Gravenhurst is a quiet village, hidden away and not really on the way to anywhere, although surprisingly close to Luton, Biggleswade and Bedford. Good walking on public rights of way make it a lovely spot to take in a ramble through Bedfordshire’s middle bits. Read on to find out more.
Find out more
Lots of locals enjoy walking around our fields every day of the week. People are interested in the cattle and the willow and regularly ask about what we do and how it affects the countryside and the wildlife that lives here; we can often be found chatting – it’s a friendly kind of place. If you’d like to find out more about the farm; what we do, how we do it and why (and a whole load more besides), we would be delighted to show you around. Read on for details.
Group Visits
A Wildlife Watch group playing ‘sound moose’ in Wassledine’s meadows
Let us introduce you to the cattle, visit our willow beds, find out about wildlife on the farm and hear about the day to day issues we are dealing with at the moment. Here’s a chance to get a little closer to the land, ask anything you wish about what we do and enjoy this beautiful bit of Bedfordshire. Visits can be tailored to your group and could include storytelling, willow weaving or a “farm detectives” activity. We can provide refreshments or you are welcome to bring your own picnic.
Terrain and accessibility: unsurfaced, undulating grass, quite rough in places, with some quite long and unavoidable slopes of up to 1:10. There are no stiles or other similar barriers and although we have some large metal kissing gates (designed for users of standard-sized wheelchairs) on our public footpaths, these can all be bypassed if necessary, when taking part in a guided walk. Some parts of the farm can be very wet in winter. We would like to welcome more visitors with disabilities – if you have any doubts please contact us to discuss a visit; we’ll be happy to talk about the ground conditions at the moment and help decide if it’s for you.
Jane introducing our Red Polls to a group of Brownies
Charges:
Small group (20 people or less): £50 total
Large Group (over 20 people) £2.50 per person
Charges are for a general guided walk lasting between 1.5 and 2.5 hours. Please note additional charges may apply and there may be a restriction on group size depending on the activity you wish to do.
Refreshments:
If you would like us to provide refreshments please choose form the following options:
Squash and biscuits: add 50p per person
Hot drink and homemade cake: add £2 per person
If you’d like to book a group visit please call Jane and Guy 01462 711815 or email
Woodland Visits
Bottoms’ Corner Wood – a lovely venue for a woodland visit
Bottoms’ Corner Wood is on a secluded part of the farm with no public access. We can offer guided activities – den building, campfire stories, games and crafts or you can hire the woods to run your own activity session. The perfect location for youth groups, Guides and Scouts.
In winter, demonstrations of our coppice work can be arranged. Come and find out why cutting trees down can be a good thing; beneficial to the landscape, wildlife and us!
Terrain and accessibility: unsurfaced, undulating grass, quite rough in places, with some unavoidable slopes of up to 1:10. There are no stiles, steps or other similar barriers but because it’s a working woodland, there are usually plenty of things to trip over, particularly during the winter when most of the work is done. We would like to welcome more visitors with disabilities – if you have any doubts please contact us to discuss a visit; we’ll be happy to talk about the ground conditions at the moment and help decide if it’s for you.
If you’d like to bring your group to Bottoms’ Corner please speak to Jane and Guy 01462 711815 or email
Talks
We are very happy to come to your group’s meeting and provide a talk of perhaps 30- 45 minutes. Currently we offer two standard talks –
‘Wassledine’s farming year‘ – a season by season account of what we do, how we do it and why; with the opportunity to get your hands on some willow if there’s time.
‘Storytelling’ – the whys, hows and whens; a chance to hear some tales and perhaps even try some of your own.
We charge from around £50
Come for a walk
Gravenhurst’s a lovely place to walk
Much of our small farm is accessible all the time on public footpaths. The farm lies on a promoted walk that also passes through two neighbouring villages – Silsoe and Shillington – details at www.letsgo.org.uk so if you just fancy a walk, why not take a look?