Hannah's Gambledown Reflections

Hannah’s Gambledown Reflections

Wow, time really does fly when you’re having fun at Gambledown Farm! I’ll try my best to summarise my time, as everyday is worth an essay recounting unexpected tales, hilarious moments and joys of summer craziness. However to save you a novel - here are some of my reflections on key unforgettable moments.

Firstly, I have to say, my pre-farm binge watch of Clarkson’s farm only prepared me so much. Being on the ground within such a dynamic business was eye opening, seeing what goes on behind the agri-tourism scenes. From the highs of being amongst the lush green pastures, spotting roe deer leaping across the fields with nothing but the sound of bird song whilst rotating cattle and collecting fresh eggs every morning to weeding ragwort and feeding the pigs in the evenings - it was so magical.

Then the lows, as it was one of the driest summers on record. The lush pastures rapidly drying to a crispy brown, soils hard and deeply cracked, the smell of smoke sparking fear of wild fires, with the cows increasingly vulnerable to heat stress. It was confronting at times helping the farm navigate numerous pressures, which many farmers are feeling globally.

Yet, I loved every second of it. The roller coaster that is working in agriculture, was so incredibly fulfilling. A lot of this fulfilment comes from working in a natural system, so closely intwined with nature. Although this also means there are no shortages of curve balls and therefore proactive management for long term resilience is even more important.

Experiencing the dynamism of farming, it gave me a much deeper appreciation as to the effort that goes into truly regenerative, field to fork agriculture. This was especial with the 100% pasture raised pedigree shorthorn cattle. The notion “eat less meat, and better meat” is something I am much more committed to, as being with the cattle, then eating Gambledown beef, it really does make you realise how important it is for our health and the health of the environment, respecting and supporting higher quality, locally produced food.  

And on that note, I also discovered so many more incredible cuts of beef to cook with other than just plain old steak (which yes is still good, but…)! My new favourite cut is skirt - grilled to perfection on the BBQ it is just melt in your mouth delicious!

A key highlight was discovering Gambledown is not only producing conventional food crops, but also supporting diverse habitats and wild environments that are home to forgeable plants! Helping on Lana’s foraging event, earlier in September, made me realise there was so much on the farm to harvest that can’t be found at your local supermarket! From hall berries for hot sauce making, to the nutrient richness of nettles and medicinal benefits of elder berries - it opened my eyes to the wealth of food available on the farm. Whilst at the farm I’ve loved experimenting with giant puffball mushrooms, boiling up nettle soup, blackberry jam, elderberry syrup and using fig leaves (which are totally underrated for so many possibilities in the kitchen). Also getting my hands sticky from bottling golden sweet honey fresh from the farm’s linden trees! Nature’s bounty really is the best!

It was only fitting that for my last day, we foraged grass cuttings, dried straw and manure sourced from the across the farm as ingredients to fill the Johnson Su compost containers, that I built when I first arrived. We dampened and mixed up on-farm compost ingredients to make a low cost, nutrient rich compost that will hopefully be best suited to feed the life in the soil, building soil health and overall farm resilience. Leaving the compost as my legacy to brew over the next year, I’m excited to hear how it turns out!

Leaving the farm, I will miss so many things. I cannot thank the Gambledown family enough for welcoming me with such open arms and trusting me to work within their incredible family business. Over these last three months, I have been in such awe of how much care and hard work the family puts into Gambledown. There is so much more that goes on behind the scenes than what any guest sees. Their love for the farm is seen in all that they do, and their openness to sharing such a special space for guests to enjoy, relax and truly reconnect with nature, is such a gift.

It is bittersweet that my time at Gambledown farm is coming to an end. However, I know that I’ll be back soon; whether it’s chasing the sun for another summer season, or popping in for a farm to fork meal, catching up on all the many fun farm stories.

For all those that are lucky enough to visit, I hope you enjoy the magic of Gambledown and fall in love with the farm as I have.

A massive Thank You again to Gambledown team :)

Over and out for now,

Hannah