Glebe Farm is situated in the little rural town of Astbury, near Congleton, Cheshire. It’s always been a go-to place for feeding the goats with my four-year-old niece. However, Glebe Farm is so much more than a farm.
The free-to-enter farm is home to a number of hand-reared and rescued animals, from pigs and goats, to alpacas and ponies. There is a play area for children and an all-round cute, free day out with the kids. My mum likes to take us all as a family – you can read her blog post on Glebe Farm here.
It’s not just great for the tots, though. There’s plenty for us bigger (21-year-old) kids to do too. Around Easter my niece had been to Potter Witch to paint a little bunny, so when we went to collect it and I saw all the other beautiful designs ready to paint, I had to have a go.
Having been born and bred in Staffordshire, pottery and ceramics is a huge part of my city’s heritage. I’ve wanted to paint a mug for the longest time but never really knew where to go.
I selected my mug from the shelves, filled with other designs from plant pots to animated animals. There is a wide price range, so you can still have fun for less, or splash out. My niece Poppy painted a little sunflower for £2.50, my mug was £10, and my sister-in-law Alex painted a skull-shaped planter for £20.
We were told all about how the paints would look after being fired in the kiln, as well as offered tips, tricks of the trade and advice from expert Paula. Other than that, we were pretty much left to crack on and have a giggle, but were definitely free to ask for help if we needed it.
I painted my mug with a speckled paint, which was mostly white with fragmented flecks of pink and lilac within it. After drying it with a hairdryer and adding a second coat, I was ready to start putting a design onto the mug. I used a sponge to dot pink, lilac, mustard and teal onto the mug, which felt very Easter-y when I had finished. I had wanted to write Beffshuff across the centre, but after practicing on a tile first I realised I am definitely not ready to start lettering.
We left our crafty designs at the studio for a week for them to be fired, which gives the products their glossy look.
As well as the Potter Witch studio, there are a number of other shops and studios at the family-run farm. From Spotty Dotty and Minis, selling clothing and accessories, to yoga, beauty and reflexology on offer at The Yoga Tree, Cheshire Sanctuary Reflexology and The Beauty Barn.
After weaving through the shops and studios, you can head to the coffee shop for a hot drink and slice of cake, or pick up some locally sourced groceries from the farm shop.
A week later, I went to go and collect our designs and here are the finished results! They looked so professional after their glaze, and it really made all of the colours pop. It’s a super fun, theraputic and relatively cheap experience that will help you kill a few hours on a rainy day! I’ll definitely be returning to paint some more pretty pottery very soon!
