Bouncers Farm

The farm and surroundings
The Black Water Estuary consists of open water, mudflats and saltmarsh and is one of the most important habitats for wildlife in the UK. The river provides a rich harvest of fish and shellfish. The sea wall, which protects the land from the sea is topped by a footpath along most of its length, providing opportunities for walking and watching wildlife. Heybridge Basin is a good starting point to explore the estuary; it is home to two Pubs and a sea-going lock in working order. The basin is a popular haven for many classic yachts from home and abroad.

Maldon, 5 miles away from the farm, is one of the oldest recorded towns in Essex, and its links with the river remain as important today as they were to the early Saxon settlers.

Market Hill is much the same as it has always been as it shows in many photographs and pictures.

The Moot Hall has been a center piece of the town almost since the town existed. Maldon port is still trading today, and the old Thames Sailing Barges are still active on the river, although their payload is now passengers rather than the more traditional cargo of days gone by. Northey Island, connected to the mainland by a causeway, was the site of The Battle of Maldon in the year 991 AD. The Battle of Maldon deserves its place not only in the annals of English literature, but also in our country's history. It records an instance of astonishing heroism comparable to such celebrated events as the Charge of the Light Brigade, the Siege of Lucknow or - in the Zulu war - the Battle of Rourke's Drift.

Wickham Bishop’s is a parish containing 3673 inhabitants. “Ham” is the Saxon word for a village. “Wick” frequently referred to a community dairy farm “Bishop’s” refers to the fact that for probably a thousand years extending up to the end of the nineteenth century the Manor of Wickham Bishops was recorded as belonging to the Bishops of London in the Domesday Survey of 1086 . Old St. Peter church was originally constructed as a private chapel for the use of the Bishops. It dates in the main from the 12th century. By the mid 19th century it was decided to replace it with a new building higher up the hill. This was built in 1850 to the designs of Ewan Christian. The font, holy water stoup and parish chest were all removed to the new church where they may still be seen. The earliest tangible evidence of the parish being inhabited is a pot discovered during the First World War in Mope Wood where it had lain for over 2000 years. It can be seen in Colchester Museum.

The farm is less than a mile from the village center, with it's two pubs. One being The Chequers with its enclosed garden, ideal to relax and watch the children enjoy themselves in its playground; the other pub is called The Mitre. There is also a village shop, hairdresser, healt food shop, post office with cash point and other facilities. Bouncers farm is a good starting point to discover this pretty part of Essex by bike or on foot, a network of footpaths and cycleroutes lead through small villages, quiet country lanes and along the banks of the Blackwater estuary. This region of Essex used to be a thriving fruit growing area, strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants and apples giving it a very rural feeling.

Bouncers farm
Bouncers farm is hidden away down a very narrow lane with high banks on either side, the trees forming a tunnel overhead with their arching branches. The farm covers 22 acres (8.9 hectares) and is made up of land sloping gently southwest towards Danbury, to the north of Langford 4 miles from Maldon. It is very quiet, the silence broken only by the song of many varieties of birds. At nighttime there are the calls of owls and occasionally the bark of a fox. Bouncers farm was built in 1935 by Ann’s Grandfather, in those days, besides farm animals, the apple orchard was its main income. He grew English variety apples and other summer fruits like strawberries, gooseberries and rhubarb. Today although not commerically run, the orchards still provide an abundance of fruit in from August through to November and are particularly beautiful in May when they are in blossom. Ann’s Dad, Robbie, planted the cherry orchard now home to many bird species. Next to the orchard are the paddocks where there is a flock of rare breed sheep - crosses of Shetland and Ryland. They share their paddock with Pebbles; Ann's carriage driving pony. Ann herself is an

experienced carriage driver and in 2007 undertook a pilgrimage of 1500 miles by horse and carriage from Bouncers farm to Santiago de Compostella in North West Spain.

Past the orchards and the paddocks, there is a beautiful woodland in which three Featherdown tents are located and where a rare bread of Kune Kune pigs are being bred in their free range enclosure. Patricia, one of the Kune pigs, gave birth to Sally last October; much to the delight of the Feather Down guests who where there to witness Sally's first steps. The woodland has a rich variety of trees, even pine trees from Bhutan, a small lake and a stunning bluebell field and, probably more important for some, a great Tree House!

Wandering from your accommodation to the farmhouse you overlook the water meadows with the River Blackwater and Danbury in the distance, this view hasn’t changed much since 1935. Besides the animals in the paddocks, there is a flock of chickens that were rescued from the batteries and now provide free range eggs in abdundance. All of this is supervised by Ann’s 2 Jack Russells; Alexander and Montgomery and the Irish Wolfhound Tweed. There are great horseriding opportunities and the village has a family run riding school.

Dogs Welcome
Guests are welcome to bring their well-behaved dogs – kept on leads in the areas of animals and other guests.

The Location of Feather Down Farm tents
Two tents are located in the cherry orchard and overlook the green meadows. The other tents are not far away in an open space in the woodlands, overlooking the animal pasture. The farmland is great for children to roam around, there is a tree house, a pond, a sandpit, tyre swings, lots of woodland and trees and wonderful places to make dens; children won't have time to get bored. In front of your tent amongst the trees it is easy to unwind and settle in to the pace of country life.

The Bouncers Farm family
Ann runs the farm together with Robbie, her Dad. We are both keen to tell you all about the farm’s history and the wildlife and flora you can find here. Ann is renowned for her delicious meals. She uses only fresh ingredients sources from farms within a 4 mile radius. Ann is very happy to prepare meals during your stay to give you a holiday from kitchen duties. All meals are available hot to your table.

In the honesty shop you will find Ann's cakes, jams, chutneys and pies to name but a few of Ann's homemade produce. To help you enjoy the meals a selection of fine wines are available in the honesty shop, as well as some award winning Ales produced in Maldon's local brewery.

Opera in the Orchard
On the 11th and 12th of July 2009, an open air production will be held in the gardens of Bouncers farm; a very enjoyable family oriented entertainment weekend. One of the two operas held is I Pagliacci and The Wandering Scholar.

Do you wish to book the tents in this special weekend, please contact our reservations office: tel: 0142-080804. If you prefer peace and quiet during your stay, you should consider to visit Bouncers farm another period.