Lyneham Heath Farm

We are a small farm of 130 acres managed for Cross Country Schooling at its heart with the beginnings of wild flowers meadows and Wood meadows on the periphery. We have a small herd of jersey cows, 2 horses and from time to time a flock of Kerry Hill breeding ewes.

We use green hay (freshly harvested wild flower seed spread within the hour) and bale graze throughout Winter to introduce diversity into the grass sward. Each year we witness an increase in coverage and look forward to a time when the whole farm is carpeted with diverse flora.

Over the years we have planted many trees, inlcuding fruit and nut, and new mixed hedgerows containing up to 16 different species. We’ve dug ponds and made scrapes. We tall grass graze aiming for a patchy sward, and leave some areas ungrazed and unmanaged to allow invertebrates to overwinter undisturbed and give saplings such as oak, hawthorn and hazel, a chance to regenerate and establish naturally.

Our hedges have grown tall and wide to allow for flowering and setting of fruit for the birds in the Winter months. Combined with supplementary feeding along the sheltered bridleway which dissects the farm we’ve seen bird numbers and species increase significantly. These wonderful hedges also provide shade, shelter and browse for the livestock. We have started to lay them on rotation singling out any naturally regenerated oaks and field maples to leave as standards.

We make small areas of hay at varying times of year to favour the flowers, pollinators and wildlife….but just a little at a time to avoid any drastic loss of habitat. Full of tasty herbs and sweet native grasses our horses and cattle thrive on our hay in the Winter months – outwintering the livestock is an important part of the plan.

From year to year we experiment with veg crops and different methods of growing – making large scale compost heaps in windrows turned several times with a digger, to use for our ‘no dig’ beds.

We belong to our local Farmer Cluster https://www.cotswoldfarmers.org/ which has been a great support in pointing us in the right direction and meeting up with other farmers and landowners seeking answers to environmental issues.

A brief flyover of the farm