WITNESS the miracles of nature first-hand at Sparsholt College next month.

The college is opening its doors for its ninth annual Lambing Weekend on January 26-27.

Visitors should be in for a busy day as ultrasound scans have revealed the college’s 400 ewes are expecting 766 lambs – 84 triplets, 218 twins and 78 singles.

Shepherd John Garrett works with the sheep while they are birthing, with help from college students getting hands-on experience.

He said: “We regularly have visitors who come back year on year as there aren’t many opportunities for the general public to get this close to nature. It is fascinating to watch lambs being born, which of course prompts many questions – some of which can be quite unusual.”

Along with the lambing, visitors will also be able to watch milking, dog displays and meet horses and donkeys, while face painting, crafts and machinery displays are also on offer.

College staff ask visitors to wash their hands thoroughly after touching any animals or their habitats.

But pregnant women are asked not to attend as lambing flocks carry a disease risk that can cause miscarriages.

Dogs are not permitted on site either.

The college opens from 9.30am-3.30pm, with entry £5 per adult, £3.50 for children and free for under-threes. Family tickets for two adults and two children are £15.