Lammas at Little Salkeld Watermill

On Sunday August 1 Little Salkeld Watermill is joining bread lovers across the land in baking Local Loaves for Lammas Day - deriving its name from the Old English for loaf mass.

This first harvest festival of the year comes at the time when wheat begins to be cut - in the south anyway - so this ancient harvest festival is an ideal time to celebrate locally produced Real Bread.

Taking up the call from the Big Lottery Fund supported Real Bread Campaign, Little Salkeld Watermill will be celebrating Lammas over the weekend of July 31- August in fine style.

On Saturday afternoon, July 31 at around 4pm we'll be celebrating the power, beauty and pleasure of harvest time fertility with the "Ancient Men" Morris Dancers, who'll be demonstrating the delights of the seldom performed "Miller's Lift" dance with one or more of the beautiful young ladies who serve in the mill tearoom.

Also being planned for Sunday around 2pm - working the Penrith Action for Community Transition (PACT) Food Group - the baking of barley bannocks from the Mill’s new trial grain plot, using a wood fired bread oven which we'll be making over the weekend, and an appearance of the Froddle Crook Mummers with a dramatic interpretation of the old English ballad of "John Barleycorn". Check the website for more details at www.organicmill.co.uk.

Nick Jones who, with his wife Ana, owns and runs Little Salkeld Watermill said:"Lammas is the perfect excuse to celebrate locally produced Real Bread. It’s great that the Real Bread Campaign is encouraging people to support their local bakers and Little Salkeld Watermill looks forward to welcoming customers new and old to enjoy our delicious local loaves, and to see the building and testing of the outdoor bread oven."

Chris Young of the Real Bread Campaign adds "Little Salkeld Watermill plays such a valuable role in your local community and we urge everyone to get along to enjoy their Real Bread. The Real Bread Campaign believes it’s high time that we all returned to cherishing locally baked Real buns, baps and bloomers, so remember: local loaves are not just for Lammas. "

Real Bread lovers can find details of other local Real Bakers and Lammas events at www.realbreadcampaign.org and share their ideas on the wall of the Real Bread Campaign’s Facebook group and through @RealBread on Twitter.

Little Salkeld Watermill specialises in milling organic and biodynamic quality English wheat, using the clean, self-renewing power of water from the Pennines, and has received numerous awards and accolades for its flour over the years since it was restored to full working order in the 1970s.

The Real Bread Campaign is a not-for-profit initiative, co-ordinated by Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming. Its aims are to encourage and support increased consumption and local production of Real Bread in Britain.

For more details log onto www.organicmill.co.uk www.realbreadcampaign.org

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