Ramsbury Estate hosts joint CLA Hampshire and Wiltshire AGM event

Members from South East and South West enjoyed tours and lunch, plus an update from CLA Vice President Gavin Lane
Written by Mike Sims. First published on 19 Sep 2023, and most recently revised on 20 Sep 2023.
Hants AGM 1
The CLA's Hampshire and Wiltshire branches joined forces for their 2023 AGMs and social event.

CLA members went behind the scenes at the Ramsbury Estate as part of the Hampshire and Wiltshire branches joint AGM.

Attendees were given tours of the estate, distillery and brewery, and heard from Ramsbury staff plus CLA Vice President Gavin Lane.

The event was kindly supported by Thrings, Kensa Heat Pumps and Carter Jonas.

Ramsbury is made up of 19,000 acres of north east Wiltshire, West Berkshire and north Hampshire land. The Home Farms are centred around the village of Ramsbury, which is nestled in the heart of the Kennet Valley.

Nearly 7,000 acres of the estate is farmed in hand, and the estate also covers more than 2,500 acres of woodland.

In the early 2000s the estate started to diversify into other ventures. The brewery was built in 2004, the distillery in 2014, and an oil press in 2015. These operations work well together, in that they intertwine within the estate – either by producing complimentary products or providing the raw materials used to create them.

Ramsbury Estate also has a large rental property portfolio, located in and around the market towns of Hungerford and Marlborough.

Hants AGM 3
Members in the dryer at Ramsbury.
Hants AGM 2
The formal AGMs of the two branches were held before the tours and lunch.