Stay close to the location of your favourite TV series
02 March 2022
If you’ve enjoyed watching one of the many farming programmes on TV and found yourself yearning to get a feel for farming life yourself, our Farm Stay hosts are here to welcome you. Find out what it’s like to wake up surrounded by countryside, seeing sheep or cattle in the fields from your window, and watching the farm team go about their work.
We’ve selected a few of our favourite programmes with Farm Stay self-catering or B&B accommodation nearby…
As seen on TV: Clarkson’s Farm, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.
We were all glued to our screens watching the first series of Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon. Best known for his antics behind the wheel of a fast car on TV’s Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson is shown doing his best to make a go of his Cotswolds farm. We watched this most unlikely farmer battle bad weather, unresponsive crops, disobedient animals, and oversized farm machinery. We understand he’ll be back again in a second series along with his band of agricultural associates sometime this year (2022).
Stay nearby...
Stable Cottage at Long Compton, near Chipping Norton, is a comfortable, tastefully furnished cottage ideal for a couple or a single person. It has a fully equipped kitchen with dining table with a view out onto the stable yard. There’s a comfortable lounge area and the quiet and cosy double bedroom has a luxurious and spacious shower room next door with luxury linen and towels. Underfloor heating throughout the property (which is all on one level) keeps it warm in winter.
The cottage is ideal for country lovers who enjoy walking, as there are numerous walks from the door and footpaths nearby include the Cotswold Way and the Darcy Dalton Way.
As seen on TV: Our Yorkshire Farm, Upper Swaledale, North Yorkshire
Viewers loved watching Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen and her husband Clive and their family on their wild and remote sheep farm, experiencing the highs and lows of farming life. The popular series ran on Channel 5, with the final programme going out in November 2021.
Stay nearby....
Blandswath Cottage near Kirby Stephen, close to the Yorkshire Dales National Park, is a spacious well-equipped property near to the banks of the River Eden. The cottage is perfect for families – it has four bedrooms (two double and two single) and sleeps six. There’s a sitting room, dining room and a dining kitchen, plus a utility room with washing machine and tumble drier. Outside there’s a garden seat and barbecue, children’s slide, swing and sandpit, plus private parking.
Guests are welcomed to roam the owners’ working farm and the rolling countryside that surrounds the cottage. Angling fans take note – there are free fishing tickets for two people in season from mid-March to mid-September!
The Byre, also near Kirby Stephen, is a south facing single storey barn with its own sunny garden. Located on a small working riverside farm, this mid 19th-century byre retains much of its orgianal character, with exposed beams and quarry tiled floor. The living room has a wood burning stove, and there’s a fully equipped fitted kitchen. A king size bed awaits in the bedroom and the bathroom has a walk-in shower. Biomass fired central heating will keep you warm in the cooler months.
The cottage is situated in the unspoilt Eden Valley and like Blandswath Cottage, it’s close to the Yorkshire Dales National Park and surrounded by excellent walking country, rich in wildlife. Pets, horses and cycles welcome!
As seen on TV: Matt Baker: Our Farm in the Dales Durham
TV presenter Matt Baker and his family captured our hearts when we were invited in to watch them working on his parents’ organic sheep farm in the Durham Hills on Channel 4 last year (2021), helping to secure its future. Cameras followed the seasonal activities on the farm, from lambing to shearing to the hay harvest.
Stay nearby...
New Cottage at Hollymoor Farm, Bishops Auckland, is a perfect rural escape for two people. This self-catering property is on a working farm in an area of outstanding natural beauty and so has magnificent views. The cosy lounge has large patio doors offering panoramic views of the countryside – perfect for observing the local wildlife. There’s a well-equipped kitchen with a large oven and a freezer. The bedroom is warm and cosy, and the spacious shower room has a wall-mounted seat and rail for guests with mobility restrictions.
Leave the car behind and enjoy country walks from the door. The sunsets are said to be magnificent and very romantic.
Weardale Retreat is a luxury shepherd’s hut on Newlands Hall Farm, a working hill farm.
Small but perfectly formed, the hut has an ensuite shower room and WC, a double bed with bed linen and towels provided. It also has an electricity supply, wi-fi and a log burner to keep you cosy. The compact kitchen area has a fridge and microwave.
Tucked away in a secluded position with its own secluded garden and a private patio area, there’s a wood fired hot tub to relax into after a day exploring. It’s the perfect place to unwind and enjoy picturesque views across Weardale and the starry skies in the Durham Dales.
As seen on TV: The Yorkshire Vet & James Herriot in Thirsk, North Yorkshire
If you’ve watched Channel 5’s The Yorkshire Vet, a series following the work of vets in the late author James Herriot’s home town, then a visit to Thirsk in North Yorkshire is a must-do. The visitor attraction The World of James Herriot allows you to wander around the famous vet’s former home and discover more about the man who inspired the much-loved TV series All Creatures Great and Small. The attraction showcases his life in Yorkshire Dales and of course, his much-loved books.
Stay nearby...
Leake Greens Farm Lodge, north of Thirsk, is a comfortable timber lodge sitting high on a hillside on a small working farm overlooking green fields and the Hambleton Hills.
It is furnished to a high standard with a living/kitchen/dining room and a utility room with laundry facilities. Perfect for a family break, it has three bedrooms – a king-size ensuite room, a twin and a single bedroom, plus a family bathroom. A cot and high chair are available on request. There’s a spacious enclosed garden, with ample parking.
There’s lots to see and do locally. The village pub is a short walk away and the Hillside activity park with children’s play area also close by.
If bed and breakfast is more your style – Cundall Lodge Farm south of Thirsk has three spacious rooms sleeping up to eight people. Each bedroom is tastefully furnished for a relaxing stay with super king and king sized or twin beds, and complimentary luxury toiletries in the ensuite bathrooms. There’s a comfortable lounge to relax in and guests can look forward to delicious breakfasts with tasty locally sourced ingredients.
As seen on TV: Kate Humble at Upper Meend Farm, Monmouth, Wales
TV presenter Kate Humble has hosted numerous series, including Escape to the Farm and Country Life for Half the Price. Her home is a smallholding in the Wye Valley, where she grows vegetables and keeps animals including chickens, sheep and pigs
If you fancy learning more about the farming life, there’s a calendar of hands-on courses offered on Kate’s small farm, with topics including bee keeping, smallholding for beginners and a day in the lambing shed, plus wild food foraging and climate change gardening.
Stay nearby...
Ciderhouse Cottage is on a working farm nestled between the Wye Valley and the Black Mountains with panoramic views. The cottage is a former cart shed built in the early 1800s that now offers accommodation for up to seven people with an open-plan kitchen/dining/living area with original oak beams, underfloor heating and a gas wood burner to take away evening chills. There are three comfortable bedrooms – a master bedroom with a spacious wet room ensuite, and two twin rooms with additional bathroom. All have down duvets and Welsh wool blankets to keep you snug at night.
This location is a country lover’s paradise, with lots to do and explore locally. Local footpaths connect to Offa’s Dyke or you can follow a bespoke walking route from the farm exploring the history of the Rolls family (of Rolls Royce fame) whose ancestral estate is nearby.
