Wigglebottom Farm

The World Of Wigglebottom Farm

Welcome to the world of Wigglebottom Farm. Why not take a look around and meet some of the characters and people that live on and around the farm?

Where is Wigglebottom Farm?

Wigglebottom Farm is right at the very foot of Wiggle Hill, about 3 miles south of Wiggleton. The farm is a traditional small holding which has stood still in time. It is tendered to by Farmer John and the Farmer’s Wife. Farmer John was born on the farm and it has been in his family for 4 generations.

What’s on Wigglebottom Farm?

Wigglebottom Farm is not a very big place put there is lots to see.

The farm is approached from an old dirt track that leads off the main road. It would be very easy to miss the turning as the only sign is a very old wooden signpost which is nailed to the old oak tree. Farmer John has been meaning to replace the sign for many years now but never seems to be able to find the time.

In summer the track is very dusty but when it rains it become a sea of mud. In fact it gets so muddy sometimes the only way to get up or down is on Farmer John’s tractor.

The entrance to the farm is through a rusty old gate between two stone pillars. The wall that surrounds the farm is derelict and in places it has totally fallen down. Running along the side of the dirt track is The Dyke. This is a small drainage stream that supplies the water for the pond on the farm.

The farmyard is just as muddy or dusty as the track! There are large and very deep ruts that zigzag the farmyard and make it very bumpy when anyone tries to travel across it.

The Farmhouse

The farmhouse is located in the bottom left corner of Wigglebottom Farm. It is a fairly small building which needs a great deal of repair. The walls and woodwork all need a fresh coat of paint and there are lots of broken or missing tiles on the roof. When it rains the Farmer’s Wife has to use all her best pots and pans from the kitchen to catch the water that pours in through the roof. Farmer John is often being told off by the Farmer’s Wife for not fixing the roof. He says he will but never gets around to doing it.

The front door of the farmhouse a big blue one. This leads straight into the farmhouse kitchen. Also in the farmhouse is a front parlour, which is only used by Farmer John and the Farmer’s Wife on Sunday when they have their tea. Upstairs are 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. One bedroom is used by Farmer John and the Farmer’s Wife and the other used to be where Master Jeremy and Miss Elizabeth slept, but they have grown up now and left the farm. Occasionally it is used when someone visits but it is mainly used for Farmer John to store all his bits and bobs in. It is very messy.

Lil mouse lives in the farmhouse kitchen and Bonaparte Dog lives in the farmhouse.

The Farmhouse Garden

In front of the farmhouse is the farmhouse garden. This is surrounded by a small brick wall. In the garden there is a lawn and on the lawn is an old swing, a table and chairs, a washing line, a kennel where Bonaparte sometimes sleeps and an old wooden seat. The garden is looked after by the Farmer’s Wife and she can often be seen pottering about in the early evenings planting flowers or mowing the lawn. The Farmer’s Wife is very fond of her garden. She and Farmer John often sit out in the garden on a summer’s evening and chat away until the sun goes down.

Behind the garden is a very messy area. This is where Farmer John dumps all his old machinery that no longer works. There is even an old tractor that broke down a long time ago. Farmer John believes that if something is out of site it is out of mind!

The Barn

Across the farmyard from the farmhouse is the barn. Like all the rest of the buildings it is in a very poor state of repair. The roof was almost completely blown of in a storm and Farmer John has patched it up many times. Most of the tiles are broken or missing. The doors to the barn are big green double doors. Because the farmyard gets so muddy in winter the bottom of the doors have become rotten. Farmer John uses the barn to store hay in. The hay is used to feed Delilah and Penny in the winter. He also uses the barn as a work shed for repairing and sharpening all his tools. As with all the other areas it is extremely messy. There is a loft in the barn and the hay is pulled up to the front window, using the pulley and a rope, and hoisted in through the window. Farmer John has to do this on his own and it takes him a long time. It is a job he does not like doing much so he often does not bother and stacks the hay inside the barn. There is so much in there that the tractor will no longer fit. Although he bought a new tractor a few years ago, after his old one finally stopped working, it is already going rusty because it is left outside the barn in all weathers, even snow!

Bernard Owl lives in the barn.

Penny’s Pen

Leaning up against the side of the barn is Penny’s pen. This is a fairly new addition to the farm. One day, while Farmer John and the Farmer’s Wife were at Wiggleton market they bought Penny. At first she didn't have a pen and was kept in the garden. She ate all the Farmer’s Wife’s flowers so Farmer John has to quickly build her a pen, needless to say it is not very sturdy!

The Pond

In the middle of Wigglebottom Farm is the pond. This was made by Farmer John. Originally there was just the small stream that ran into the farm but when it rained heavily a large part of the farm got flooded. One day he decided to make the big puddle into a pond. It is now no longer just a big muddy puddle, it is a lovely pond filled with fish, lily pads and an island.

Harper Frog lives in the stones by pond and Emily Duck lives on the island.

The Tool Shed

The tool shed is where Farmer John stores all of his tool for working in the vegetable garden. Inside there are lots of spades, forks, hoes and tools. It is a very messy shed as Farmer John is not very good at keeping things tidy. Every evening, when he has finished his farm work, he spends some time in the shed preparing things to plant in the vegetable garden. When he does this he makes a big mess. He never puts his tools away. He never sweeps the floor, which is covered with mud that has fallen off his boots. Like everywhere else it is full of Farmer John’s bits and bobs. There are old boxes, broken tools, broken plant pots and even an old dolls house that Miss Elizabeth played with when she was a young girl.

Leaning up against the shed is a very old ladder and around the back is a water pipe and an old rusty wheelbarrow.

Sally Spider lives in the shed.

