Recharging our batteries – 2

….after a brief detour to the Cotswolds to stay in one of our favorite inns—Russells in Broadway—we plunged into the heart of Devon country.  This is famed Exmoor, in legend at least the birthplace of Devon.  The moor is both beautiful and forbidding but nearby are some of the finest Devon farms in the world.

And there is none finer than Ashott Barton, one of our partners’ properties just outside Exford.  There, Shiamala Comer and her son, Jeremy, have an outstanding herd of truly traditional Devon.

Not only her colleagues agree with her, but Shiamala’s devotion to detail—and the results she has achieved—can’t be denied.  It was she who bred Millennium Falcon, who has become Traditional Devon America’s prime herd bull.

Sadly, Shiamala has decided it’s time for her to retire and is scheduling a dispersal sale for later in the year.  Her hope is to sell the herd intact to one buyer and, for the sake of what remains in England of traditional genetics, we hope so, too.

Son Jeremy is certainly wonderful with the animals and could possibly continue; but like most of the younger generation, he has regretfully decided the future is in the city…and computers.