Author Archives: Andrew Carmichael

Carmichael Farm Harvest 2024: A Challenging Year and Hopes for 2025

As the 2024 harvest season comes to a close, we’re reflecting on what has been a particularly challenging year for farming here in Scotland. A late and wet spring, following a damp winter, put a strain on our crops and livestock. At Carmichael, we grow around 120 acres of spring barley and 50 acres of sheep feed, including kale and turnips, to support our animals alongside grass foraged throughout the summer. Unfortunately, the difficult weather conditions have meant that our yields are much lower than usual this year.

With the harvest now complete, we’ve managed to bale everything up, and the team is busy storing the feed for the winter months ahead. While the harvest may be smaller, we’re grateful to have everything safely in, and now our focus turns to carefully managing our supplies to get through what we hope will be a kind winter.

Each farming year brings its own set of challenges, and 2024 was certainly one of the more difficult ones from a weather perspective. However, as always, we’re looking ahead to 2025 with hope and determination. The land will be carefully assessed as we plan next year’s crops, aiming to keep our system balanced and efficient despite the unpredictable nature of farming.

Farming requires resilience, and while this year hasn’t delivered the results we had hoped for, we remain optimistic for the future. With a bit of luck and better weather, we’ll see stronger yields in the seasons to come.

Thank you for your continued support of our farm, and here’s to brighter days in 2025!

Order Your Christmas Cuts Now – Venison, Beef, and Lamb for the Festive Season

It’s that time of year again! As the festive season approaches, we’re starting to receive orders for our special Christmas cuts of venison, beef, and lamb. Whether you’re preparing a cozy dinner for two or a festive feast for twenty, we have a range of premium cuts to suit every occasion.

You can order your meats for mail delivery, or if you prefer, collect them in person at one of the Farmers Markets we’ll be attending in the lead-up to Christmas.

All of our meats come directly from our own farm, and are processed through our on-site abattoir and butchery. Because we don’t buy in additional stock, our prime cuts tend to sell quickly. If you have your heart set on a rib roast or a venison loin for your holiday table, we highly recommend placing your order early to avoid disappointment. As much as we wish we could, we haven’t quite figured out how to raise cattle with extra rib roasts or deer with more loins! ?

We look forward to seeing you at a Farmers Market near you soon, and we thank you for supporting locally raised, high-quality meats for your Christmas celebration.

Order now and make your holiday feast truly special!

Exciting Changes Coming to the Bistro – Reopening in Spring 2025!

As many of you know, the Bistro has been a cherished part of the community for over a decade, lovingly run by Steve and Jen Martin. After their well-deserved retirement, we’ve been working hard to bring fresh energy and new life into this beloved space.

Throughout 2024, we’ve been renovating the Bistro to create a revitalized experience for our guests. However, the process has taken longer than expected, and we’ve encountered some unexpected challenges along the way. With winter approaching and this being a quieter season, we’ve made the difficult decision to remain closed over the colder months and plan for a grand reopening in Spring 2025.

We understand many of you have been eagerly anticipating our reopening this year, and we sincerely apologize for the delay. Renovations have taken more time than we originally anticipated, and finding the right team to support our vision has also proven to be more challenging than expected.

We’re Good To Go !

We are pleased to be able to welcome visitors back to our 13 self catering holiday cottages on the Estate from all over the United Kingdom. Please check out the availability charts for details of what we have available this year. We look forward to seeing you all again.

 

Online orders closed for 2020 delivery

Please note that online orders are now closed and we can no longer guarantee delivery before the end of 2020. Please phone 01899308169/336 if you require any last minute items for collection at a Farmers’ Market or in the Farm Shop.

 

Final Farmers’ Markets of 2020

This Saturday 19th December will see our final Farmers’ Markets of 2020. Orders can no longer be guaranteed for delivery or collection in 2020 when ordered through our website. If there is something that you would like last minute for collection at a Farmers’ Market or in the Farm Shop please phone us on 018999308336 /169.

  • Glasgow Partick, Mansfield Park – 9am – 2pm
  • Edinburgh, Castle Terrace – 9am -2pm
  • Haddington, town centre – 9am – 1pm

Free Delivery service during the Covid 19 Crisis (Orders over £20)

Please note that as of Saturday 4th July Farmers Markets have resumed and we will no longer be able to provide the free home delivery service. Thank you to everyone who used this service while the markets were closed.

The Farmers’ Markets we usually attend with our venison, beef and lamb produce are all cancelled for now but we are still operating our on farm abattoir and butchery and continue to supply our Farm Shop, trade customers and those that order via Mail Order customers through our website.

Every Friday during the Covid 19 crisis we will be running a delivery service (free on orders over £20) through to Edinburgh and Glasgow on the weekend that we would normally be attending the Farmers’ Market in that city. If there is anything you need to stock up your freezers please let us know if we can help. We also have a list of goods that are available in the farm shop and would be happy to include any of these items also.  Mail order is available nationally and free local delivery or collection from the farm shop options also available,

 

Wild Tastes at Carmichael Estate 2020

*****PLEASE NOTE THAT FORAGING FORTNIGHT HAS BEEN POSTPONED*******

Due to the current health situation, Foraging Fortnight has been postponed and will now run from 29th August until 13th September. We will post updated dates shortly.
Thank you for your understanding. 

