Serving up Spring vibes...
- Louise Illsley
- Feb 25
- 3 min read
Today feels like the first truly lovely day we’ve had in what seems like forever, and we are absolutely embracing it — at least until the rain inevitably returns. It has been a long, hard, and incredibly wet winter here on the farm. The ground remains heavily saturated, and like many farmers, we are eagerly hoping for more days like this to help dry out the grass in time for spring.
If all goes to plan, our animals will be ready to leave their winter barns and return to the fields in April — a moment we always look forward to after the colder months.
Despite the challenging weather, winter still brought some wonderful moments. We were delighted to once again host our popular wreath-making workshops, which were a huge success. It’s always a joy to see so many familiar faces returning year after year.
New for 2025, we also introduced a children’s story time in our Yard Bar. This featured our very own Christmas story, written especially for the farm, starring Daniella the Highland Cow and Steve the Sheep. It was a truly lovely day filled with fantastic families, creative crafts for the children, barn tours, and of course, the grand finale — story time.
Because of the persistent wet conditions, hosting large winter events is often difficult for us, so we focus on smaller, more intimate sessions during the colder months. We’re hopeful we can expand these offerings again later this year.
Looking Ahead to Spring & Summer |
With the sun finally beginning to make an appearance, preparations are well underway for what promises to be a very busy and exciting season.
We are also excited to share that lambing season is fast approaching. We are expecting lambs at the beginning of May, with all 94 of our ewes due to lamb. This is always one of the most intense but rewarding times of the farming year, and we cannot wait to welcome our newest arrivals.
Family Lambing Day – 16th & 17th May 2026We are thrilled to welcome back one of our most loved events. Keep an eye out — tickets are now available.
Adult - £10
Child - £8
National Open Farm Sunday Highland Special– 7th June
It has been several years since we last participated, but we’re excited to return with something a little different: an adults-only Highland Cow focused open day. Click below for more event details:
Lambing Experience DaysA brand-new and very special experience. Limited to just 10 participants, this five-hour hands-on session is designed for those aged 14+ who want to learn about and witness lambing up close.
The experience includes lunch, and tickets will be released this weekend, priced at £110 per person.
Our Meet a Highland Experience continues to be an incredible success. As a newer venture for the farm, it has been both exciting and rewarding to explore this growing side of the business.
Our partnership with Mother Hubbard’s Bake is also going from strength to strength. The feedback from our much-loved Coo’s & Cuppa’s sessions has been genuinely heart-warming. It means so much to hear that visitors value what we’re building here. Diversifying the farm is vital for our long-term future, and we are deeply grateful for the continued support.
As I write this, Norman and Ruth are in Scotland collecting Dexter, our new Highland Bull, who we are very excited to welcome to Roundoak. Over winter, we’ve also welcomed five new Highland calves. Some of you may already have met “Lil Boy,” our exceptionally friendly bull calf who has quickly become a favourite with visitors. |
We recently also pregnancy-tested our Highland cows, and we’re delighted to share that seven calves are expected across spring and summer — an exciting time ahead.
Daniella is still very much part of the farm family, although she is currently enjoying a well-earned break from meet-and-greets. She’s navigating the trials of growing up and hormones and has blossomed into something of a diva, very much doing things on her own terms! Luckily our Highland fold is getting more and more used to visitors and love a stroke and 'lil boy' born in December is entertaining our guests with his inquisitive nature.
Many of you may have seen that we recently hosted Next alongside Hamish the Highland Cow to help launch their new TikTok page. It was a huge honour for the farm, and it’s been wonderful to watch the page’s success.
Finally, this week brought more happy news with the birth of a beautiful Irish Moiled heifer calf. A female addition is especially important for our breeding programme, so this was a particularly welcome arrival.
As always, thank you for your continued support, visits, and kind words. We’re looking forward to brighter days, drier fields, and sharing a fantastic season with you all. |
MOTHERS DAY HIGHLAND COW VOUCHER
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