A COUNTY farm is set to show the community what happens on the other side of its gates at its open day next month.

Owners, Richard and Ali Capper, will welcome visitors to Stocks Farm in Suckley on Saturday September 13 between 2pm and 4.30pm.

The open day will be in the middle of the hop harvest, and the apple harvest may also have started.

Hops are part of the local history, and visitors are welcome to see how hops are harvested for brewers throughout the UK and worldwide.

To start the afternoon, there will be a walk through the apple orchards and the hops yards, while the harvest is in progress.

The tour will include seeing the Bruff hop picking machine in action and the working hop kilns, followed by a short walk back to the farm for tea and cakes in the garden.

Every aspect of life at the farm will be explained – from the growing systems and structures in the orchards and hop yards, to pest and disease management, and to the economics of modern fruit and hop farming.

It offers a great opportunity to learn all about the local farmed environment and visitors should be prepared for a one and a half hour to two hour walk.

Entry will be free for children, with a paper donation from each family.

All funds raised by the open day will go towards two local initiatives.

They are the Suckley Parish Academy and Church Enterprise (SPACE) project and the villaeg's new Fledglings Nursery.

Visit stocksfarm.net/open-day to find out more.