cramer Gutter, organised by Shropshire Wildlife Trust. This is a nature reserve of national importance, being the only place in the Midlands where marsh gentians and sundews still survive. August and September are the best times to see the marsh gentians in flower but we were a little late in the evening and the flowers had closed up - they are a vivid blue in colour. The sundews are a native carniverous plant, catching small insects to survive in the extremely boggy conditions.

Cramer Gutter is a 12 acre site rich in biodiversity and well worth a visit. I am now hoping to attend a bat walk on Saturday evening on Catherton Common, also arranged by the Wildlife Trust, who have recently purchased this expanse of heathland.

Yesterday was the day we decided to extract our honey from the hive! We had already fitted a clearer board between the 2 supers on the hive to clear the top one (with the honey in) of bees, so were able to remove the frames quickly and efficiently. We then placed 2 packs of fondant in the empty super to feed the bees - we had noticed that they had already been uncapping sealed cells of honey as the weather has been so unsettled. Phase 1 completed successfully we were on a high!

Sandra had collected a honey extractor from LDBKA so we thought we were ready to go. Using a heated bread knife we carefully uncapped the first 4 frames and placed them, as instructed, in the extractor. Following instructions we slowly turned one way, then turned the frames around and turned again, this time a little quicker. What a disappointment - only about a teacup full of honey in the bottom of the extractor! Closer inspection of the frames showed lots of crystallised honey that was never going to be spun out. After some discussion we resorted to plan B - cutting out the honey from the frames and extraction by melting - the wax floats on top of the honey and can be skimmed off! We managed to pot 9 large and 5 small jars by this method so are relatively pleased! However we now need to rebuild 9 frames and return them to the hive, which I think is going to be more complex than we originally imagined - watch this space!

I am always looking for new ideas to enhance my guests stay with us and recently whilst staying at Millstream Cottage in Dunster we were given cookies in a jar in our room. So now cookies are on offer on the Broome Park Farm tea tray! Although I am going to have to refine my cookie making technique as most of the cookies I’ve made today are too big to fit in the jar!!

An update on the bees - we have had to requeen the hive so fingers crossed the new queen will have settled in by the time we hope to extract some honey at the weekend.

Combining is now in full swing - although repairs were necessary over the weekend - John is busy as long as the weather is fine! We also have 6 baby chicks - photos soon as I am too scared of the mother hen to get too near at the moment! John says she’s a sweetheart but not to me!

I have been extravagant this week and treated myself to a traditional cake stand - the photo doesn’t really show off the stand to full effect - each plate is a different floral pattern, resulting in a nostalgic look. I also bought 16m of bunting - I’m not sure why, except it is so pretty! So next time guests come to stay their homemade cakes may be served on my new cake stand! The cakes featured in this photo are fruity flapjacks, made with jumbo oats and Alpen; gooey chocolate brownies; lemon and raisin drizzle bars and my favourite - traditional gingerbread. My great aunt used to make this so it really is nostalgic - she also made beautiful shortbread biscuits with ground rice in - I must see if my mother still has the recipe.

Although the weather has taken a turn for the worst, the garden definitely appreciates the rain. I have picked this bowl of raspberries this morning and they are absolutely gorgeous - plump and juicy - delicious with warm toffee waffles and icecream! I will probably freeze some too, ready to make jam later in the year. I have also harvested my first courgettes and gherkins - although I am not sure what to do with them! The mange tout have also cropped really well - we can’t eat them quick enough!

There has been so much blossom this year and all the hedgerows have been stunning - beautiful white clouds for weeks on end. Last week I managed to make some elderflower cordial - one of my favourite summer drinks - ad elderflower champagne. This is only the second time I have made champagne and I am a bit wary as 2 bottles exploded last time and the plastic bottles expanded until almost twice their original size! This year’s brew doesn’t look so fizzy so fingers craossed - it will be ready to drink in 8 days time!!

Having muddled along for several weeks with the bees I had a message to say Michael was coming to mark the queen - neither Sandra nor I had been able to spot her! He duly arrived yesterday morning and we opened the hive. Michael was immediately concerned about the number of bees! No queen - she had swarmed - probably only on Saturday, due to the hot weather and the number of bees in the hive. John was dispatched to trawl the hedgerows to see if he could find them - they initially only fly upto 100 metres, until the scout bees find a suitable home - but to no avail. There is a new queen cell in the hive which will hatch out in about a week, then it will be 2 weeks before the new queen starts laying eggs again - Michael will then return to mark her!

The gardens in the photo are at Orleton House which open in aid of the National Garden scheme - the final open weekend is 24-25th July - do go along - it is well worth a visit.

Haymaking at Broome Park Farm

The weather has been perfect for haymaking and today the team are baling here at Broome Park. This field is being made into small rectangular bales - these are easily handled and very popular with horse owners and smallholders who don’t have the machinery to feed the big round bales that are often seen. The beautiful hot weather has allowed us to make more hay than usual - often we have to make silage when the weather is unpredictable and it certainly doesn’t smell as sweet as freshly made hay!

I have 2 more piglets, both are Gloucester Old Spot crosses but as you can see 1 is all white and 1 is all black!! The white one I have called Crinkle as she has a crinkley ear and the black one is Blaze as he has a white stripe down his face. The are a bit nervous and scatter at the smallest noise - the only time they are still is when they are eating.

The bees are doing well - we check them every weekend and they are drawing out the foundation in the Super and starting to fill it with honey. The only problem is we haven’t yet spotted the queen but as there is plenty of brood we know she is busy!

Today I have enjoyed a visit to Astley Vineyards, about 10 miles from us in Worcestershire but definitely a hidden gem. The Vineyard produces award winning wines and is endorsed by inclusion in Rick Stein’s Food Guide. The latest award being a Silver Medal in The Decanter World Wine Awards 2010 for Veritas 2007. Customers are encouraged to visit the vineyard shop for a free tasting and a leisurely stroll around the vineyard and beautiful valley surroundings - I shall certainly be recommending a visit to guests in the future!

Naturally I couldn’t come away empty handed - as shown in the photo - my particular favourite being the Late Harvest dessert wine made from Siegerrebe grapes.

Yesterday I persuaded John to take a rare day off and we headed to Oxford to watch our daughter row in the Oxford 8s. After all the glorious weather Becky had booked a punt to take us on the River Cherwell - it was raining all day - even the chap at the boathouse said we didn’t have to go just because we had booked! Not to be deterred we continued - it was very peaceful - eating our picnic in the rain on the punt! Next stop was the Thames where we watched Becky and her team head for the start of the race. Eventually they floated past, having ‘bumped’ early in the race and not needing to row further! They were very pleased with the result and we had enjoyed our day out.