Holly, Jolly Christmas

The days have finally darkened and winter is upon us! At the farm we’ve been eating mince pies and listening to festive tunes, and the site is now being prepared for a short sleep over Christmas while we take a break for holidays and maintenance. Why not join us for our two Christmas family events? We’ll be celebrating Saturnalia – the Roman Christmas on Friday 16th December and Tales of Winter Magic on Monday 19th December – join us for two unique festive experiences!

Our pregnant pigs have now moved back to Piggy Palace, their luxury winter cabin that keeps out the damp and cold. We’re expecting them to give birth any time from now until January, so there is lots of straw available for them to make nests with, and we are keeping a close eye on their behaviour to check for early signs of labour. Here’s to more little pigs in 2017!

A few weeks ago, our goats Sorrel and Yarrow went away on holiday to spend some quality time with their new boyfriend, a billy goat called Gandalf. We’re hoping they’ll have such a great time that in a few months we’ll have two new baby goats! Our two remaining goats Bella and Áine have been enjoying a little peace and quiet, as Sorrel and Yarrow are quite boisterous and squabblesome, rather like drunken aunts at Christmas dinner. Nevertheless, we all miss them and are looking forward to them being back together in the New Year.

The gift shop is fully stocked for Christmas gifts, with traditional honey mead to warm our hearts, natural soaps, handspun wool skeins, stocking fillers and homegrown meat for Christmas dinner. Visit us this week for last minute gifts, or take a look at our shop page here for more information.

A few fires have still been burning the roundhouses, as we’ve welcome the last remaining schoolchildren before Christmas. We’re looking forward to January when we will once again be travelling back in time with school groups, allowing them to experience first hand what it would have been like to live in Stone Age, Iron Age, Roman and Saxon Britain. We still have a few spaces left for January and February bookings, so please get in touch if you are interested in bringing your school to Butser.

We will be closed for Christmas from Tuesday 20 December 2016 – Monday 9 January 2017. Take a look at our Events and Workshops programmes for 2017 – we’ll see you in January for an exciting new year!

Back from Extinction

As part of our ongoing work with the Species Recovery Trust, our site is being used as an experimental area for Darnel (Lolium temulentum), a plant that arrived in Britain in Roman times and one that was originally considered a serious pest of crops, mentioned both in the Bible and Shakespeare. In the twentieth century, seed cleaning technology and the increased use of pesticides meant Darnel was exterminated from the wild, and up to now has been extinct in the UK. However, we are delighted to announce that the seeds planted at Butser have germinated and we now have a small crop of Darnel growing on site!

The plant has a fascinating history, particularly with regard to medieval myths surrounding witchcraft. The seeds contain a mild toxin if eaten, and can also act as a natural host for the ergot fungus. Ergot causes a wide range of symptoms including temporary hallucinations, and an outbreak in Massachusetts may have been behind the Salem witchcraft trials!

This particular project has used a small number of seeds collected from Inis Meain off the coast of western Ireland, and aims to bring the plant back from extinction and into a small number of trial sites like Butser Ancient Farm. For more information visit www.speciesrecoverytrust.org.uk