The Duchess of Edinburgh spent Wednesday morning at Leckford Estate in Hampshire, helping the LEAF team prepare for one of the UK’s most beloved annual farming events.
Sophie visited in her role as Honorary President of LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming), ahead of Open Farm Sunday on June 7. She helped build a haybale maze and hung welcome banners around the estate grounds. The royal family shared photos from the day on their Instagram account on Thursday.
Open Farm Sunday is turning 20 this year. It’s a lovely milestone for an event built around something genuinely valuable: connecting people to working farms and the farmers who feed them. Over two decades, the initiative has welcomed more than 3.5 million visitors to farms across the UK. That’s a lot of first-time visits to places most people only ever see from a car window.
Attendees get to meet farmers face to face and see what life on a working farm actually looks like. That might mean getting close to livestock or walking the fields with a farmer. It’s the kind of direct experience that’s hard to come by otherwise. Open Farm Sunday keeps those moments accessible to anyone who shows up.
Sophie’s interest in this kind of work is well established. As Honorary President of LEAF, she’s taken a genuine interest in sustainable farming and environmental awareness for years. Her trip to Leckford felt personal rather than ceremonial. Turning up to help build a haybale maze is not the kind of thing you do out of obligation.
Leckford Estate is a fitting choice of venue. The Hampshire property has a long history as a working farm, and it captures exactly the spirit Open Farm Sunday is built around.
The maze will be a highlight for younger visitors on June 7. Exploring a real farm and wandering through a haybale maze makes for a pretty memorable afternoon for children. Open Farm Sunday has always understood that making farming approachable starts with making it inviting.
LEAF has done this work quietly and consistently for decades. Open Farm Sunday is its most visible contribution to public awareness around food and the countryside. Three and a half million visitors over 20 years is a genuine achievement. It’s the kind of number that makes a royal haybale-building morning feel well earned.
Sophie is a royal who takes the hands-on approach seriously. She’s not known for keeping causes at a comfortable distance. Showing up the day before the event to help with the setup, banners and all, is a small but warm gesture.
Open Farm Sunday takes place on June 7 at farms across the UK. LEAF coordinates the full program for anyone who’d like to plan a visit.
