One Friday, Two Very Different Ways to Experience the New Forest at Hockey’s
There are weeks when the change of season is something you notice gradually, and then there are weeks when it is impossible to miss. Pannage pigs are now out across the New Forest, the butchers’ counter is moving towards its autumn selection and, this Friday, Hockey’s will host two events that celebrate local food and the landscape in completely different ways.
The morning begins with our monthly Breakfast, Walk & Talk, joined by guest speaker and New Forest Marque member Jasmine Glossop. Later that evening, the tables will be set in the polytunnel for the opening event in our six-part Harvest Nights Series.
It is a full day at Hockey’s Farm Shop in South Gorley and an excellent opportunity to experience the New Forest beyond the usual visitor trail.
Pannage is now underway across the New Forest
Over the past week, pigs have begun appearing beneath the oak and beech trees as the 2026 pannage season gets underway. It is one of the most recognisable sights of a New Forest autumn, but it is also an important working tradition with a practical purpose.
Pannage is the ancient right that allows New Forest commoners to turn pigs out onto the open Forest to forage for fallen acorns, beech mast, chestnuts and other nuts. Pigs can eat acorns safely, while excessive quantities can be poisonous to ponies and cattle. Their foraging therefore helps to clear the Forest floor and reduce the risk to other free-roaming livestock.
The practice is a reminder that the New Forest is not simply a place preserved in time. It is a living and working landscape, continually shaped by commoners, livestock and traditions that remain relevant today.
For visitors, seeing pigs roaming beneath the trees is memorable, but they must always be treated as working animals. Please watch them from a respectful distance, never feed or follow them and keep dogs under close control. Drivers should also be particularly careful, as pigs can move unexpectedly from the verges or woodland onto the road.
Pannage has another important connection to Hockey’s. The pigs’ natural autumn diet contributes to pork with rich flavour, well-developed fat and the subtle nuttiness associated with pannage pork. Earlier this year, Hockey’s Pannage Rare Breed Spare Rib Pork Joint received the highest possible rating of three stars at the 2026 Great Taste Awards. Our Pannage Belly Pork also received one Great Taste star.
The judges praised the spare rib joint’s exceptional flavour, succulent meat, sweetness of fat and crisp crackling. It was a tremendous result for products prepared by our own butchery team and a recognition of the traditional New Forest farming story behind them.
This year’s pannage pork is expected to reach the Hockey’s butchers’ counter from the middle of November. We are not taking advance orders at this stage, but we will announce its arrival through our website and social media.
Friday morning: breakfast, conversation and a guided Forest walk
Our monthly Breakfast, Walk & Talk returns this Friday, 25th September, with Jasmine Glossop as our guest speaker.
Jasmine is a member of the New Forest Marque, an organisation that champions food, drink, produce and crafts with genuine New Forest provenance. The Marque helps visitors and local customers identify products rooted in the area while supporting the producers, makers and businesses behind them.
The morning offers far more than a walk around the Forest. It is an opportunity to hear from someone with a direct connection to the local community, ask questions and gain a better understanding of the people and practices that help maintain the New Forest’s distinctive identity.
Guests can arrive at Hockey’s between 8.45am and 9.15am before sitting down to a choice of full breakfast at 9.30am. Jasmine’s talk will begin at approximately 10.15am, followed by the guided Hockey’s Loop Walk at 10.30am.
The route leads out from the farm and follows local Forest tracks, allowing the group to see the seasonal changes taking place around South Gorley. With pannage now underway, September is a particularly interesting time to explore the area and consider how livestock, local food production and the management of the landscape are connected.
The group will return to Hockey’s at approximately midday, leaving time to continue the conversation or browse the Farm Shop and butchers.
Tickets cost £20 and include breakfast, the talk and guided walk. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free breakfast options can be requested when booking. The route follows natural tracks that may be muddy or uneven, so sturdy, waterproof footwear and suitable layers are strongly recommended.
Our previous guided mornings have proved extremely popular and places are limited. If you have been intending to join one, this is the week to book.
