The land has found its summer stride. The meadows are thick with wildflowers and grasses tall enough to brush your shins. The footpaths, two of them now – one yellow, the other pink – have been completed. Weaving through woodland, over fields and past streams, they’re made for early-morning runs before the mist has lifted and leisurely late-afternoon strolls before dinner. Tom and George have been busy building new timber bridges too: simple, sturdy, beautiful things, that will take you further still into the valley.
For those who like to greet the day with a soul-stirring stretch and a deep breath, Sunday evening yoga has now joined our usual Saturday morning and Thursday sessions. Held outside when the weather plays nicely, or beneath the sky in the Greenhouse when it doesn’t, it’s the gentlest of nudges into the weekend and a fine excuse to book a long one.
In the barns, the last of our calves for the season arrived just last week. A perfect roan, all long lashes and unsteady limbs. Calving season has drawn to a close for the summer and the herd are now out on pasture, chewing the cud. You’ll hear them often, along with the cacophony of Manx Loaghtan sheep making their thoughts known.
Something special has taken root in the kitchen too. We were thrilled to officially welcome Elly Wentworth to Fowlescombe on 1st July. Elly brings with her not only a deep respect for produce and provenance that sits perfectly with our own ethos, but also a talented team of pastry and sous chefs; magic-makers who will help bring the Fowlescombe food story to life in new and ever more seasonal ways. Suffice to say: you’ll be very well fed
Behind the scenes, the wider team is growing too. More hands to gather flowers and garden greens, to track the ever-changing ecology of the estate, to help you find your bearings and to make sure your glass is never empty.
There is summer energy in the air and a feeling that something special is building here.
