GUESTS can enjoy a free guided tour of a rural estate as it holds its first open weekend.

Spains Hall Estate, in Finchingfield, is hosting its first agroforestry open weekend in May, giving members of the public free guided tours of the estate’s new pioneering agroforestry scheme.

As part of its nature-first approach and repurposing the land towards a more environmentally sustainable future, Spains Hall Estate is currently transforming 300 hectares of farmland into an ‘alley-cropping’ system by planting about 10,000 nut and timber trees over a five-year period.

During the tours, the team will take guests around the site to see lines of widely spaced walnut and oak trees planted within arable and grazing fields.

Between the lines of trees, grassland, herbal leys and wildlife mixes have been sown to support biodiversity, build soil health, catch carbon, trap and clean water and help mitigate drought.

During the weekend, visitors will also learn about how the estate is moving some of its land away from growing annual crops such as wheat and barley, and towards an approach that seeks to produce food in greater harmony with the environment and how these fit into Spains Hall’s wider approach to ensure it is farming more sustainably.

The event is on Friday, May 19, and Saturday, May 20.

For more information or tickets, visit bit.ly/3m3fffL.