A Week on the Estate: Paul’s Preparations, Empty Hall & Avian Wonders

We’re ever mindful of the history all around us, and work on the Hall will of necessity be patient and complex. We look forward to showing you skilled artisans at work. One day in the not-too-distant future, we’ll also be showing you a newly minted South Ormsby Hall ready for the 21^st century and beyond.

Turning back to the great outdoors, we’re rejoicing in our multifarious and tuneful birdlife as spring gathers pace. Fascinating as our birds are, we’re particularly chuffed about what they represent: a healthy ecosystem and a reward for our hard work towards a nature-friendly farming model.

If you’re as keen on birds as we are, we encourage you to explore our Lincolnshire Wolds Outdoor Festival programme HERE. Between 10th May and 2nd June, we’ll be running a variety of walks around the Estate including birdwatching walks run by local experts. Read on for a run-down of what you might get to see if you tag along.

In 2023, we restored South Ormsby Hall’s 18th-century serpentine lake to its intended depth and boosted its appeal to water-loving birds, including greylag geese, pink-foooted geese, Canada geese, mute swans, teal, mallards and cormorants. We’ve also added kingfisher tunnels to boost our population of these magical anglers.

Out in the fields and hedgerows, you may see impressive numbers of species that are struggling elsewhere, including tree sparrows, yellowhammers, linnets, blackcaps, reed buntings and skylarks. As no healthy food chain is complete without charismatic raptors, don’t forget to look up too. We have healthy populations of buzzards and red kites, once rare and persecuted but now regular companions when we walk our trails. We have kestrels and barn owls quartering our open ground and tawny owls haunting our spinneys and copses. If you’re lucky and have sharp eyes, you might glimpse lightning-fast ambush predators like the sparrowhawk and hobby.

Polish your binoculars, clean your boots and add a birdwatching walk around South Ormsby Estate to your calendar.

Finally, did you know just how much of a bargain our Lincoln Red beef is? Our steak mince and diced beef currently retail at £11/kg, similar to – and in some cases cheaper than – major supermarket prices for premium beef.

While we have the utmost respect for hard-working beef farmers and retailers across the UK, we think our beef delivers so much extra goodness for the money.

Our beef is certainly lip-smackingly moreish and flavourfully succulent, but there’s more.

Our beef is richer than grain-fed meat in vitamins A, E, B12 and B6, as well as omega-3, selenium, iron, zinc and magnesium, but there’s more.

Our beef herd supports the traditional rural economy of the Lincolnshire Wolds, but there’s more.

Our beef herd is 100% grass-fed all-year round, reared to the highest welfare standards, accredited by the Pasture for Life Association and fully organic, but there’s more.

By buying Massingberd-Mundy Lincoln Red beef, you’re creating a bright future for our rare, native-breed cattle, for our working countryside and for the rich biodiversity on which we all depend. This gift will keep giving for generations to come.

Now we come to think of it, Lincoln Red beef is a bone fide bargain.

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