Helen Holmes is an organic cereal grower and long-standing friend of Wakelyns.

Henrietta runs the Wakelyns Bakery.

We are delighted that they are teaming up to bring this special one-day harvest-time “Field to Loaf” event to Wakelyns.

‘Field to Loaf’ from Helen & Henrietta – Saturday 14 August

Our ‘Field to Loaf’ course will start at 10 and run till mid-afternoon, with lunch and refreshments from the Wakelyns Bakery included. We’ll use traditional techniques to harvest and prepare the grain, before milling it to make fresh bread in the Wakelyns Bakery wood fired oven. As an optional extra, you’ll be able to stay on for a ‘course supper’ in the evening.

In this workshop we will start in the Wakelyns alleyways with organic cereal grower Helen Holmes (seen here, but not at Wakelyns!) outlining how diverse grains such as populations, ancient varieties and everything from ryes to spelts can be grown even on a small scale for home consumption.

We will then traditionally harvest by sickle YQ and Q wheat, tying into neat sheaves.

We will then thresh with a pedal powered grain bike to loosen the grain from the chaff and then winnow in a 1912 made hand-cranked machine to blow the chaff away from the precious grains.

After we’ve freshly stone milled the grains, we will learn more about baking with wholegrain flours with Wakelyns resident baker and cook, Henrietta Inman. We’ll understand the goodness and nutrition contained in the bran and germ, which are stripped from the grain to produce starchy white flour made from the central endosperm. We’ll also learn about the process and science of sourdough, the numerous benefits such as flavour and health, and each guest will take home some sourdough starter and a guide to maintaining it, as well as your wood-fired loaf of bread.

From sowing, looking after and harvesting your grains, preparing the starter to mixing, shaping and baking the loaves, after the class you’ll feel equipped with the information you need to continue growing grains and baking at home. We’ll also discuss the importance, joy and deliciousness of using local grown grain from a local grain network and our role as farmers, bakers and bread consumers in the transition to a regenerative farming future, supporting agroecological farms, soil health and human health.

We’re looking forward to sharing a communal day of learning, harvesting and baking!

Book your event

Celebrating the growing community of Agroforestry farms in our area

Anglia Agroforestry Open Weekend 2021

Fellows Farm, Fobbing Farm, Shimpling Park Farm, Maple Farm Kelsale, Wakelyns and Whitehall Farm will be open for visitors

Saturday 1st – Sunday 2nd May 2021

This is a first for Anglia Agroforestry, loosely modeled on the Open Studios, or Open Gardens schemes, except here you definitely need to book ahead for each site you want to visit please.

Here’s more information about the overall scheme, and what is going on at the other farms.

Wakelyns

We at Wakelyns will be open both Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 May from 9.30 am to 5.00 pm

Please book ahead by emailing david@wakelyns.co.uk, giving us a contact name, approximate time we can expect you, how many people, how many vehicles and whether you’d like to book for food (as below). We will respond to confirm your booking and with more information about where to go, where to park and so on.

Please do NOT just turn up. You will not be welcome if you come unannounced as we have to plan parking, manage numbers and so on.

What to see

We doubt that the lock-down arrangements will allow us to group people for tours. Information leaflets will be available for when you wander round our 56 acres of Agroforestry, much of which was planted in 1994. To see:

• short rotation hazel coppice tree lines
• short rotation willow coppice tree lines
• mixed fruit/nut tree lines
• mixed timber/fruit tree lines
• cropping alleys including YQ, Q and other population wheats, wheat mixtures, heritage wheat, lentils, naked barley, squash
• Our no-dig horticulture from the RealVeg CSA team
• Farm Art from Till and Fred including scrap metal tree line numbers, birds and our beautiful wind turbine

Who will be around

• David Wolfe and Amanda Illing (from the Wolfe family)
• Paul Ward (who has done the practical farming work at Wakelyns for many years)
• Paul Jackson (long term Wakelyns Arborist) {NB Saturday 1 May only}
• Jim Cooper (long term Apple expert)
• Marion Gaze (long term vegetable grower)
• Chloe, Holly and Rachel (from Real Veg, our new no-dig CSA horticulture team)
• Fay Jones, The Woodland Haberdasher (now based here)
• Henrietta Inman (our resident baker/chef in the Wakelyns Bakery)

Join us for some refreshments

As well as enjoying the farm and Agroforestry, join us for refreshments: Tea, coffee, Wakelyns apple juice and cordials and cakes and biscuits will be available throughout the day.

