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An Up Dale farming education

Oct 13, 2017
2 min

An Up Dale farming education

Just a fifteen minute drive Up Dale from River View Pateley, Middlesmoor is a world away. Looking down the valley at Gouthwaite and the rolling hills is breathtakingly beautiful. Turn around and the eyes can drink in the apparent wilderness of the kind of moorland that inspires great literature. Working the land up there is just as breathtaking as the views, although for different reasons. We soon found out what "hill farming" actually means, as we trudged up the rugged land

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Digging in for the winter

Sep 28, 2017
1 min

Digging in for the winter

The leaves are starting to fall and it is time to think about the orchard plans at River View Pateley. The apple pruning workshop I went to earlier in the year paid dividends on our existing tree. We were rewarded with a bucket load of apples this year. Some of them are in makeshift storage in the barn. The rest went to a very talented neighbour who busied herself making jam. She sent over a view jars the other week - Blackberry and Apple, Apple and Elderberry, and her very o

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A bumper crop in the hay meadow

Sep 8, 2017
1 min

A bumper crop in the hay meadow

Growth in the hay meadow caught up in spades at River View Pateley despite an unusually dry start to the year. Guests at the holiday cottage oversaw a bumper crop this August, bank holiday, with so many bales that the barn was overflowing. The ground nesting chicks had flown the nest. Butterflies and the bees had taken their turn at flitting over the rich variety of grasses. Now it was time to harvest a crop to keep the animals going over winter. Sunshine on the field for fi

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Expectant no longer!

Apr 20, 2017
1 min

Expectant no longer!

Remember those Dartmoor ewes looking heavy and tired on our side field earlier this year? Today the first three came back with the fruits of their labour: two singles and one set of twins. Just three days old, it was the first time these lambs had ever been outside. They all wore a bright red number in honour of the occasion. Pictured above is the second ewe to give birth this year with her two hungry and energetic lambs. At the moment, they are just getting used to the plac

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Beautiful mothers to be

Mar 9, 2017
1 min

Beautiful mothers to be

Thirty three gorgeous, very pregnant sheep have come to stay with us at the holiday cottage before lambing time. These ladies may be heavy, extra hungry and a wee bit tired but you can't deny they have the bloom of the expectant mother. With their due date on 8th April looming close, Steve is coming every day to feed them now. They prefer home grown hay to the afternoon teas offered to other guests, and you have to say they look good on it. Driving past the field always raise

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Chickens are top dogs at River View

Everything you would expect from a show, plus a few things you didn't.

How not to fall asleep while counting sheep