Farm near Grantham to host hands-on lambing experience days

A farm near Grantham is offering hands-on lambing experience days this spring in a bid to better educate visitors about where their food comes from.

Mill Farm, in Barkston, is a working farm with accommodation, and owner Steve Elnor is keen to provide educational experiences for guests who are staying in his wigwam cabins.

He said: “I thought it might interest people who are staying on the farm to see what happens during lambing season. There has been a lot of negative press around British farming so far this year, so what better way to dispel the lies than to show people how real farms work and offer a hands-on experience.

"They’ll spend a few hours in the morning in the lambing sheds with me where I’ll talk them through how we feed, lamb and raise the sheep and they’ll hopefully, but we can’t promise it, see some lambs being born, then they’ll head back to the cabins for a well-earned hot lunch by The Stag pub in the village.”

Visitors can feed the sheep, assist with moving them and have a go at bottle-feeding.

It is the first time he has invited members of the public into his lambing sheds and he is hoping it will be an experience they remember for a long time to come.

He added: “British farmers want nothing more than to show people just how well they care for their animals, what goes into raising them for food and why it is so important to buy British and support local. Here in Lincolnshire we are at the heart of rural food production.

“I hope that visitors will go away having had a once in a lifetime experience witnessing lambs being born but also with a changed attitude towards British farming.”

Lambing experience days take place from 9am - 1pm on March 21, 22, 26, 28 and 29 and April 2, 4, 5, 9 and 11. Included is a meal at a nearby pub. It costs £35 per adult, £20 for under-16s or £13.50 for younger children. Visit www.wigwamholidays.com/millside