See The Countryside At Work During Surrey Farm And Food Week

Published on: 6 Sep, 2013
Updated on: 6 Sep, 2013

Everyone know milk doesn’t grow in cartons – don’t they? Or that burgers don’t materialise magically inside polystyrene trays?

A very new arrival.

Surrey Farm and Food Week, September 21 to 29, gives a fantastic opportunity for the public young and old to look behind the scenes to see how the countryside is managed so that it looks beautiful, harbours wildlife and most importantly produces wonderful food.

The farmers and landowners who are inviting people to come and see how they do that are justifiably proud of their livestock and farmland. Dairy farming is on the decline in Surrey but two of our top dairy farmers are opening their milking parlours so people can have a look and learn about milk production.

Tractor ride at Goldstone Farm.

The Gray family from Goldstone Farm at Polesden Lacey and the Clear family from Pierrepoint Farm in Frensham were champion and reserve champion at the Surrey County Show in May and their Ayreshire and Jersey cattle are superb.

Surrey is the most wooded county in England and people have a rare opportunity to look at the model management of a small private woodland on the edge of Farley Heath, and at Clear Barn Farm in Puttenham they can see rare breeds of pig, sheep and poultry.

If you like the TV series The Great British Bake Off, go one step further and look behind the scenes at Imbhams Farm in Haslemere to see grains being milled to make flour and breakfast cereal.

Feeling thirsty? The programme includes two new events: a tour of Albury’s organic vineyard and the new microbrewery Tillingbourne Brewery on the North Downs at Shere.

There are events at farmers’ markets, a fantastic look at farming history on a medieval Chertsey farm and lots of food events such as a pie making competition at the Parrot in Forest Green.

Surrey Farm and Food Week is co-ordinated by Surrey County Agricultural Society and the full programme of events is on a leaflet available in tourist information centres, council offices and libraries. Or go to www.surreycountyshow.co.uk

Surrey County Ploughing Match and Country Fair at Loseley Park near Guildford on Sunday, September 29.

The finale of the week is the Surrey County Ploughing Match and Country Fair at Loseley Park near Guildford on Sunday, September 29. This is a genuine rural day out for all the family with a fantastic atmosphere.

Visitors don’t just go to watch – they can take part and have a go at driving a tractor, off-roading a 4×4, casting a fishing fly or manipulating a log grabber, shooting a clay or entering the dog agility and gun dog competitions.

The ploughing is fascinating – whether you are watching a modern tractor or a vintage model or a team of horses. The ploughing competitions are held during the morning and include the National Vintage and Young Farmers Area Finals for Surrey and Hampshire but the country fair is open all day from 9am to 5pm.

Tractors ploughing straight furrows.

The farm walks and events during Surrey Farm and Food Week are free to the public, but the County Ploughing Match and Country Fair tickets are available online at www.surreycountyshow.co.uk with substantial discounts for advance bookings.

Adults: £7.50 (£9 on the day); over 65s £6.50 (£8); children £4.50 (£5); under 5s free; family £22 (£25).