Worcester - Weddings, Beef & Asparagus

Currdine Farm

We left green Wales to go up to Worcestershire. We caught up with John Ballard at Curradine Farm at Shrawley. They have converted a barn over to a Wedding Venue. The farm is like a lot of English farms in that it is relatively small. The extract from their website  http://www.weddingvenues.com/

"Charming restored barns in beautiful countryside easily accessible from all major towns in the south Midlands. This delightful venue has been imaginatively and artistically restored to the highest possible standards. The L-shaped barns are located on a working farm, close to the church, and centred round a charming, flower-filled Courtyard that is perfect for a drinks reception. The atmosphere is friendly and supportive. The owners go out of their way to make you welcome and their inspiration, vision and style has created a truly exceptional, natural venue. It just gets prettier every day! Licensed for Civil Ceremonies.

With underfloor heating and air conditioning, this venue is ideal for both Summer and Winter weddings."

Wedding Courtyard

John and his partner have added a new section with bridal suite and full changing facitlities for the bridal party.

The Farm Dog

Curradine Farm has roughly 3 weddings per week and keeps them busy. This is an excellent addition to the Angus Stud and asparagus farm. John gave us directions up the road to catch up with Richard Colwell at Dingle Farm, Little Witley. Richard was a 1997 Nuffield Scholar

Richard is a vegetable grower with his brother. They have about 70 acres of asparagus. Richard set up WAG which is the Western Asparagus Growers. WAG has 11 growers with 600 acres of asparagus.

Asparagus Shoots

The asparagus plant is sown as a crown 1ft deep. It is allowed to grow for the first year which builds up the root reserves. The shoots are then harvested during the second season. The asparagus grows fresh shoots each day and grow at approximately 6-8 inches per day.

Richard picks asparagus for two months each year. He has 18 young pickers who work for 8 hours a day for Sunday to Friday. These are mainly from Eastern Europe.

Picked Asparagus

All of the members of the group send the produce each day to a central location and they are sorted by thickness and colour. It is then cut to length and packed.

The Aparagus Eating Dog