Yockenthwaite Farm: Yorkshire Dales farmers' granola business attracts Americans and other international customers thanks to appearance in Channel 5 show All Creatures Great and Small

The Hird family has farmed at Yockenthwaite Farm since 1842 and when Elizabeth and Stephen Hird got married in 1991, the farming industry was going through challenges. They were forced to diversify and opened three bedrooms as a bed and breakfast.

In 2001 they had to close for 12 months due to the foot and mouth epidemic which resulted in many of their B&B guests moving away to the coast, so the family decided to be creative to attract more people.

As part of their locally sourced food to cook their meals, including their own eggs and bacon, they started making granola for breakfast after Mrs Hird had bought a hand flaker to roll the porridge oats and they owned their own flour mill.

The granola grew very popular with guests over the years as many had asked to take some home with them and those who had been out walking asked if they could take a little bag for a snack.

They began selling the granola in various markets in 2006 across the Yorkshire Dales including Grassington, Skipton, Settle, Stokesley, Richmond and Ripon.

Despite closing their B&B in 2009, they continued with their granola business which increased in popularity since 2020 when the farm was used to film Helen’s farm on the Channel 5 series All Creatures Great and Small.

“We built it up slowly, initially just making it in our own kitchen,” Mrs Hird said.

“Then we got a grant from the Yorkshire Agricultural Society to help us convert an old dairy in the back of the house and put a dedicated kitchen in.

“From the farmer’s markets we also did a few agricultural shows and then we were approached by shop owners [who asked if] we wanted to sell wholesale.

“We’re getting a lot of inquiries from people in America who have seen Yockenthwaite on All Creatures Great and Small. If they Google Yockenthwaite they find our granola.

“Earlier this year [PBS] released a behind the scenes video of [the series] and showed it just in America.

“I think it costs around £30 to ship an order to the States, but people are prepared to pay it.”

Covid and All Creatures Great and Small have positively impacted the business.

“The internet has been a big part [of its success], especially since Covid. Bizarrely Covid had been quite good for us but not so good since,” Mr Hird said.

“We were getting interest from people overseas certainly since the first season of All Creatures and we actually heard from possibly half a dozen B&B customers who had stayed with us 20 years previously when they had seen it on the telly, one or two in Canada.

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“We have quite a lot of capacity. The first unit we were in in Skipton was about 1200 sq ft, we moved to a unit that’s just over 3,000 sq ft in October 2020 and we’ve had to take another storage unit since then for ingredients and packaging.”

Mrs Hird shared her thoughts on seeing their farm featured on the show.

“It makes you really appreciate where you live and also you’re seeing it from angles you don’t normally see it from with the drone shots,” she said.

“We regularly get [visitors] irrespective of All Creatures Great and Small.

“It’s beautiful particularly this time of year because when the hay meadows are flowering they’re spectacular.”