We left London this morning and unfortunately the visit to Red tractor was cancelled but kept coming here to Bristol. As a back up we arrived at Stone Henge for a quick look! There were not too many people there when we arrived so we spent about an hour walking around it. I was lost in another world for that time - magnificent! We continued on and had lunch in an English pub - very old and quaint in a little village.
We had a farm visit about 3pm to someone Tony was able to line up at the last minute and it was exceptional. It was called The Great Tew Estate, about 4,000 acres with a 40,000 tonnes grain drier facility! The manager, Colin Woodward showed us around the the massive grain sheds and later we went and saw some wheat being harvested. Pictured is the readout from the yield monitor. Colin thought that it was not 100% accurate. But he thought that it might yield about 12 t/ha.After that we saw a machine cultivating this year's wheat stubble. It was offset discs with deep rippers and press wheels. They then have one-pass at sowing. Colin said that only about 10% of UK is no-till and he did not think it would work for him because of compaction on his soil type.
We left about 6pm and arrived at Bath for dinner in another pub. I think this is where my mother's mother was born. So I've come home to the old country! It is a stunning city with wonderful old buildings. We arrived late at the hotel and are heading to Edinburgh tomorrow. It is all a fantastic trip!
Anne and Ray Williams