The Vegetable Garden

Farmer John loves to grow vegetables and is very good at it. He is very proud of his vegetable garden and he as won several prizes at the Wiggleton Annual Fair. He won Best Turnip, Largest Carrot and Greenest Peas competitions last year. He likes to grow all sorts of vegetables and fruit. This year he is growing, rhubarb, strawberries and raspberries, peas, beans, turnips and pumpkins. He has also started a herb garden where he grows mint, thyme, rosemary, sage and parsley.

The vegetable garden is the only place on the whole of Wigglebottom Farm that Farmer John looks after. All the borders are weeded. All the plants are set in perfectly straight lines and all the flagstones are kept clean of mud. In the corner is a huge smelly compost heap that Farmer John uses to feed his vegetables.

Leading out of the vegetable garden is a wooden gate. The path from the wooden gate leads to the rickety wooden bridge.

The Rickety Wooden Bridge

Before the pond, and before a tap was put in behind the tool shed, Farmer John fetched all his water from the old well. To get to the old well you have to cross the rickety wooden bridge which crosses the dyke that brings water to the pond. The bridge has been there for a long time and it is not very safe. There are holes in the wood as big as a fist and if you are not careful when crossing it is easy to get a foot stuck in one of the holes.

The Old Well

This is where Farmer John got all the water for his vegetable garden from before the tap was put in behind the shed. It is not used anymore as water can be got from the tap or from the pond. It is very deep. If you drop a stone from the top you can count all the way to six before you hear a 'plop' sound and that is very, very deep. Although it is not used there is still a handle, a pulley and a rope and bucket. Farmer John says it is a real wishing well and when Master Jeremy and Miss Elizabeth were young children they often made a wish at it. One day Master Jeremy wished he had a dog and the very next day a little puppy came to live on the farm. The little puppy grew up to be a grumpy old dog called Bonaparte.

The Stone Bridge

The stone bridge connects the bottom meadow with Wigglewood. It goes across Wiggle Brook which runs from the pond and out of Wigglebottom Farm. When Farmer John made the pond he built the bridge so it was easy to get from the bottom meadow to the bottom field. It is a very strong bridge and the only thing on the farm that Farmer John has built that has not started to fall down!

Wigglewood

Wigglewood is a magical place. It goes from the edge of Wigglebottom Farm, across the farm boundary and all the way over to Wiggleton. It is full of big trees, middle sized trees and small trees. In some places it is very thick and only people who know it well can find their way through it.

In the middle of Wigglewood is the clearing. This is a small patch of ground where there are no trees at all, except one huge tree with branches that spread a long way out. This is a very special tree!

In the wood live lots of birds. Every morning they can be heard singing their morning songs. There are several paths through Wigglewood but be sure you take the right one. It is very easy to get lost and you may end up going around and around in circles.

Spike Hedgehog lives in Wigglewood.

The Magical Wish Tree

This is the most special tree in the whole wide world. Most people think it is just a big old tree in the middle of the wood but it is not. It is a magical tree. If you look very carefully you can that the tree shines out more than any other. If you are lucky enough to make a wish under its branches you will have your wish come true. It is a very old and wise tree and has been in the middle of Wigglewood for as long as anyone can remember. Watch out for The Magical Wish Tree! It is full of big surprises.

The Top and Bottom Field

There are two fields on Wigglebottom Farm that Farmer John uses to grow crops which he sells in Wiggleton Market. The bottom field is used for growing potatoes and the top field is used for growing wheat. Every day Farmer John drives his tractor out of the farmyard and up into the fields. Sometimes he waters the crops and sometimes he ploughs the fields. Once a year he brings in the harvest which is very tiring work as he has to do it all on his own.

Hamish the Scaredy Crow

In the middle of the top field is Hamish the Scaredy Crow. Farmer John made him from bits of straw and dressed him in a big pair of red trousers, an old blue jacket and an old red hat. He is supposed to be there to stop the birds that live in Wigglewood from eating the seeds that Farmer John plants ever year. He is not very good at his job! He is not scary at all, in fact he is quite funny! He stands in the same place every day looking towards the farmhouse. His favourite pastime is counting the clouds in the sky. Sometimes he counts none at all, sometimes he counts 10, 20, 30 or even 100, and then sometimes he counts one big one which covers the whole of the sky.

Wiggle Hill

Wiggle Hill gets its name because it is the biggest hill you can see when you look out from the church tower in Wiggleton. It is a big green hill. It starts on the edge of the top field and goes up and up and up. It goes right up into the sky. Running all the way from the bottom to the top of Wiggle Hill is Wiggle Wobble Path . It is not a very straight path. It leads all the way to the top, past The Rocky Outcrop, and up to Wiggle Top Tree, the highest tree for miles around. On the other side of Wiggle Hill is Wiggletop Farm, a very different farm to Wigglebottom Farm!

Top & Bottom Meadow

There are 2 meadows on Wigglebottom Farm. The bottom meadow run south of Wiggle Brooke and is a wide open space covered with lovely flowers. In one corner there is sticky muddy bog. Delilah Cow spends a great deal of her time in the bottom meadow. The top meadow is used by Farmer John for growing hay. This hay feeds Penny and Delilah during the autumn, winter and spring months (when they are not munching on rhubarb or turnips!) and the rest is stored in The Barn. Farmer John sells a lot of his hay to people who live near Wigglebottom Farm but don’t have fields. They use the hay to feed their animals too.

Wiggleton

Wiggleton is a small market town about three miles away from Wigglebottom Farm. In the town there is a church, with a clock tower, a small town centre with shops and a post office. The Farmer’s Wife visits Wiggleton almost every day to do her errands and she always takes Bonaparte with her for company.

Jack Fox lives on the very outskirts of the town.