Butser Ancient Farm, Hampshire.

Today has been one of those days when you find something to visit, and when you get there you don't want to leave. Tucked into a lush green valley just off the A3 near Waterlooville, close to Butser Hill, is the Butser Ancient Farm. This place has to be seen in the flesh as it were, to understand and appreciate what it is that is being achieved here.

The farm is a replica of what a farm and village would have looked like at the time of the ancient Britons, around 500 BC. The village and farm roundhouses have been painstakingly built by the owners and volunteers as not only a museum, but as a working farm and experimental archaeological site, that can be visited by the public and school or university parties.

This is David Freeman, a working archaeologist and builder of many of the ancient buildings and roundhouses that can be seen here.

Having sat down with him for about half an hour i came away with my head crammed full of historical facts and figures, how the roundhouses were built, who lived in them and their way of life. I couldn't cram all of the recordings together so i have split them into three separate stories which are best left to the expert .....



Having told me one thing about the ancient Britons, David told me more .....



Finally, we got onto the people that actually lived in these buildings, and exactly what the Romans thought of them .....



David was a guy who certainly knew his history. Having given me a short tour of the farm, i came away with a great deal of knowledge that i previously didn't know, about the construction, the way of life, and what it is to be an archaeologist today and the techniques they use to uncover and understand the ancient way of life.

Look closely at the buildings and you can see the painstaking work and knowledge that has gone into the building of this ancient farm and it's buildings. This can only have been achieved by rigorous research and a lifetime of work in studying the ancient Britons and their life. The farm itself is a pleasure to walk around and is quite easy to navigate around. I was expecting something larger in format and size, like a modern farm, but that is the point. Ancient Britons lived in sometimes small family groups and farmed the land close to them with crops and animals, and the Butser Ancient Farm is a good and accurate portrayal of what life would have been like hundreds or thousands of years ago.

So, if you do ever find yourself out this Summer and fancy something a little different for the kids to see, you can take them along to see the people working here, with events and demonstrations all year round to fire up the imagination. And you never know, like me, you might just learn something along the way.

You can visit the Butser Ancient Farm website HERE.

Paul Martin
http://www.media-attention.co.uk

Audio: The Hampshire Medievals.

Sorry that it took a while to get this up onto the blog, but work commitments got in the way. As you can see from previous posts, i visited the Hampshire Wood Fair at the Queen Elizabeth country park a few days ago, and was pleased to meet a medieval re-enactment group called Weorod. Whilst watching them do their thing, i had the pleasure to talk to the man in charge ....

Part One.



Part Two.

Hampshire Lavender Fields Open Day.

I did intend to go a little further today but was stopped in my tracks just a mile and a half North from the Pottery in Selborne, Hampshire, where i last posted from. The big sign saying open day was enough for me so i turned in to see what was happening.

It turned out to be an open day for the Lavender fields, where the farmer, Tim Butler, grows many varieties of lavender and manufactures the lavender oil, from which he and others make a bewildering number of products from lavender and honey ice cream, to soap, oils, and much more.

Having given me a quick tour of the fields and farm, Tim was kind enough to give me a quick interview about what it is he does, and how he does it. This is what he had to say ....



So, if you are ever passing the road between Selborne and Alton, do drop in and visit the lavender shop, and tell them that i sent you. Alternatively, you can visit them online HERE.

A Visit To Selborne Pottery.

Still staying close to my home patch as it were, i made the trip to the village of Selborne in Hampshire as i knew there was a pottery gallery and studio there that you can go and visit. The studios sit in a delightful little courtyard just off the main road in Selborne and is a great place to visit and even sit and watch the potters at work if you ask nicely enough. So i asked the potter a few questions .....

Watching Robert work was to watch a genuine artist at work with the ease of a man who has practically grown up with using clay, and nurturing his natural ability to make anything that comes to mind that can be made on a potters wheel. I really didn't know just how quickly a potter can throw a simple small pot. Even a larger one took Robert only three and a half minutes to make, as you can see from the video post, which is coming shortly.

So, if you have the time, i can recommend that you go and visit the Selborne Pottery if you get the chance, and have a chat with Robert. Oh, and don't forget to visit the gallery where you can browse and buy any of the locally crafted pots. Tell him i sent you.

Or, you could visit him online HERE.

Talking Bullocks In The Country.

One of the main reasons why farmers and breeders attend any agricultural show like the Alton Show, is to show off their best animals to be judged. A great deal of effort goes into preparing the beasts for show, especially the larger animals such as the highland cattle. So i spoke to one of the farmers at the show to see just what goes into showing cattle at the Alton Show.

Cider Tasting At The Alton Show.

It was inevitable that at some point whilst at the Alton Show that we would touch upon the subject of alcohol. Good old west country cider to be exact. So i spoke to a guy called Joe Jnr, who makes cider in Somerset, one of his creations being Sewer Cider ...... This is what he said.

Wildlife Artist At The Alton Show.

Having spent the day at Froyle Park near Alton at the Alton agricultural show, i got around to speaking to a wildlife and landscape artist called Gordon, and i took great delight in looking at the fine pictures he paints whilst working full time as a landscape gardener. So i decided to have a few words with him to see what inspires him to paint ...



I think you will agree that he is a thoroughly nice chap, with a talent that most of us can only aspire to, and it was a pleasure to get to talk to him.

Hampshire Beekeepers At The Alton Show.

The first post of my shiny new blog sees me venturing not too far away from home, less than 10 miles to be exact. I thought that the best way to start this new travel blog was to start local, and work my way out from there, so i attended the Alton Show at Froyle Park, for the annual agricultural get together. The first people who said yes to an interview were the Meon Valley Bee Keepers Association who kindly said a few words .......

PART ONE.




PART TWO.