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they manufacture premium card . Our willow is used as the fuel to keep the plant going and it is English softwoods that go into making the product that is used for packaging Champagne .’
Henry currently grows around 100 acres of willow and is perhaps unsurprisingly , a staunch supporter of the crop . ‘ Some grow it where they have perhaps a less productive piece of land and there ’ s certainly no truth in the myth that was put around about it ruining the land . I ’ ve had it nearly 20 years . The roots don ’ t go deep and I ’ ve never had a drain blocked . Some of the land I ’ ve taken out of willow and put back into cereals has also grown the best crops of wheat I ’ ve ever had . The land has obviously benefited from its 15 year break .’
Utilising the grown willow for leisure pursuit activities was something Henry had thought about but it was daughter Alice ( Maltby ) who made it happen .
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‘ I ’ d thought for a while that we were missing a trick and that we had the opportunity to use the willow for more than just fuel . It was Alice who picked up on the idea of a maze and things have developed from there .’
Alice has a teaching background and works with early age and young children . She currently teaches at nearby Gilberdyke primary school . She had the idea of a maze and now the willow acts as a venue for a number of activities .
‘ There are not many specialist outdoor places for children to visit and the willow
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creates a wonderfully different atmosphere . We now host school trips , birthday parties , heritage crafts and weaving courses . Children and adults can learn about willow , where it comes from , how it is grown , create dens and make willow structures . Within the willow we also come up with mud kitchens making real mud pies . It ’ s fun times for everyone that in educational terms is what ’ s known as ‘ happy zoning ’ where children can enjoy themselves while learning .’
Willow installations are also now available from Market Place Farm utilising the produce further for outdoor area crafts .
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Henry has recognised all along the need for alternative incomes to add to his overall land and farming mix . Around the same time as the willow play area started he also began sounding out another venture . This summer sees the first- ever bottled wine available from the Little Wold Vineyard . It wasn ’ t an easy first year when establishing the vines .
‘ We planted 1000 vines in 2012 having discovered that our south facing chalk hills were the right ground for grapes . That was the year when summer never happened ! There was hardly any sun at all and although the vines
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