 

Foraging Walk & Cookery Demonstration with sampling

Wednesday 13th May 

This is an Introduction to Foraging walk as part of Foraging Fortnight and is suitable for those will little or no experience. We will go on a guided 2 hour walk to forage for plants, some to take back and cook in the cookery demo after and additional plants / trees we find along the way. We will then head for the kitchens where Wendy Barrie of the Scottish Food Guide and Steve Martin, chef at Carmichael Bistro, will cook up a light supper of taster samples from the foraged finds along with the Estate’s fine venison, beef and lamb produce.

BOOK HERE via our secure site by clicking on this link 

or from the Farm Shop on 01899 308169. There is a combined ticket available if you would like to come to both the Foraging Walk and the Cookery Demo after.

Please ensure to bring waterproofs (just in case!) and wear suitable sturdy footwear.

Places are limited and prebooking is essential

Event detail: 

Foraging walk  starts at 5pm till 7pm – meet at the Carmichael Visitor Centre Car Park (ML12 6PF) with sturdy footwear and jackets

Cookery demonstration  starts at 7pm till 8:30pm – meet in the Carmichael Bistro (ML12 6PF) at 7pm. Please note this is not a meal but small amounts of  taster samples will be provided.

Event Pricing 

  • Forage Walk Only £8pp
  • Cookery Demo only £10pp
  • Combined Forage and Demo £15pp

BOOK HERE via our secure site by clicking on this link 

We are also having a Family Foraging Walk on Sat 9th May. For more info go to;
https://carmichael.co.uk/family-foraging-walk/

Clan Gathering 2020 ** Postponed until June 2022 **

*** The Clan Carmichael International Gathering had been postponed to June 2022 ***

To view preliminary details of the Clan Gathering in 2022 and to book your spot please place a  deposit on our secure site.

The 12th Clan Carmichael International Gathering 

Monday June 29th to Friday July 3rd 2020

The latest in a series of International Carmichael Gatherings – each organised by Chief Richard and his family since 1983 will be held at Carmichael Scotland in late June early July 2020. Previous gatherings have been held at the rate of three a decade and this year’s event will be the third hosted by Chief Richard with son Andrew, supported by Lady Patricia, daughter Sarah and grandsons Fraser & Aidan.

As well as marking the new decade ahead for the Clan the Visit Scotland theme this year will be to celebrate the year of Scotland’s magnificent Coast and Waters. We have created a busy and exciting program that will keep everyone enthralled.

The schedule is subject to change as arrangements become formalised.

 PRE-ARRIVAL DAY SUNDAY JUNE 28TH

(Please note this day is not included in the Gathering pricing) 

  • Church Service Carmichael Parish Church Community and Clan
  • Traditional Sunday Lunch in Carmichael Bistro
  • Afternoon & evening to rest and relax, shop in the Carmichael Clan Shop or climb Tinto Hill

MAIN GATHERING SCHEDULE

Monday June 29th                   Arrival Day     

  • Uplift from Edinburgh and Glasgow airports with deliver to your Clan lands accommodation or hotel
  • Official Opening of Clan Gathering 2020 at the Welcome Dinner

Tuesday June 30th                  “Coasts” Day

  • A celebration of the Carmichaels of Dundee
  • Tour the magnificent coastline of the East Neuk of Fife
  • Visit Scotland’s youngest distillery
  • Dine out in a castle

Wednesday July 1st                 Carmichael Day

  • March to source of the Carmichael name
  • Clan Speeches at Castle Caput of the barony
  • Enjoy a Carmichael Estate Farm Meats BBQ Lunch
  • Participate in the Clan Carmichael Mini Highland Games
  • Dance the night away at Clan Ceilidh and Tartan Ball

 

Thursday July 2nd       “Waters” Day

  • Visit the Falls of Clyde
  • Lunch out and afternoon tour in the West of Scotland
  • Dress up for the Clan Gathering Gala Dinner

Friday July 3rd             Farewell Day

  •  Enjoy your final Carmichael Breakfast Club
  •  Transfers to Edinburgh and Glasgow

Pricing: As with all our previous events the 2020 international gathering is priced fully inclusive of all transportation, meals, entry fees, banquets, tartan balls, taxes at 20%, gratuities and accommodation for all four nights at £690 per person. Children 8 years old and under sharing a Clan lands cottage receive a 1/3 discount – £460 per child. Single cottage supplement £50.  If you would like to stay in a local hotel instead of a Clan lands cottage there is a supplement of £150 per person. Cottage reservations are on a first come first served basis.

If you would like pre-arrival day support please ask.

For those wanting to join the gathering for a lesser period and arrange their own travel and accommodation the cost for attending the Carmichael Day on Wednesday July 1st including BBQ lunch & Ceilidh dinner is £75.

A deposit of £150 per person is due to secure a place at next year’s gathering.  The deposit is non-refundable. You must insure yourself for any possible reason you may have to cancel. The final balance is due April 30th 2020 and this is fully refundable for cancellation by June 1st.  Non-refundable thereafter.

Please follow this link to our secure shopping cart to book you place 

Farmers’ Markets across Scotland (21st Dec)

Our final Farmers’ Markets of 2019 will take on Saturday 21st December in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Haddington. If you would like something special for the festive period please do give us a call on 01899308336 and we would be happy to put what you require aside for you.

Thank you for your amazing support at the markets this year. We look forward to seeing you on Saturday at a market near you or in the Farm Shop (ML12 6PF)