Also, throughout the day, but pre-booked only, “Agroforestry Plates”:

• £10 – Local cheese, ham, a hard-boiled egg, and our own chutneys, pickles and wholegrain YQ bread
• £7 – Seasonal quiches, per slice
• £6 – Hodmedod’s peas and beans dip and crackers

When you tell us you’re coming, please also let us know if you’d like to pre-book Agroforestry Plates and of any special dietary requirements.

World Dawn Chorus Day – Sunday 2 May

Sunday 2 May is also World Dawn Chorus Day. We will be out and about enjoying the birdsong from about 5am. More information here.

Join us for World Dawn Chorus Day 2 May 2021

A cacophony of birdsong

From 5.00 am on Sunday 2 May 2021, we’ll be out in the Agroforestry fields enjoying World Dawn Chorus Day 2021 – it’s always the first Sunday in May.

It’s possible that the Turtle Doves will be back at Wakelyns by then – they normally arrive back at Wakelyns from Senegal around the first week of May. But even if not, there’ll be plenty of birdsong to enjoy.

Have a look at some of the Wakelyns surveys to get some ideas.

And breakfast

Tea, coffee, 2020 apple juice and a breakfast buffet from the Wakelyns Bakery celebrating the food from the farm and local producers is available with advanced booking by email to henrietta@wakelyns.co.uk. £9 per head. 

With Spring nearly here, Holly, Chloe and Rachel (with help from Alison and Serena) have started to prepare the beds for their CSA horticulture!

Check out their microsite!

James Wong – Follow the Food

Back in the Autumn, James Wong visited with a film crew to film at Wakelyns as part of his Feed The World series for BBC World TV. The episode in question was broadcast globally the other week. Being BBC World it was not broadcast in the UK, but you can download it from their website.  We are in episode 5, about 13m 40s from the start. Not a long piece, but some lovely footage of Wakelyns and a great opportunity to spread the Wakelyns message.

We are delighted that Robin Walter’s beautiful “Living With Trees” book features Wakelyns.

When Robin Walter visited Wakelyns in 2019 as part of the research for his proposed book about trees, we had no idea it was going to be such a lovely and beautifully produced book.

When our copy arrived, we were properly taken aback.

It’s full of fascinating and eclectic information about trees, all interspersed with amazing photos. And, of course, a page about Wakelyns – what can we say?!

We thoroughly recommend it as as present; or treat yourself.

You can get them from Robin’s Living With Trees website.

It’s a privilege to feature as ‘December’ in the Landworkers’ Alliance 2021 Calendar.

Chloe Tatum and Holly Gregson of REALVEG are planning to use alley space for the communal growing of certified Organic vegetables through a setup of a new CSA. 

This looks to build direct supply chains between the producer and consumer. Buyers of a share are encouraged to have an active regular participation in the growing, harvesting and packing of the produced boxes.

A box will consist of a mix of seasonal produce (including some of the fruits from the Wakelyns tree lines), be collected from site weekly and is intended to be sufficient for 2 adults or a small family.

The model addresses a need to re-localise and diversify our food system while using an alternative socioeconomic model, and is educative with opportunities to connect with food growing. 

They’re setting up this winter, growing between our alleys 40 and 42, with the aim to be ready to start planting out Spring/Summer 2021. 

It is inclusive and open to all and they’re actively looking for members.

For lots more information, have a look at the RealVeg CSA microsite

For anyone interested please contact realveg@wakelyns.co.uk