Families set to spring over to Northamptonshire's Chester House Estate to bottle-feed lambs

Families across Northamptonshire will be flocking to Chester House Estate this Spring to welcome and bottle feed around 50 new lambs.

As ewes from a local farm prepare to give birth over the coming weeks, the estate team are now busy preparing for the new arrivals. Ninety bales of straw are on order, dozens of crates of milk formula are on route and the specialist Lamb Barn is being equipped with nine individual pens in preparation for the new-borns.

Cllr Helen Howell, North Northamptonshire Council’s Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Sport, Leisure, Culture and Tourism, said: “Thousands of visitors will be at the Chester House Estate this year and our Easter events will really kick start the season in style. With Spring just around the corner, the Estate team can’t wait to show everyone around and introduce visitors to our four-legged friends.

“Last year, the lambs were extremely popular with visitors bottle-feeding them and learning all about them from our team. Tickets are selling out fast, so do head over to the Chester House website and book your spring passport now.”

Cllr Jason Smithers, Leader of the Council, added: “The Chester House Estate is a wonderful asset which continues to go from strength to strength. I would encourage anyone who hasn’t visited yet to come along - not just for our Easter event, but all year around. There really is something for everyone.”

This year Chester House Estate is looking after a local farmer’s cade lambs. These are lambs that cannot be fed by their mums and need help to survive and flourish. The Estate’s team expect to go through 10,000 litres of formula, and each bottle will be heated to body temperature, with the lambs fed morning, noon and night.

As well as bottle feeding the cade lambs, the Chester House Estate Lamb barn will also be home to a number of ewes and their lambs, as well as several goats and their kids.

Visitors to The Chester House Estate will be able to visit and feed the lambs and chat to the estate’s expert livestock team from Saturday, 25th March to Monday, 1st May 2023 (weekends and school holidays only).

For the second year running visitors will also be able to explore the 85-acre estate, collect letters and search for giant easter eggs which will be hidden across the estate, from the River Nene to the historic farmhouse.

This year, for the first time, there will also be chocolate lollipop making workshops – included in the price of the Spring Passport.

A total of 20 people can bottle feed the lambs per session, with more than a dozen volunteers trained to farm attraction industry standards who will help the livestock team care for the lambs which will be fed five times a day - as well as in the morning and the evening.

Another new Spring addition this year is the estate’s dog friendly Easter Hunt. For £5 visitors are invited to bring their furry friends along to hunt for a series of giant wooden dog bones, which will dotted across the estate. At the end of each treasure hunt all the four-legged friends will receive a seasonal doggy treat.

Also, back for a second year is the estate’s late night one-hour Cade Lamb Feeding Experience, running at 5pm and 9pm. The majority of these have already sold out.

Costs:

Families: The Spring Passport at Chester House Estate is priced £15 and includes a cade lamb feeding session, giant Easter Egg Hunt and a time allocated chocolate workshop ticket. Accompanying adults do not need to buy a ticket.

Dog treasure trail: For this event the cost is £5 per dog, with £2 of each ticket being donated to animal welfare charity Blue Cross.

To allow staff to manage the estate's capacity and stagger arrivals, all guests are being asked to pre-book their spring passport (or a Dog Friendly Easter Hunt pass).

Visit: https://chesterhouseestate.org/spring-at-the-estate-2023/

Chester House Estate is overseen by North Northamptonshire Council and opened to the public in October 2021, following an extensive £17m Nationally Lottery Heritage Funded restoration project.