Did you know that lambs are born in spring because that's when the fresh, lush, new-season grass arrives. This provides lots of natural nutrition so lambs get the best start in life.
Heritage breeds
We use native, heritage breeds of sheep that have served farmers and lamb-lovers well over generations.
Our female sheep (ewes) are Romneys. A native breed that comes from the Romney Marshes in Kent. They are exceptionally good mothers, producing a lot of milk to raise their young lambs, and lamb outdoors without help in the paddocks.
We mate the ewes with a Suffolk ram, the most celebrated heritage breed, because it produces large amounts of very tasty meat. Suffolks have big black heads and legs against a white body. Our Suffolk ram is called Benny and we're very fond of him.
The best lamb is grass-fed, always roaming in the fields, maturing slowly over many months.
Our lambs graze specially planted fields of grasses, herbs and flowers. They especially graze a lot of clover, chicory and plantain, which adds a fresh, mild flavour to the meat.
This means they grow at the rate nature intended. Grass fed lamb in incredibly nutrient dense compared to grain finished lamb. It is higher in omega-3 fatty acid, conjugated linoleic acids and vitamins A and E.
This is because the diet of an animal affects the health of the animal. This translates to a more nutritionally dense and complete meat for us. Happily, it also translates to better flavour.
Our lambs are taken to a family abattoir, John Penny & Sons, a 10 minutes drive from the farm.
After dropping them off before 7am they are calmly slaughtered and cleaned normally within half an hour.
They are delivered to our butcher, 15 minutes drive back towards the farm. Richard has an international reputation for quality, having opened his shop when he was 17.
Most lamb is butchered immediately after slaughter, but ours are hung, bone in, to dry age for a minimum of two weeks. This lets the flavour develop and the meat become more tender.