This weekend saw the arrival of our newest batch of pigs names (from left to right) Guinevere, Galahad, Lancelot, Percival, Arthur and Merlin.  At only 8 weeks old they're all growing well and are looking forward to meeting the first of our new holiday guest arrivals this weekend.

The pigs are a Pietrain cross and it's anticipated that they'll all be fully grown by the end of the summer holiday season.

For such young weaners they're already pretty boisterous and full of character.

Despite Hurrican Doris, the occasional glorious sunny day reminds us that Spring is on its way. Here at Mornacott preparation is underway for our lambing and calving season and the Estate is beginning to come to life with new flora and fauna.

Another fantastic shooting season drew to an end with our traditional Beater's Day.  This year, more than usual, our beater's stoically battled against the odds enduring snow, storms and floods to deliver wonderful shooting days for our guests.  A well earned roast dinner was enjoyed by all.

Improving quality in farming takes time and lots of effort. Charlie, our stockman, joined us almost two years ago and immediately began a programme to improve the quality of the herd focussing on diet, nutrition and breeding. We were all absolutely delighted with the first external endorsement of his labours when our Ruby Red cattle took second and third places at the annual fat stock show in South Molton last week. Well done to Charlie and the rest of the team for their labours which are now starting to show some solid results.

This last week has seen some “interesting” weather.

Friday saw the start of it with the arrival of a team of guns. We started the morning with a drive in the snow, which turned to sleet for the second drive before the third drive in bright sunshine and the conclusion of the day in the rain.

On Saturday and Sunday the rains hit and our little river burst its banks swelled by copious quantities of rain pouring off Exmoor.

Three days of on and off heavy rainfall resulted in our lane becoming impassable at times which caused challenges for the team of guns arriving on Monday night one of whom (sadly) tried to emulate a U Boat commander with his beautifully restored Aston Martin DB5, the rescue of which proved rather challenging!   

Finally ..... an Indian summer.  This last week has seen our holiday cottage guests basking in some lovely sunshine with the team here making preparations for a busy winter season.

It's also allowed time for some external roofing and painting work, including the refurbishment of the beaters' "hut" (and installation of a woodburner) to ensure that everything looks bright and refreshed as Autumn approaches.

Every day that the weather keeps up is another day that our cattle can enjoy being outside before being cooped up inside for the winter and the pheasant and partridge poults have similarly enjoyed the warmer days and the absence of rain.