Lambing season is well underway at Bates Farm in Risley

Located in the heart of Risley, Bates Farm is a working farm, focused on beef, sheep and arable produce, but now also has another speciality.

Now in their fourth generation of farmers, the family is entering its 70th year of farming at the site in Risley, which opened in 1953.

More and more lambs are being welcomed at the farm (Image: Newsquest)

As we head into Spring, lambing season is in full swing at the farm, as the Bates family welcomes lots of new additions on the site.

One of the latest activities on offer at the farm is a tour of the lambs, and looking at how the lambs are cared for from day one of lambing season.

Speaking to the Warrington Guardian on a tour of the farm, two members of the family - Alison and Fiona - said that the Amazon Prime series Clarkson's Farm had led to a number of different questions being asked on the farm tours.

The sisters explained that instead of the focus being on how 'cute' the young sheep are, more technical questions had now started to be asked.

Around 20 ewes are still to give birth (Image: Newsquest)

They said: "We started doing the lambing tours during lockdown, and we could only have 15 guests at a time - so there were times when we were doing something like six tours per day for nine days on the run.

"We could've done the tours in our sleep!"

The tours run on the farm last for around 90 minutes, with one hour taking place visiting the different sheep - from the 'labour ward' to the 'nursery' - and up to 30 minutes spent in what the sisters have called 'vet school.'

This second section of the tour allows visitors to test what they have learnt during their visit in a fun and interactive way.

At the time of writing, there are around 40 ewes left to give birth to the lambs, which the team at Bates Farm expects will take an extra couple of weeks.

There are just two weekends of lambing tours left available for guests to visit the young sheep: Mother's Day weekend, and the weekend of March 25 and 26 - pre-booking is required to attend.

Fiona and Alison also spoke about the farm's popular pumpkin patch that is open in the run-up to Halloween, explaining that they managed to convince their dad around 10 years ago to let them open the patch.

In the time since it was first opened, the pumpkin patch has become a passion project for the girls, alongside their other work on the farm.

The ewes are moved into the nursery to recover from birthing their lambs (Image: Newsquest)

Pre-booking for the lambing tours is required, and guests are asked not to bring dogs on-site - guests are also advised that the tours are not suitable for those during pregnancy, as contact with sheep during pregnancy can cause health complications.

For more information on the lamb tours, and to book, visit the Bates Farm website.

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