When to plan a visit to The Bridge Mill

This document gives an idea of what time of the year you could expect to see different plants, insects and animals. We hope it is helpful when planning a visit to the mill.

For detailed ideas on what to do during a visit please see the “Ideas Bank” and related folder of worksheets. This is available, free of charge, to all schools making a booking with us.                                     

Farm animals:

Sheep – all year. We have a small flock of breeding ewes and their lambs are born in late March.

There is also a flock of very friendly “old girls” – sheep that have retired from the breeding flock but still enjoy meeting our visitors.

Some of the friendly “old girls”

The sheep are sheared during May or June when the weather is right so “The story of a woolly jumper” might be your focus at this time.

Story of a woolly jumper – part one!

Lambs are born in late March

  Pigs - usually from May to October

In the spring we buy in 4 or 5 “weaners”- piglets of around 8 weeks old. These are grown on until they reach pork or bacon weight during the autumn. We handle these pigs regularly so that they become quite tame.

Cattle - usually all summer

We do not have any cattle of our own but a local farmer brings some to graze here every year so that we can fulfil the required grazing regime for Countryside Stewardship.

Poultry - all year (depending  on the fox)!        

                                                                 We have both ducks and hens around the yard and garden areas. The call ducks begin nesting in March so we have a succession of ducklings from April onwards. The larger Khaki Campbell ducks are excellent egg layers.

 There is also a small flock of hens that lay eggs for the house with at least one “little red hen” amongst them!

         The little red hen       

In May we buy in around 20 day-old chicks to rear for the table. These we grow on through the summer until they are big enough for the freezer.

                             Table chickens!

  In the gardens:

Fruit and vegetables – can be seen all year according to the season. We grow vegetables for the house throughout the year so as each crop ripens, so it is harvested and stored away.

Vegetables - asparagus, potatoes, leeks and onions, peas, beans, courgettes and squashes, cabbages and other brassicas, Swiss chard, turnips, beetroot, parsnips, carrots, lettuce and radishes, rhubarb.   

Fruit - strawberries, raspberries, red, white and blackcurrants, gooseberries, apples and pears.

                            The gate into the garden  ….....................................           

Freshly harvested cauliflower..........and peas    

              Strawberries ........................and carrots

Herb and dye plants - can be seen all year. We grow a range of useful plants:

• For medicinal use
• For dyes and textiles
• Early (Celtic) food plants through to modern culinary herbs.

         Woad gives a blue dye..........................Dyer’s chamomile gives yellow

Colours from natural dyes

Soapwort for the weekly wash!         Rosa gallica, the “Apothecary Rose”  

 Cowslips are useful against the scrofula!    Valerian tea helps you to sleep

Wildlife on the smallholding:

 Early in the year – January to April    

Even in the coldest months there is always something of interest to be seen – flocks of winter visiting birds – fieldfares and redwings; signs of visiting otters in the millpond and animal footprints in the snow:

Around late January, frogspawn appears in the lake and millpond and the first flowers of spring, the snowdrops, open.

Frogspawn                                             Snowdrops

A frosty morning view of the meadow

The trees begin to show signs of re-awakening with catkins appearing.

Hazel catkins (lamb’s tails) are the first to open.

Lamb’s tails

Alder catkins open in February                 “ Pussy willow” catkins

Toadspawn is laid in February

Primroses dot the hedge banks during March

In April, the swallows return to build their nests in the barns and can be seen swooping over the lake feeding on the early flying insects. The regular pair of wild Canada geese return to their nesting site on the small island. The eggs are incubated through April and usually hatch in early May.

 The regular pair of Canada geese with goslings

 The leaves of the whorled caraway, a rare plant of the Culm grassland, appear in the long grass of the meadow.

Whorled caraway leaves, looking like miniature horsetails

By May - The Marsh meadow is beginning to look interesting once more with lady’s smocks (milkmaids) in flower. Orange tip butterflies will be on the wing and laying eggs on these plants.

 Cardamine pratensis – Lady’s smocks                          Orange tip butterflies

     The blossom opens on the hawthorn bushes in May

The mass exodus of newly developed frogs and toads from the water is quite amazing to experience!

                                              Buttercups and sorrel                      Toadpoles

Early damsel and dragonflies are evident and on a warm day the river and ponds are humming with their activity.

Dock beetles are readily found on dock plants and these will continue their life-cycles all through the summer and into the autumn.

 Dock beetle eggs                                     Dock beetles 

June is the best month for the culm grassland of the Marsh – before the cows are turned in to graze! The small group of southern marsh orchids will be in flower and ragged robin should be showing in large swathes across the field.

   Gateway to the Marsh                                   The Marsh in June

   Southern marsh orchid                                   Ragged robin

 Grasshoppers are still small at this point, but many butterflies will be on the wing as well as some day flying moths.

          Day flying burnet moth                                Speckled wood butterfly      

The whole field is alive with mini-beasts; wolf spiders hunting on the ground, the female carrying her egg sac before spinning a safe place for the young to hatch.

   Female wolf spider guarding her egg sac............and newly hatched babies

More species of damsel and dragonflies will be emerging. You may be lucky enough to witness the emerging adults as they leave the water for the final part of their life cycle.

Newly emerged four-spotted chaser                   Empty skin

 July - grasshoppers are much bigger by now and every footstep through the grass of the meadow sends scores of them hopping away.

    Grasshopper at rest!

 Ragwort plants come into flower and the larvae of the cinnabar moth caterpillars strip some plants of their leaves.

  Cinnabar moth caterpillar

Damsel and dragonfly activity continues. The cows are grazing in the Marsh by mid July so gradually the long grass and remaining flowers become trampled or eaten!

The weather on the day of a visit is always an unknown but we are very rarely deterred; indeed one advantage of a wet day visit is that you will see more frogs, snails and slugs - creatures that prefer moist surroundings.

 Slugs and snails are more in evidence on a damp day

September – December

We stay open for schools until the end of the year. The autumn term visits usually focus on hedgerows and harvest –

There are autumn berries, nuts and leaves – lots to collect for collage work.

And lastly there is the mill - linking in with food and farming, harvest festival etc.  Visits to the mill can be made at any time of the year and in any weather as it is under cover. 

Will the miller help the Little Red Hen?

Hopefully, this will give you an idea of some of the activities on offer at different times of the year. Visits are free to all groups whether schools, youth groups or adult groups. A free detailed Teachers' pack is provided to all schools making a booking with us. The visits are carefully planned to suit the age and abilities of each group and can take place during the day or in the evening.

Booking is essential.

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