Category: Uncategorized

Adam and I broke up most of the old brewery floor today.   Such an investment and it’s a real shame that the brewery team couldn’t take advantage of it.   Still,  it’s now gone,  along with it the tanks and the floor supports for the taproom.

So that’s it,  the end of our adventures in brewing.

The decision…

The barn has been on the market now for about 6 weeks and I’m amazed at the interest.  We’ve had discussions with two padel companies,  two joiners, a golf simulator team, wellness and coffee shops.  We’ve also had interest from a charity, double glazing and metal fabricator.

At the time of writing we have two firm offers, three declinations and are expecting two more offers, leaving us with a really interesting decision to make on the future of our farmyard.

I expect to decide on Tuesday…

It was odd, some water fell from the sky.  However it’s so dry that it hardly touched the plants above ground and simply disappeared into the soil.   We can’t get see a positive impact on fire risk.

As you can see from the pictures it’s still really brown so we need to keep up with some strict fire precautions for our guests.

It’s a shame as it does take something away from the experience and we love our fire pit areas and bbq’s.

I managed to go away for a holiday for a week,  in that time harvest was finished.  The wheat was about as bad as expected but the beans were very poor.  They make a very lonely pile in the shed!

In other areas we keep accelerating, the ex brewery is now (mostly) clear following the abandonment of FarrBrew. 

Once again the team we’ve constructed have come through brilliantly, not only sorting the clearance but also finding potential buyers for the tanks in order to recoup some of the costs.

Adam had some friends to stay at the camping site and put up the frame of the marquee (along with some learnings).

Finally,  we have some potential new tenants for the ex brewery.  Possibly 3 different offers all of which with their own compelling advantages.  Some thinking to be done!

From my memory wheat harvest usually started in late July and could finish early September.   This year its done by the end of July.

Testament to the work done by Lee and the team then Geoff, Stuart, Eric etc to finish the barn in time.   Then Hattie and others for filling it so well.

Onto the beans, then time to think about how and when we sell it.

Just as we clear one lot of fly tipping another appears in the same place…

Two more full trailer loads,  already investigated by the police.

The challenge for us is that we had to keep the track open to allow for harvest movements.   The tippers simply dropped their loads in the gap between tractor movements.

Another £800 to clear, another 5 acres of wheat grown and harvested to allow for someone to dispose of their waste cheaply.

With harvest, the driveway and much more progressing it was time for a meeting with the accountants.  To do that we needed to finish the office add some signs and fit cushions to the wooden benches (couldn’t have them sitting uncomfortably).

Was good to reflect on FY25-26 and nice to see the business looking healthy.   The impromptu exit of the brewery made a small dent with a bigger impact to come in FY27 but all in all we’re on a good path.  Also excellent to see bookings tumbling in for the glamping site.   We even provided some training in doing a proper job to our accountants…

I cleared around the ex brewery to smarten it up for prospective tenants and now have a plan to clear the detritus left by the old tenants (a £3k+ bill to clear without remediation costs).

I also put together the bits for a hottub, however i measured incorrectly so some trimming will be needed… ooops!  I’m hopeful that it will be fully functional by the autumn though.

I’m so frustrated.   This fly tipping is on one of our fields and is going to cost us £800 to clear.  That’s on top of the hit that the weather has given us in terms of reduced yields.

To think of it a different way after other costs are included we’ve had to grow 5 acres (3 Premier League football pitches) of wheat to pay for someone to dispose of their rubbish cheaply. 

Barley finished

Rape finished

Wheat well underway

Driveway prepared

Kitchen almost finished

Office finished

New Grain store ready

Bar removed from brewery

“Good” brewing vessels removed (subtly and delicately)

BHF booked for commercial clearance

Three potential commercial tenants show round

Glamping site mown

Travel box adjusted

So much happening today,  so many people on site.  

Paul, Mike, Geoff, Stuart, Eric, Hattie, Woody, Dan, Alex, Phoebe, Craig, Nathan, Lee, Brad, Road team,  student tractor drivers and potential tenants… phew!

But look at the progress.  We’ll likely have about 50% of the wheat in the barn by the end of the day too.

And that was just Friday!  On Wednesday Adam, Alex and I passed our Telehandler course too.

I’m so pleased with the progress we’re making.   The farm really is transforming and has a really positive feeling for the future.

Thank you to all of our amazing team for making this so rewarding.

Sometimes literally everything happens, instantly.

I leave the farm for a day and…

– The driveway resurfacing starts

– Harvest starts

– The hay is made and baled

It’s awesome to see the fruits of another year’s growing start to make their way into the shed.

The camping shower didn’t work!  So after picking up a marquee yesterday (to be available to our guests as a communal area, or as an item to be hired alongside the generator for our events) I came on an impromptu visit to fix the shower.

A bit of faffing, a realisation that the original plumbing was reversed and a replacement thermostat and we’re up and running.  It now does both HOT, “cold” AND warm. Woohoo!

While I was there inevitably there were some jobs to do.   I moved all the log piles left by the tree surgeons.  Fitted the new tractor box (allowing Alex and Phoebe to sell logs from our vintage tractor) and mowed the outstanding hay areas.