A Family Day Out at Fordhall Farm Fordfest Music and Beer Festival

We are so lucky to live near to the beautiful Fordhall Farm in North Shropshire.  It is a lovely place where we can go for walks, visit the animals, dine in the tea rooms and breathe in the fresh country air.  Yesterday, they held their annual beer festival, Fordfest.  With live music, local ales and activities to keep all the family entertained, it is a great event.  Plus Ella was invited to play on the acoustic stage in the beer tent!

My nieces were also performing so it was a lovely opportunity to catch up with family.  Ella played beautifully, performing her own arrangements of some of her favourite Killers songs along with an acoustic version of Jason Derula's Wiggle and Iggy Azalea's Fancy!  I just love how engaging Ella's performances are, and her smile and love of playing light up the place.  She gained a new fan who said that she was 'special' and asked for her autograph as he was convinced she will get famous one day!

Freddy and his sisters had a great time trying out the circus skills:  hula hooping, ribbon twirling, plate spinning, stilt walking, diablo and juggling.  It was lovely watching them have so much fun!  I loved the freedom that Freddy had, to run around, try new things and make new friends.

We enjoyed listening to some local bands play on the main stage, we ate veggie burgers and Ian sampled the local ales from Shropshire breweries.  I watched the traditionally rural barrel rolling competition and my niece's boyfriend won the trophy, beating off the competition in a rather ferocious final!  It was a lovely way to spend a Saturday afternoon in the country.

Fordhall Farm continues to be one of our favourite local places and we really enjoyed Fordfest!

A Walk in the Countryside #countrykids

A sunny Sunday afternoon is the perfect opportunity to get some fresh air and exercise on a family walk in the countryside. For the first weekend this year, everyone was feeling healthy enough to have some family fun and we enjoyed a thoroughly overdue adventure: climbing trees, running through fields, playing aeroplanes, swinging on rope swings and having fun!  

An Afternoon Walk in the Countryside

We are so lucky to have the beautiful Fordhall Farm with its country trails right on our doorstep.  It's a lovely place to walk around and get some exercise and fresh air on a Sunday afternoon.  The farm is certified organic and is community owned having 8000 landlords who helped save the farm from development by buying shares in the land.  The land is used for the benefit of the community and there is a wonderful restaurant and farm shop on site.  There are animals being reared naturally with the utmost focus on their welfare.  They aim is to support Wildlife, Food, Farming, Sustainability,  Education, Health and Our Children's Future. We are proud to have such a wonderful place in our town.

I love watching my country kids playing together and running freely across the fields at Fordhall Farm.  They  can jump on the tree stump stepping stones, play on the wooden see-saw, balance on the logs and swing on the tyre swing.  They explore the dens and spot nature's flora and fauna.  It's just a perfect place and we love it.

We had a lovely afternoon with our country kids, enjoying the very best of what North Shropshire has to offer.  (Unfortunately Ella decided to stay at home finishing off her Chemistry homework that she has left until the last minute!)

A Wonderful Family Weekend

This weekend was the window in my daughter Megan's busy schedule, reserved for celebrating her 21st birthday with her family.  We booked a private function room at our local gem of a venue Fordhall Farm for a three course sit down meal, and invited our nearest and dearest to join us.

As it is my dad's 80th birthday the day before Megan's 21st, we surprised him by including him in the proceedings.  We bought helium balloons festooned with their ages which delighted them both!  We also made my dad a CD recording from a very old tape cassette he had of his parents singing.  This made him very emotional as he remembered his mum and dad and relived happy family memories.  My girls comforted him and it was a beautiful moment.

Birthday Boy and Girl

Having my Megan and my son Joe and his blooming pregnant fiance Jade stay for the whole weekend was lovely.  Having all my chicks back in the nest is one of my greatest pleasures (albeit a noisy and chaotic one!)

Kizzy, Fred, Joe, Ella and Megan

It was nice to have visitors pop in to see both Meg and Joe, as their old friends realised they were back home and we enjoyed some real laughs together during the weekend.  In fact I haven't laughed so hard in ages!

Having A Laugh With Friends

On Sunday we went for the meal.  It was so wonderful to also be joined by my niece and her boyfriend, which was a lovely surprise for my mum and dad.  Megan was really pleased to see her cousin and it was nice to hear them planning a night out in Manchester.  Unfortunately my nephew couldn't make it as he is off to Alabama to see his American fiance this week, so we had to take a visit rain check.

