Albion Cattle Society Weekend:  5th/6th October, 2024.        

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We had a lovely open weekend- visiting the Henmore herd of Albions and the Chatsworth Albions in the fabulous landscape within the county from which the Albions originated from.

 

         Saturday 5th  October:         Rockhurst Farm, Aldwark.  

 by kind permission of Ms Jane Bonsall.  ​

                                                              

          Sunday 6th October:         Chatsworth Farmyard, Bakewell. 

by kind permission from the team at Chatsworth Farmyard and particularly our guide, Ms Alice Morley. 

           

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Saturday, 5th October.

 

Jane had everything planned, everyone was very impressed with the thought and detail that had been put in, from the delicious food to the second smaller trailer prepared in case it was needed for an extra trailer ride! ( It was used as some guests who could not make the morning were given their own private tour later afternoon.)

The bale trailer had been made safe with hurdles and a shedding gate for entry! We were chauffeur driven by Brian who was a total gentleman and kept getting in and out to do the gates so that we could go through field after field viewing the stock and the fabulous views.

The Henmore herd of Albions were in the first fields, along with some Limousin cross Albions. ( Sp Ferdinand, Jane’s current bull was indoors with some Limousin heifers) They looked grand in the autumn sunshine. Jane said she was putting the Albion on her Limmys to improve the Limousins’ scatty temperament and also to make them more milky; they looked a very useful cross.

A few fields later and we were viewing the commercial beef herd they looked fantastic and gathered right around the trailer trying to eat our seating! We also had a fantastic view of Derbyshire as we were about 1200' above sea level, the locals on the trailer enjoyed spotting their farms etc in the distance.

Then more views and we assessed Jane’s quality lambs who looked ready for market and then back to the barn for hot turkey rolls with all the trimmings followed by delicious homemade biscuits.

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There was a really happy vibe in the barn and when we were ready, the announcement for the ACS herd competition winner was made. Mr and Mrs Hewitt kindly made the awards and read out judge Ruth Dalton’s comments as well as awarding ‘best in show’ for the best Albion at each show this summer. For a full report of the herd competition, please see the homepage of the ACS website.

This was followed by an informal discussion covering topics such as new member subscriptions, next bulls for AI and genetic testing.

 

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Overall we had a lovely, happy and interesting day and would like to thank Jane and her helpers for all that hard work.

 

Sunday, 6th October

 

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Organised with Alice Morley, from Chatsworth Farmyard

We arrived before the Farmyard had officially opened to the public and were welcomed into a warm room where Alice Morley gave us an introductory talk about  the history of Chatsworth Farmyard and their policies. The message came over strongly that they want the public to understand where their food comes from and how important it is to support British rare breeds. However we did see the £2 million  new adventure playground set up; which brings in the families- learn and play!

When we emerged the Farmyard was fully open with people and pushchairs everywhere. 

First thing to visit was the Albion pen where we met the two Albion cows  and a lovely white heifer calf. Chatsworth Bluebell Is regularly used in milking demonstrations; Alice told us that she was a bit of a slow milker which can be an advantage for milking demonstrations!

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It was hard to keep everyone from ACS together after seeing the Albions in their corner - some people trying to find a certain breed of hen, sheep, pig, horse, duck, cow or simply leaning on a gate chatting! But we met up later for a tractor and trailer ride around Chatsworth grounds. Alice drove us but could talk as she drove and we all stared out at sweeping park views and listened - it was lovely seeing various groups of deer including some splendid antlers.

We ended up at the Chatsworth Farm-shop which was packed with goodies and customers. A great place to buy a picnic and things to take home ( like fresh venison or Bakewell Puddings!)

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For those of us lucky enough to be able to spend the afternoon at Chatsworth, Alice arranged complimentary tickets to tour the house and gardens. That was a real treat to see such ceiling paintings and treasures.

All In all another superb day out and a wonderful Albion Cattle Society weekend .

Huge thanks go to Jane and Alice for their hard work preparing for our visit. Many members commented on the lovely time they had.

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