Client stories: 40 years in step with nature
Nestled in an undulating patchwork of fields and woods near the Wye Valley National Landscape is a bucolic 116-acre parcel of land where organic-led farming and wildlife conservation go hand-in-hand.
Known as Castle Farm, its traditional hay meadows, pasture and woodland are home to an incredible diversity of wildlife, including barn owls, great crested newts, dormice, as well as numerous moths and butterflies. The farm also boasts what is thought to be one of the largest areas of wild daffodils in Herefordshire, which flower in early spring.
It is the result of 40 years of sensitive farming and habitat management by Emma Lambe and her late husband, James.
Emma says she’s ‘passionate’ about wildlife. Her interest in protecting and enhancing habitats to increase biodiversity stems back to when she started farming in the 1970s, before developing further when she and James bought the neighbouring farm in the early 1980s.
Moving in with their two daughters, one of the Lambes’ first tasks was to convert an agricultural barn in the heart of the farm into a six-bedroom family home with a striking castellated exterior. Since then, the couple have carefully nurtured the landscape to create an ecologically-rich farm.
Emma explains: “We knew we wanted to balance commercial farming with the needs of wild plants and animals. Our objective was to increase biodiversity by managing hedgerows and uncropped areas, such as field corners and watercourses.”
Hedgerows
One of the Lambes’ key strategies at Castle Farm has been to improve the hedgerows. This has helped to develop ‘corridors’ across the land for wildlife to flourish and animals and birds to move around more freely. “Plants, animals, and birds need to breed” says Emma, “but they can’t do that if you don’t provide the habitat. It’s dependent on uncropped areas, such as hedgerows.”
Hedgerows that were in poor shape were coppiced - which involves cutting them back to support new growth. “I planted additional native species, such as hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, honeysuckle, field maple, and briar roses to fill in the gaps in the hedgerows,” explains Emma. “Door mice, for example, are very rare and don’t like to travel on the ground; they rely on being able to climb along the branches from one hedge to another.”
Hedgerows were also cut into an A-shaped profile, allowing more light to get to the bottom of the hedgerow. “It also makes it harder for predatory birds, such as magpies, to perch on the top, look down and rob nests,” Emma explains.
This attention to detail extends to cutting alternate sides of the hedgerows every other year in a bid to minimise disruption to wildlife and ensure continual flowering.
Organic grassland
The Lambes have also carefully balanced farming and wildlife conservation across around 116 acres of Grade 2 and 3 organic grassland, which comprises traditional hay meadows and pasture. As an organic regime, no chemicals or fertilisers are used; only organic manure.
“All of us are dependent on pollination for survival. Without it, plant life would die. So, I try to maximise flowering plants in the wild to benefit pollinators”.
The couple opted for traditional grazing and hay-making regimes which encourage a diversity of plant species, and many insects and butterflies depend on them. The Murray Grey and Hereford cattle are forages and eat a variety of plants that help to keep the grass open enough for wildflowers to grow and seed. “Murray Greys roam around and they eat a bit of everything, not just lush grass. They are good at treading on bracken too,” Emma points out.
Other tactics included cutting hay meadows later in the season so that seeds set in the ground, and topping (or in other words, cutting) invasive weeds, such as creeping thistle, before they flower to allow other plants to thrive.
Emma adds: “The pleasure from having a traditional hay meadow full of flowers and buzzing with insects is a privilege; it is beyond price.”
Woodland and orchard
The 22 acres of ancient and broadleaf woodland have been actively protected and managed with wildlife in mind too.
Parts of the woodland have been transformed by coppicing shrubs and selectively felling trees. This has enabled more sunlight to reach the woodland floor and encourage richer plant life.
Butterflies are among the species that have benefitted from the creation of wide rides - open, light spaces in the woodland. As Emma explains: “Butterflies like to fly in these corridors. They enjoy the sunshine and the nectar from the ground flora.”
Elsewhere, veteran trees have been nurtured as part of the overall management of the canopy.
Closer to Castle Farmhouse, the Lambes have given existing Perry pear trees a new lease of life and planted other old, traditional varieties, providing more scope for pollination in the orchard.
Watercourses and ponds
Recognising that damp areas are of great value, Emma has focused on the ponds and the small watercourses that meander across Castle Farm.
Restoring existing ponds and digging new shallow ponds, giving amphibians such as frogs, toads and newts the chance to colonise.
They have kept the watercourses in good health too. And, in one area, the couple have allowed water to spill over the bank. This creates conditions for a variety of species to thrive, including bittercress, water peppermint, and meadowsweet.
No stone left unturned
This approach to boosting biodiversity has been extended right across Castle Farm.
The commitment to strengthening existing habitats has also included ring fencing and managing an area at the centre of the farm which contains woodland, scrub, wetland and pasture as a nature reserve.
They have controlled brambles and bracken in a similarly considered fashion: cutting back some to allow flowering plants to grow, while keeping others as a shelter and a food source for different species.
And their efforts to create new rich habitats have also included planting hundreds of native, broad-leaf trees in uncultivated fields corners.
Reaping the rewards and new horizons
The Lambes’ integration of commercial farming and wildlife conservation has been recognised through a number of awards. These include the prestigious Silver Lapwing Award, which they won in 1987 and were also a runner up for 12 years later. The national award is given to those who do the most to protect and enhance the natural environment where they farm.
But after 40 years at Castle Farm, the time has now come for Emma to hand over the reins. There is certainly scope to build on everything the Lambes’ have achieved. “It is a legacy I want to see going forward. I would like to sell Castle Farm to someone who will protect and manage it – and see its unique value,” she says.
Castle Farm is on the market for £2,850,000. Upton Bishop | Strutt & Parker