Bank Holiday Monday 5th May 2025

We all love the countryside.  But do we really know what goes on in the land around us? If you’re bored of buzzwords like ‘industrial farming’, ‘regen’ or ‘rewilding’ and want to get to the roots of what’s happening, this is the place to find out. 

Each of our three panel discussions is filled with local farmers, food producers and foresters dealing with the challenges of the wet Mendip weather, hard economics and tree diseases like ash dieback. Find out how they’re  rediscovering the old ways to overcome these challenges  grow more delicious food, nurture resilient soil and return to our fields flowers that we haven’t seen for years.   

Farmers Jeremy Padfield and Tom Tolputt join author Matthew Ingram to talk about farming in a way that prevents topsoil loss and flooding in the increasingly wet Mendip hills, reduces chemical use and still manages to make money. How many of these techniques are old ones and how many are new? Where did they come from? How can technology hurt and help farming?  

Somerset makes the best cheese and cider in the world. Our vegetables aren’t too shabby either (the world’s longest parsnip measuring 18.5 feet was showcased at the Bath and West showground). Two of our greatest producers are on the panel: Richard Carver (Westcombe Dairy) and Oli Dowding (Dowding’s Apple Juice and Cider). They join market gardener Kate Gatacre to talk about food. If you’re greedy and want to know where to buy (or how to grow) the most delicious food, hear it from the people who know how.

Where we live was once covered by the forest of Selwood (‘Sallow wood’ was willow which thrived in our damp valleys). The woods remain a vital part of our surroundings, bringing us fuel, food and above all a sense of peace when we venture into them.  Find out about the history and future of Selwood Forest from author Julian Hight. Hear from Mells forester Oli Frost how commercial forestry practices imposed blocks of monoculture, how these have affected the natural woodland and how these practices are being softened. Discover how to find food in the forests with local forager Pavla Kislerova .