Gorgeous Girls

The food was absolutely incredible.  We started with a goat's cheese, walnut and fennel salad which was so good.  It is not an option I would ever had picked from a menu, but I'm now a convert to the idea of salad starters because it was so interesting with different flavours and textures working together.

Eight of us opted for the nut roast for our main course. The accompaniments were amazing.  Huge serving bowls were brought out with roast potatoes, red cabbage, brocolli and greens, cauliflower cheese, Yorkshire puddings and roasted vegetables.  There was so much food!  We piled our plates high, yet didn't finish it.

Tom and Ella Listening To One of Grandad's stories!

Dessert was an apple and pear sponge served with home made custard sauce.  The meal lived up to my high hopes and we enjoyed chatting and relaxing, while Freddy played in the function room with the farm's playgroup toys!

I've Got Toys!!

We'd bought a huge baked toffee and choc chip cheesecake and a Bailey's roulade from a local pudding shop, but we were all stuffed, so I organised take away packages of cake for our guests to take home!

As the evening wore on, those of us left, plus one of Megan's friends who came over to see her, watched X Factor and made a big dent in the remaining puddings.   It was a great night (especially seeing Rylan saved by deadlock again!!)

Kizzy and Jade

We had a fabulous time and I loved being surrounded by friends and family. I can't believe that my gorgeous daughter is about to turn 21.  I am so proud of her and everything she has achieved and I love her so very much.  I hope she enjoyed her weekend with her loved ones as much as I did!!

Happy 21st Birthday!!

A Country Walk #Project 52

Wednesday was my 15th wedding anniversary and we went to our favourite spot Fordhall Farm for a gorgeous lunch in their restaurant followed by a lovely walk.  

It was a lovely way to spend an afternoon with my husband and my littlest boy.

Fun On The Farm...Days Out For Free!

Fordhall Farm featured in my Reasons to be Cheerful post last week, but I thought it was deserving of a whole post of its own.  On Tuesday I went to the farm again with Freddy for the Saplings and Seedlings Toddler Group.  It was such a lovely day that we walked around the farm itself, lingering in the picnic area before returning to the tea rooms for a delicious lunch.  It is a lovely way to spend a few hours and Freddy loves the freedom of wandering around and looking at the animals.  Megan was home from university so she came with us, adding to our fun and laughter!

Where's the piggy??

The spottiest one was Fred's favourite!

Balancing Act

Running Free

Tyres Can be Fun!!

Taking a rest...farms are fun!!!

I think that Fordhall Farm is a fabulous place to visit.  It is so nice to find somewhere to go for a few hours with Freddy that costs nothing.  The baby animals are simply adorable and Freddy really loves them (except for the chickens which unnerve him!)  If you are ever in the Shropshire area you should take a visit.  The tea rooms are wonderful, the farm walks are lovely with three different trails to follow and there is also a picnic area and a shop selling fresh produce.

Find out more at www.fordhallfarm.com

Reasons to be Cheerful

It's mostly been a good week!  After a great weekend with all my family I felt more motivated and happier than I have done in a long time!  So that set me up in a good mood.

Local to where I live is a farm, Fordhall Organic Farm, and it is pretty famous!  It was threatened by having its land brought by Muller to expand its factory, but it fought back in a David and Goliath manner.  Charlotte and Ben Hollins worked tirelessly to find 8000 investors who all became honorary landlords, raising the cash to secure the farm's future.  It made national news and Charlotte and Ben have appeared on TV and have had some celebrity support.  Since being saved, they have built a gorgeous eco-friendly tea-room, shop and function room.  I took Freddy to their Saplings and Seedlings Toddler Group on Tuesday and then we went for a walk to see the pigs, lambs and chickens.

Fordhall Farm

Then, on Wednesday Ian was off work and we decided to try out the Tea Room.  They do a vegetarian 'The Full Shropshire' breakfast which we have been keen to sample.  We were not disappointed. 

The Full Shropshire

The food was excellent!  Freddy happily played with the toy kitchen in the tea room which keeps toddlers entertained.  Afterwards we went for a walk around the farm and saw the newborn piglets and the baby lambs.  It is a lovely place and somewhere that we will continue to make the most of while we can.

For Sale

Our house is now officially on the market and we have our first viewing on Saturday.  We are throwing our future into the hands of the Gods!  I am keeping a completely open mind as far as what happens next, but it feels good to empower ourselves in this way, whatever the end result.

Kezia had a lovely day when children's book illustrator Lynne Chapman visited her school.  She was delighted to get her autograph and a sketch of Stinky the Warthog!  The visit has rekindled her interest in art and drawing and Kizzy has been busy creating her own characters!