Framed by an iconic red post box and a Yorkshire-stone bridge, Yockenthwaite Farm is farmed by the Hird family who are fifth-generation hill sheep farmers. The stunning farmhouse has been in the family since 1842 and this is where the award winning, now hugely successful granola started life.
Mum Liz would make the granola for guests who were staying in their farmhouse B&B. It was so popular, guests would ask for more to take out with picnics and Liz began to sell it at local farmers markets. “We took 45 bags to Grassington Farmers Market and sold out by lunchtime,” she recalls.
And what started as diversification, soon grew into a passion and beyond the confines of the farmhouse kitchen as the orders began to roll in. It became so successful, the family decided to stop running the B&B in 2009, to concentrate on granola.
“We actually had a grant from the Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s Growing Routes initiative which helped us fund our first ovens,” said Liz. “And this helped us get the business off the ground.”
Production moved to Skipton in 2012 before expanding further and moving again in 2020 when the business rocketed.
“Orders quadrupled during covid,” said Liz. “Customers were buying online from all over the country and it’s pretty much stayed the same ever since.”
The “Nutty Spelt Granola” is the best seller but the more recently created Ginger flavour is also a hot favourite – and in Fodder, we can’t fill the shelves fast enough. It’s a winner with our customers!
The picturesque farmhouse is now not only a feature of the Granola packaging, it’s also a hit on the big screen as it becomes Heston Grange Farm, in All Creatures Great and Small which is regularly filmed there.
And the stunning landscape is kept in shape thanks to the other part of the family business – running a sheep farm.
Yockenthwaite might be a small Yorkshire hamlet but this is where big ambitions were realized with a business that continues to flourish and thrive.
Come and pick up your favourite from Fodder today!
For more information on Yockenthwaite Farm, visit: yockenthwaitefarm.co.uk