Book your Breakfast, Walk & Talk place here:
Friday evening: the Harvest Nights Series begins
Once the morning walkers have returned and the breakfast plates have been cleared, attention will turn to the polytunnel and the first evening in our new Harvest Nights Series.
Following the response to our summer suppers, the series continues the idea of bringing people together around shared tables at Hockey’s, but with menus designed specifically for the colder months. Across six evenings, the food will move through the flavours of autumn, British Game Week, pannage and finally the full Christmas table.
The opening evening on Friday 25th September is Surf & Turf. Kerry and the kitchen team will serve moules in a carefully prepared broth to begin, followed by slow-cooked beef shin cottage pie beneath a rarebit top, with bread from a local baker to share at the table.
It is a menu that sits exactly at the point where summer gives way to autumn: mussels at their seasonal best followed by the sort of rich, comforting main course that feels right as the evenings become cooler.
Tickets cost £22 per person and include both courses and bread for the table. A complete whole-vegetable main is available for vegetarian guests, and dietary requirements can be added during booking.
Guests can arrive from 6pm to settle in and order a drink, with food served from 6.30pm. Wine, Hawkstone, local drinks, non-alcoholic choices and barista-made coffee will be available to purchase during the evening.
Only 50 seats are available. Keeping the numbers limited means the evening retains the relaxed atmosphere that made the summer series so enjoyable, but it also means there is no large reserve of last-minute tables once bookings fill.
Six evenings from harvest to Christmas
Surf & Turf is only the beginning. The complete Harvest Nights programme includes:
Friday 25th September – Surf & Turf
Friday 9th October – The Great Taste Sausage Supper
Friday 23rd October – Squash & Spice
Friday 6th November – The Game Night
Friday 20th November – Pannage & Chestnuts
Friday 11th December – The Christmas Table
Each menu reflects a different point in the season. The series moves from mussels and slow-cooked beef through Hockey’s Great Taste award-winning sausages, autumn squash and spices, British game and New Forest pannage pork before finishing with a celebration of the Christmas table.
Individual evenings can be booked separately, or the Hockey’s Harvest Nights Series Pass secures one seat at all six events for £150, saving more than 10% against booking each night individually. Availability for the pass is extremely limited.
View the complete Harvest Nights Series and book online here:
https://www.hockeysfarm.co.uk/shop/harvest-nights
You can also book by visiting the Farm Shop and speaking to a member of the team.
Nine days remain to secure your Christmas order and free gift
While we are talking about seasonal food, there is another important date approaching. Hockey’s Christmas Early Bird ordering closes on Wednesday 30th September, leaving just nine days to secure your Christmas order and receive a free Hockey’s gift.
A £20 deposit holds your order and is deducted from the final balance when you collect. You do not need to have every detail decided now. Whether you are considering turkey, goose, a rib of beef, gammon, pigs in blankets or a complete Christmas selection, you can give us an initial idea and the team will contact you when the full Christmas Order Sheet is released.
Every Christmas order is prepared by our butchers, so the number we can accept is limited. The Early Bird system allows you to reserve your place before the main Christmas ordering period begins, while also receiving the free gift included with every Early Bird deposit.
Secure your Christmas order here:
https://www.hockeysfarm.co.uk/shop/p/guarantee-your-christmas-order
Make a day or an evening of it
This Friday captures several different sides of Hockey’s. The morning is about the landscape, local knowledge and understanding more about the New Forest. The evening is about gathering around the table and enjoying a menu created for the beginning of autumn.
Between the two sits everything we do throughout the week: the Farm Shop filled with local and seasonal produce, the Farmyard Cafe, our animals and a butchers’ counter that reflects the farms, traditions and seasons surrounding us.
Join us for the walk, reserve a table for the first Harvest Night or do both and experience an entire day of New Forest food and local knowledge at Hockey’s Farm Shop in South Gorley.
Whatever you choose, please book soon. Friday is approaching, the Harvest Nights tables are limited and the Christmas Early Bird deadline is now firmly in sight.
