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Many Hands Make Light WorkSwindonWeb's rural reporter Julie Venis discovers a group dedicated to going green in West Swindon
Strolling past
lemon and white cottages, with the faint whiff of a woodburner rising in the
distance, it would be easy to forget that Old Shaw Lane is surrounded by
suburban estates.
And yet this seemed to be a running theme as I headed towards
Lower Shaw Farm, that much-adored hub for country lovers, families and creative
souls alike.
Described as an ‘oasis’ in Swindon, farm trustee Matt Holland, and
director of the Swindon Festival of Literature, explained that they once
planted 2,000 native trees on the land and now the three acre farm, complete
with 35 chickens, sheep, Kunekune pigs, runner
ducks and a rather inquisitive turkey, feels completely secluded from the
hustle and bustle of modern life.
Perhaps then, this is why the
farm’s popular Working Weekends share a loyal fan base with attendees
travelling from far and wide.
An unusually bright weekend over 05 –
07 October played host to one of these monthly Working Weekends,
along with the annual Apple Days which attracts local families keen to educate
their young and turn their own apples into juice to drink or ferment.
Noting
that there are only so many apples you can eat, a family from Royal Wootton
Bassett, who had recently moved into a new house with two large apple trees, were
keen to make juice from their supply of apples.
With assistance provided, the
apple pressing soon got underway, as adults and children gathered around a
designated table to quarter and cut the apples into small pieces, before the
next stage of putting the apples through the farm’s own scratter (grinder) and
finally pressed to squeeze out the juice.
Sharon from
Swindon, who was enjoying a family outing, and has been coming to the farm for
14 years explained: “It’s lovely to take children back to nature and show them
what produce you can make from growing your own.”
Sadly,
this year’s wet summer has created a distinct shortage in the number of apples
but in keeping with the theme, the cafe were offering apple baked goods,
including apple cake, apple, date and walnut loaf and apple spice muffins.
The
farm is renowned for its vegetarian dishes using home-grown produce, however
Vowley Farm, based just outside Royal Wootton Bassett were on hand to serve a
tempting mix of cider sausages, pork and apple burgers and rare breed beef.
Although they could have been at the Farmer’s Market in Swindon’s Outlet
Village, they were keen to show their support to the farm and trustees, Mark
and Andrea, who had helped them when they first moved to Vowley Farm 12 years
ago; for it was Matt and Andrea who told them to join WWOOF UK (World Wide
Opportunities on Organic Farms).
Lorraine of Vowley
Farm explained: “With WWOOF you get a range of help; for example Dougal here,
who practically lives with us [on the farm], is extremely practical and has rebuilt
the tractor engine for us, while others may not even know what a weed is. Some
volunteers might come daily, two or three times a week, or once a year.”
Some of the
volunteers found out about Lower Shaw Farm through WWOOF
UK which gives members a list of the different organic farms, gardens and
smallholdings providing food and accommodation in exchange for practical help
on their land. No prior experience in farming is necessary but a keen willing
attitude to learn is a must.
Liz from London,
who was enjoying her first working weekend at the farm, had undertaken a range
of tasks, such as clearing out the turkey house, working in the polytunnel, and
baking those delicious apple spice muffins in the farmhouse kitchen.
“It’s
definitely been amazing, no money changes hands. And I’ve eaten so much! At
first I wondered how it all worked but yesterday lunchtime as I looked around
it all made sense - lots of hands working at the same time makes stuff happen.”
The weekend also
saw some of the regular workers, including Derrick from Bristol who has been coming
to the farm since 1984, who says he most enjoys weeding, compost making and
Matt’s sense of humour.
Retired school teachers David Gardiner and his wife
Jean have also been coming here for 35 years, and travel almost three hours from
London.
“We come for the atmosphere, it
has a light-hearted mood and we know the people here. I’ve learnt a bit about
how the farm works and all day yesterday we were building a waterfall.”
This is
quite apt since David helped to build the pond last year, which makes this is a
great extension to his work. His wife, Jean, had been busy cutting the herbs
and lavender back in front of the old farmhouse, whilst working alongside
David, was first-timer Matthew from Cardiff, whose girlfriend comes to the farm
regularly.
“It’s been really enjoyable. I want to get a community allotment in
Cardiff, so this should help me,” he said.
Discussing the
concept of the weekend, Matt Holland commented: “Lower Shaw Farm wouldn’t
survive or thrive without the helpers and volunteers."
"The principle behind it
is helping with work and sharing success. These are listed buildings and have
historic interest but they are not standing idol, you can hear the children
squealing in delight in the play barn and the sounds of chopping wood over
there; there is a lovely sense of continuity here."
"It’s outwardly ramshackled
but inwardly ordered. The only signs you will see are ‘Welcome’, there are no
signs saying ‘Don’t feed the animals’ or don’t do this or that."
“Being located in
a development area, we thought we would be here for a short time but the
opposite has happened; rather than just being a rural retreat [and very
separated from the area], we are very much a heart of the local community.”
It may come as a
surprise that there was talk of the council closing the farm for redevelopment but
at the end of last year a 25 year lease was granted, Matt adds: “There was lots
of support to fight the cause but we wanted to negotiate sensibly and luckily
good sense prevailed for Swindon.”
We are
interrupted as the bell is rung for a tea break where new friends and old
acquaintances gather around a long bench outside, sipping tea and coffee and
tucking into homemade cakes, all enjoying the simpler and rustic side of life,
which can surely only be found at a place such as this.
For more information on the activities on offer at Lower Shaw Farm, please visit their website via the link below.
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Lower Shaw Farm - website | |||||||
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World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms | |||||||
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 Lower Shaw Farm |
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