HUNDREDS of families will flock to Wiltshire College & University Centre’s lambing weekends as it gets ready for one of the busiest seasons of the year.
Up to 1,000 lambs are expected to be born during lambing season, one of the reasons so many families will make their way to the college’s Lackham campus on the weekends of March 15 and 16 and 22 and 23.
“It’s a really busy time but we all look forward to it and we know the families love coming up for the day,” said Executive Director Chris Thompson. “It’s a really good value day out and we enjoy having them here because it’s a chance to show off what we do.”
He said the lambs produced by the college’s flock of 780 ewes are the undoubted stars of the weekends. “We have two lambing seasons, one in January but then the main one for three or four weeks in March and it usually works out that the public are there at the best times,” said Mr Thompson, who has been overseeing the event for four years.
“We get good crowds around the pens where they’re being born and people will wait a long time to see it and get very engaged in it. Our staff who manage that are very good, they chat to the public and explain what’s going on.”
Opening the campus to the public allows them to get an understanding of 21st century farming practices and to see the high priority placed on animal welfare in the way students are taught, he said.
Because the lambs are now housed in a new barn at the college’s Home Farm the college is no longer running tractor rides at the event. There is still a chance to get up close to some impressive machinery though.
“We’ll have some tractors and a combine and one or two other pieces for the children to sit on and have their picture taken,” said Mr Thompson.
There will be more animals to get to know when the college’s animal care students bring out guinea pigs, rabbits, donkeys and goats for feeding and walks. Visitors can also watch birds of prey go through their paces.
The college’s cutting edge, fully automated dairy unit, where its herd of 80 cows are milked, fed and cleaned up after by robots, will also be on show.
In addition there will be market stalls, a hog roast and refreshments, a picnic area as well as colouring and activity sheets, mini fairground rides, pedal tractor rides and den making to keep youngsters entertained.
“It’s a fantastic community event and the wonderful thing is we have people coming up to us and say they were brought as children and now they are bringing their own children,” said Mr Thompson.
“For us it is nice to welcome the families in to showcase our facilities and promote farming in general and who knows, maybe one day some of the children will end up as students here.”
A family day ticket for up to five people is £40, individual tickets are £13.50 for adults and £9 for children over three. Children under three and carers get in free.
Book your tickets on our website
Find our more about our Lackham campus and its agricultural courses
