Farm of the Week: Former pub landlords running sheep operation and glamping site in Wensleydale

Tom carries the baton for the livestock farming side while Mark is responsible for the non-livestock incomes. Tom said that good prices in recent times could distract from a tougher picture that could be the case in future.

“The past year has been a bit deceiving because there has been a higher price for breeding lambs and lambs destined for the butchers. Any sector of agriculture can just flip all of a sudden and then we can be at the other end of the spectrum.

“We are planning for the next few years and working out how we are going to farm without subsidies. We have undertaken farm business plans using consultants to ensure that we are not just farming for the sake of farming, but actively making things work.”

Mark said that the decisions that he, Tom and their parents have been making, including the various diversifications that include a DIY livery and ‘staycation’ glamping pods are indicative of the way farming is going.

“I wouldn’t want us to stop farming and believe that farm diversifications are now as much about farming as keeping livestock. We are utilising the trades, the experience we have and our location in order to develop other farm-based businesses.

“Farming is facing change and doing nothing wasn’t an option. We had to do what we have done. Farming has always been adaptable to change and with the recent perfect storm of Brexit, Covid and the imminent changes to agricultural policy it has never been more important to plan ahead.”

Woodend Farm is tenanted from the Bolton Estate. Colin and Janet moved to the farm from the Bolton Arms in Redmire 35 years ago. It runs to around 450 acres and is home to 650 breeding ewes, the DIY livery yard that runs to 14 stables, digger hire, agricultural contracting and three high-quality glamping pods.

Tom said his time is primarily with the sheep enterprise, plus carrying out his duties as a director of the livestock market in Hawes and chairman of the Hawes branch of the North of England Mule Sheep Association, plus some dry stone walling work.

“Our land is mainly lowland and all down to grass. We have around 400 Swaledales that are all crossed with the Bluefaced Leicester tup to produce Mules; we also have around 80 Dalesbreds crossed with the Teeswater to produce Mashams.

“We have a small flock of 25 Bluefaced Leicesters that we sell and show under the Penhill flock prefix and half a dozen Teeswaters.

“In addition to those we also have a flock of 120 Texel-cross commercial ewes. We don’t produce our own Swaledales or Dalesbreds. We buy our replacements as three or four-crop ewes, purchasing around 100 Swaledales and 25 Dalesbreds a year. We then get around three good crops from them.

“We lamb from the middle of January to the middle of May at present, but that’s one area where we are looking to tighten up.

“We start in January to produce lambs for the Easter market at around 42-44 kilos that are sold at Hawes. Our Leicesters start lambing in late February and the Swaledales in the middle of March.”

Tom said the Dalesbreds and Teeswaters producing the Masham were his dad’s passion and after many years they appear to be coming back in favour, selling the Mashams in Bentham or Skipton livestock markets and buying Dalesbred replacements in Bentham.

“There hasn’t been that good a market for the Masham gimmer lamb for a while until recently, but there has been a growing demand in the past two or three years and the wool on the Masham and the Teeswater is now commanding better prices. It appears the Masham is maybe coming back into fashion.”

The Willoughbys have a strong reputation for their Bluefaced Leicesters and have received good prices for their tups, including, Tom said, selling as far afield as Northern Ireland.

Tom said he sees the future make-up of the sheep enterprise at Woodend perhaps concentrating even more on their core strengths of Swaledales and Leicesters producing Mules; as well as keeping the Dalesbreds and Teeswaters producing Mashams.

The Willoughbys take one good crop of grass per summer from which they also make hay or haylage in either small or round bales for the sheep and the horses at livery.

Mark said he had always had an interest in machinery and that had led him to working with and for others. “It’s funny writing a job description for yourself. I’ve often thought whether I’m a farmer, an entrepreneur, agricultural contractor or other things, but it all comes back to farming in some way.

“What I do know is that you can’t beat working for yourself and being your own boss. I hire out diggers. I drive tractors for other contractors. I manage the DIY livery and now we have the glamping pods.”

Mark said that holidaying in the UK and the various restrictions imposed has worked in their favour.

“The pods have proved really successful. The staycation market has brought a return to UK holidaying and I don’t see that changing. People have realised they can have cracking holidays in the UK.

“Our website www.wensleydaleglamping.co.uk has been visited tens of thousands of times and visitors love the underfloor heating and jacuzzis, and that they are individual, self-contained units. We love sharing our beautiful corner of Wensleydale.”