Gallery of adorable photos as South Downs farm opens for lambing season

The 1,000-acre working farm, run by the Passmore family for more than 120 years, opened its gates this spring with a full calendar of farm activities. Andrew Flake, fifth generation of the family, has taken over from his mother Jenny Passmore, who continues to work on the farm and lead tours for visitors.

“It started off very slowly, but it’s definitely all go now,” Jenny said.

“On Sunday afternoon (March 29), we had a lovely set of quads, so there’s lots of lambs to see. We’ve got 800 ewes producing 1,200 to 1,400 lambs. There are 40 of our Sussex cows, that are calving, and 30 Angus cross we bought from a dairy farm. People are bottle-feeding those. We’ve got some pigs and piglets too, which is new for this year.”

Church Farm is open for lambing season from March 14 to April 19. Entry costs £6 for adults and £4 for children, with an additional £1 payable at the gate. Schools and groups can book by emailing the farm directly.

Visitors can enjoy tractor rides to the top of the South Downs to see animals in the fields (£5 per person, weather dependent, payable on the day by cash or card).

Lamb and calf feeding cannot be pre-booked and is shared among visitors.

Lamb feeding: 12:00 and 16:00, once the first week of lambing is over. Lambs stay with their mothers unless there are issues.

Calf feeding: 14:00, when available.

Special provisions include free visits for special needs groups (email: [email protected]).

Late Night Lambing for adults is returning this year, offering evening feeding sessions for lambs and calves. Spaces may fill quickly, so check the website for updates.

Jenny described the vibrant atmosphere at this special, and busy, time of year at the farm.

“It’s lovely with everybody here,” she said. “There’s so many people keep coming back year after year, sometimes several times in the season, so they’ve become friends.

"We’ve got wonderful volunteers who help with the public, tractor rides, and vet students assisting with lambing. Local people also come to help when the public is here.”

Despite the joyful scenes, Jenny acknowledged the challenges of modern farming.

The farm has been in the Passmore family since 1901. Jenny started working on the farm in 1979 and her grandchildren are already expressing an interest in taking charge one day.

In December, the UK Government announced that the level of the Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs threshold will be increased from £1m to £2.5m when it is introduced in April 2026. This allows spouses or civil partners to ‘pass on up to £5m in qualifying agricultural or business assets’ between them before paying inheritance tax, ‘on top of existing allowances’.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves had previously announced, in the Autumn Budget of October 2024 that – from April 2026 – inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1million, which were previously exempt, would be liable to inheritance tax at 20 percent.

This caused major concern for families in the agricultural industry in Sussex and beyond – with protests held across the country.

A government spokesperson said on December 23: “Following the reforms to Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs announced at Budget 2024, the government has listened to concerns of the farming community and businesses about the reforms.

"Having carefully considered this feedback, the government is going further to protect more farms and businesses, while maintaining the core principle that the most valuable agricultural and business assets should not receive unlimited relief.”

The change wsd introduced to the Finance Bill in January and will apply from April 6.

“The farm tax is a nightmare,” Jenny said. “That comes in April.

"I’m fourth generation, and now my son runs it. His children want to farm too, so hopefully we can carry on for generations to come.

"Right now it’s really busy – lambing, calving, bottle-feeding piglets, running tractor rides – it’s all go.”

Church Farm continues to welcome visitors throughout the lambing season, offering a unique chance to see traditional farm life in action, enjoy the spring sunshine, and snap some unforgettable photos of newborn lambs, calves, and piglets.

Find out more at https://coombes.co.uk/