SOIL IS THE STRATEGY.
School Visits at Lower Blakemere Farm
Where does your dinner really come from?
Our aim is simple, and we think it really matters: to bridge the link between real farming, real food and children, so they know the story behind what's on their plate. Not the picture-book version, the real one, with mud, worms, weather and a great big combine.
Lower Blakemere is a working family farm on the Duchy Estate in Herefordshire. We grow wheat, barley, peas, rape, beans and grass seed, and we keep cattle and a few rare breed free range pigs. Over the last few years we've been changing the way we farm to a regenerative approach. That means we look after the soil and the wildlife as well as growing food, and we're learning as we go. We love sharing that with children. Their questions are usually brilliant, and now and then they explain the food system back to us rather better than the grown-ups do.
In 2026 we were proud to win the Farmer Award at the Hereford Times Community Awards. We were nominated by the teachers and team at the Harvest Project, who see the farm on ordinary days in all weathers, so it meant a great deal. We were also a finalist for Regenerative Farmer of the Year at the British Farming Awards.
Who you'll likely meet
· Farmer Phil, who knows every field, and is apparently much easier to draw than the livestock.
· Heather, who also runs Wiggly Wigglers, so you can expect plenty of enthusiasm about worms, soil and compost.
· Monty, who leads our regenerative farming and brought his engineering flair to UK Mini Trucks, our little farm trucks that the children seem to love.
· Flo Stoney and the Herefordshire Food Alliance, who we run our school visits with, and who sort out the risk assessments and paperwork. [Food Alliance logo here, linked to their website]
· The Harvest Project team, from the outdoor learning provision based here on the farm, who usually join in with their quails, their growing area and some very welcome squash and biscuits.
· The Dogs: Marjory – the Cairn Terrier, The Labradors Fern and Harvey (who, according to the children, is the real star of Lower Blakemere and of course the farm Manager Mavro – the Shar Pei
What a visit looks like
A visit usually lasts about an hour and a half, which we find is just right. It's long enough to get outside, get hands on and ask plenty of questions, without anyone getting too cold or too tired.
We shape each visit around what your class is learning. Just tell us what you're covering this term and we'll build the farm around it. Our most recent visitors were 7 and 8 year olds who were learning about where our food comes from, and we're happy to welcome different age groups.
What we can share with your class
Depending on what you'd like, we can talk about:
· Soil and worms. The children take soil samples and look at crop roots and soil structure. Then there are the worms, lots of them. Most children hold one (a few take a little persuading!) and find out why these remarkable creatures are the farm's hardest workers.
· Wheat. How wheat becomes the loaf on the supermarket shelf, and how little of the price actually reaches the farmer.
· Harvesting. A look round our enormous combine harvester or our drill for planting corn.
· Cattle. We visit our cows and talk about how the animals help to grow the food for the next generation.
· Pigs. Meet our rare breed free range pigs and see how they fit into life on a mixed farm.
· Bees. Why bees and other pollinators matter so much to the crops and the countryside.
· Hedgerows. What hedgerows do for wildlife, and for the farm.
· Regenerative farming. Why we've stopped ploughing, why we're cutting right back on chemicals, and how adding manure feeds the soil.
· Biodiversity. How the wildlife above and below the ground is part of the farm too.
· Diversification. How a farm can do more than one thing to keep going, from worms with Wiggly Wigglers to mini trucks and our barn.
On a mixed farm everything links up, from what's happening under the soil to what ends up on your plate, so the topics have a lovely way of joining together.
What schools say
"We all really enjoyed the visit. It was real and there was so much to learn about."
Mrs Jo Davies, Headteacher, Staunton-on-Wye Endowed Primary School
"Ruby Class had a fantastic time (although a little wet!) visiting Blakemere Farm, learning all about where our food comes from… A huge thank you to Farmer Phil and everyone at Blakemere Farm for such a wonderful and informative experience."
Clehonger CofE Primary School
"We had 2 really fun school trips at the Gorringes inspiring Lower Blakemere farm this summer. A huge thank you to Heather and Phil and their amazing team."
Herefordshire Food Charter
The thank-you cards we received afterwards were wonderful. They were full of wheat, peas, worms, cattle, Harvey, mini trucks, Farmer Phil and one particularly memorable herd of "Cosmic Cows". One pupil looked at the figures behind a loaf of bread and decided it was "clearly unfair" that the farmer gets only about 11p of a £3.50 loaf. Frankly, we struggled to argue with that.
You can read the Food Charter's story of the visits here: https://herefordshirefoodcharter.org.uk/blog/posts/farm-link-school-trips-to-lower-blakemere-farm
Good to know
· The Herefordshire Food Alliance looks after the risk assessments and the paperwork, so there's very little for you to sort out.
· Lower Blakemere is a working farm, so we'll ask everyone to stay with us and follow the farm team's guidance.
· Please bring wellies or sturdy boots and clothes that don't mind a bit of mud. Farming involves a great deal of it.
· We're about 25 minutes from Hereford, and there's room for a bus.
· We'll talk through the practical details, such as how the visit can fit into your lesson plans, where the loos are and where we'll meet you when you book.
Come and visit us
If you'd like your class to see where their food really begins, and maybe hold a worm or two, we'd love to hear from you. Just contact Heather heather@wigglywigglers.co.uk and she will work with Flo to find a date that works for you.
