Browse through our blog posts to find out what life is like at Hoe Grange Holidays along with some great ideas for days out in the Peak District.
For the last few years herds of dairy farmers, flocks of shepherds and a whole coven of farmers wives have Twitted, Blogged Instagramed and Facebooked about a whole 24 hrs of farming showing what they are all getting up to. Today 9th August 2018 is this years #Farm24 day. What are we all doing this year? Well for a start 2018 is turning out to be one of the most challenging years for decades in farmings never ending battle with the weather. Following the wettest coldest spring in living memory, we jumped straight into the longest hottest...
Farming always has its ups and downs but this year has been particularly challenging. The winter snows were severe with the Beast from the East which meant a late spring, followed on by the current heatwave which is causing havoc with the harvests. Sunshine and heat is wonderful for our holiday guests staying in our log cabins and glamping pods, but not so great for the farm animals. June 2018 has been the driest on record. I can't recall when I last saw the farm fields so brown and the grass is so dry it scrunches underneath your feet. ...
A few days ago our herd of suckler cows underwent its annual routine TB (Bovine Tuberculosis) test. This is an anxious time for any livestock farmer, as it can have devastating consequenses. The TB test involved shaving two small sites on the cows neck, then measuring and recording the skin thickness at both sites.The vet then injects tiny amounts of deactivated TB virus of 2 types, 1 is bovine TB and the other is Avian TB. The cows are then left for 72 hours and the skin in the 2 sites is measured again. If there is a thickening of the s...
Trit trot, trit trot… look who’s arrived at Hoe Grange Holidays now! Back in January we introduced you to our friendly Pygmy goats, Dora and Luna. Recently our little goat herd has expanded somewhat as these two lovely ladies have both had kids. Meet Luna's adorable twins, Nutmeg and Saffron, and Dora's cute kid Looby Lou. Here at Hoe Grange we are used to the arrival of lambs, but the kid goats were so much smaller when they were born that we were truly amazed and smitten - these cuddly kids have definitely stolen the "cute factor" ...