It’s lambing season – and here in Cheshire we’re lucky enough to have some fabulous farmers who are only too happy to let us in on the action.
One such farming family is the Gilmans, from Pye Ash Farm in Bosley near Macclesfield.
They very kindly open up their farm on select days during the year to enable people to learn more about their work and to see what’s involved in modern day sheep farming.
Many of our readers may remember Pye Ash Farm for its fantastic indoor pumpkin maze in October, and the farm has also hosted a number of sheepdog trials in aid of East Cheshire Hospice over the past few years.
We caught up recently with Martha Gilman, who told us a little bit more about her family and about what goes on at the farm.
She explained: “We are a family-run farm, on the edge of the Peak District, and we host seasonal events throughout the year.
“The Gilman family have been farming here for almost 100 years, and are truly passionate about showcasing British farming and where our food comes from.
“Our grandad, Grandpa Joe, grew up here with his 11 brothers and sisters – but the Pye Ash family now extends further than the Gilmans.
“We have a team of fabulous farming helpers, directed by Jemma, who help us put on seasonal events alongside being a working farm.”
Day-to-day, Pye Ash Farm is a sheep and beef farm – but the Gilmans also have pigs, chickens, ducks, turkeys and bees.
As well as this, they have lots of sheepdogs, as Pye Ash Farm is also a sheepdog training venue.
In fact, Martha’s dad James has a passion for training sheepdogs and competes nationally.
He also hosts sheepdog experiences at Pye Ash Farm throughout the year, where anyone can have a go at learning about sheepdog training, working and trialing.
Lambing season
Spring heralds the busiest time of year for the Gilmans – with lambing getting underway from the beginning of April.
They have lots of different breeds of sheep on the farm, including North Country Mules, Texels, Zwartbles and Herdwicks – as well as Hebrideans which are used for sheepdog training.
Martha said: “Lambing is the biggest event of the farming calendar, it’s very busy and we love it!
“However, it all starts back in November when the tups (male sheep) get put in with the ewes (female sheep).
“The sheep have a five-month gestation period, so if the tups go in on the 5th November, you’re likely to have lambs by 1st April – in with a bang, out like a fool!”
This year the Gilmans are hosting their third annual series of ‘lambing live’ sessions where people can book tickets to visit the farm and experience lambing season for themselves.
There are more than 400 ewes on the farm, so there will be plenty of lambs being born throughout the course of the month.
Martha explained: “We will be opening up our (barn!) doors for the third year running for you to come and see the madness of our lambing season and all of our new additions on the farm.
“We are lambing 450 ewes on the farm this April and we’d love to show you a little bit more about what we do!”
Each session is 90 minutes long – which includes 45 minutes in the lambing shed and 45 minutes additional time on the farm.
Then, once the lambing is done, it’ll be straight back to pumpkin preparations!
Martha told us: “After lambing is over we will be planting the pumpkins – and this year we have more varieties than ever!
“We’ll be opening the pumpkin maze again in October and it’s always very popular.”
Lambing Live at Pye Ash Farm 2023
Tickets sold out in record time this year, however there are a limited number of extra tickets available and these can be purchased online.
Dates: 1st-20th April 2023
Tickets: www.pyeashfarm.co.uk/lambing-live
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