Readyfields Farm

Because Readyfields encompasses many creatures, great and small, ours is a big extended brood that welcomes you with open arms.

As well as our pets, Digger the Jack Russell; horse Brian; Dinky, Dash and Daisy, our donkeys, living among us for 31 years are the Readyfields bloodhounds. A friendly bunch, they provide puppies between April and July, and we have a big playpen where our guests can enjoy them. The hounds also happily accompany a bike ride once a week, (until the end of August) which a traffic-stopping spectacle and on the last weekend in July we host an annual puppy and hound show, complete with hog roast and afternoon tea. During the summer there are sheep to be shorn and calves and lambs to be bottle-fed twice daily, as well as our pig Peppa to be tended to.

Readyfields sits in the middle of Nottinghamshire's prettiest spot in the picturesque village of Caunton. The farm is set in some of the most beautiful walking country in England, with footpaths starting right on our doorstep.

Sherwood Forest and its associations with Robin Hood is nearby, though the farmhouse doesn't date back quite that far, having been built in the 16th century by the then-owner of Beesthorpe Hall, a Tudor mansion just opposite.

There's plenty to do at the farm including a large trampoline for the children’s use but should you want to explore further afield you can meet all sorts of animals - from llamas to wallabies - at White Post Farm Park, or attend events year-round at Newark Showground, including antiques fairs and May's county town. There are also towns big and small, from the historic city of Lincoln to the quaint minster town of Southwell, home of the Bramley apple. There are also local pubs serving great food, including the Caunton Beck, just a mile away, and the Plough at Norwell, three miles down the road.

David and Lesley Boddy