Over the last twelve years we have planted 1000 apple and pear trees. We have selected old traditional varieties such as Ashmead Kernel, Taynton Codlin, Annie Elizabeth, Worcester Permain, Yellow Ingestrie, Lord Lambourne, Howgate Wonder and Egremont Russet. Others are more modern varieties suitable for organic orchards such as Saturn, Cevaal and Rajka.

Big Blossom orchard blossom comfrey tree

We aim for minimum intervention from tree to table. Most commercial orchards are managed in order to produce blemish free fruit for the table.

On our own orchards we use compost, and comfrey as a foliar spray for fertility. We are also trialling the use of Biofertilisers. Without chemical sprays, the ladybird population explodes and these naturally control greenfly and other bugs that spread viral disease in the orchard. You can read more about this in an article that Matt wrote for the Permaculture Magazine in June 2017

The trees are grown in permanent pasture. This helps to build carbon levels in the soil, and aids long term fertility. Apples are picked by hand.

Watch Matt Dunwell's short talk about how we manage our Orchards here at Ragmans Lane Farm (click here)

  • Deep Magic: Cultivating Connection

    17-19th April at Ragmans Lane Farm

    Join us for this magical adventure, exploring the connection between Nature and ourselves.

    Our Deep Magic retreat will give you the opportunity to engage with a remarkable landscape in which humans and other species live and work together. Through group practices and solitary exploration, we will discover how we can bring together spirituality and practicality. Using a range of artistic, ceremonial and meditative processes we will re-engage with our humanity as a harmonious part of Nature. The key themes for this retreat will be regeneration and relationship; bring your curiosity, your open mind, and a willingness to participate.

    Ragmans Lane Farm is nestled in the Wye Valley on the edge of the Forest of Dean in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. An hour from Bristol, Birmingham and Cardiff, the 60 acre site is one of Britain’s most well established permaculture and organic farms. Ragmans has hosted numerous courses over many decades with teachers including Starhawk and Bill Mollison.

    Accessible to novices, and beneficial for experienced practitioners, these days of practical deep magic will give you plenty of opportunity for personal transformation, learning and fun.

    We will be staying in a superbly converted 400 year old barn, with three dormitory style areas (6 beds, 2 beds and 3 beds, 4 beds). The barn also has a comfortable sitting room, and a large dining room/kitchen, both perfect for socialising. The retreat includes full-board accommodation with delicious home cooked vegan food, much of it grown locally, some at Ragmans Lane itself!

    We will be using a separate meeting hall for indoor ceremony and practices, as well as several beautiful outdoor spaces.

    Cost £300.
    Early Bird (before 14th February) £250.

    If you have any questions, please email us at contactdeepmagic@gmail.com

    or see our Facebook Page

    Nikki Wyrd enjoys helping people explore their worlds. After completing an Ecology degree, she pursued her interest in psychedelic substances and is now the Editor of the Psychedelic Press Journal, Director of Breaking Convention psychedelics conference, Director of The Psychedelic Museum, and works as a freelance copyeditor for a growing list of prestigious clients. With 30 years of ritual group experience, she lectures on occult matters and has facilitated a number of highly regarded residential retreats. She is the former British Isles Section Head of the Magical Pact of the Illuminates of Thanateros. Her work takes an eclectic approach to relationships between landscapes, plants, people and spirits, seeking to find better ways in which we can inhabit this world.

    Julian Vayne is an occultist and the author of numerous texts in the academic, popular and underground press. Julian works with people to help develop their curiosity about the world, often in the context of historic buildings, museums, galleries and landscapes. His fascination with altered states has led him to explore techniques of changing consciousness, ranging from the highly formalized ritual drama of Freemasonry, through to the trance methods of witchcraft and the emerging freestyle shamanism of the modern psychedelic age. Julian is a leading contributor to theblogofbaphomet.com. His most recent book is the celebrated Getting Higher: The Manual of Psychedelic Ceremony.


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