Farming in Garsdale

The backbone of life in the dale

Farming is the backbone of Garsdale. The dale has been worked by farmers for centuries, and the landscape you see today, the patchwork of stone-walled fields, the barns, the open fell above, has been shaped almost entirely by their hands.

Sheep Farming

All of the farms in Garsdale rear livestock, primarily sheep. The high annual rainfall, which can reach a hundred inches in a wet year, makes growing crops other than hay and silage virtually impossible. Swaledale sheep are the dominant breed, well suited to the harsh upland conditions, and pedigree Swaledale rams from the dale occasionally command impressive prices at Hawes auction mart.

Most of the dale's eighteen or so working farms have absorbed several of the original smallholdings over the years, but the daily rhythms of farming life have changed less than you might expect.

The Farming Year

Staying in Garsdale means experiencing the farming calendar first-hand. In spring, the fields fill with lambs, racing around with their new companions and bleating desperately when they lose sight of their mothers. Hay-making follows in summer, with tractors moving up and down the roads and the sweet smell of cut grass drying in the fields.

Through the autumn, sheep are gathered from the fells and moved between fields. In winter the dale can be harsh, with heavy rain, snow and short days, and the farmers are out in all conditions tending their stock.

Living Alongside Farming

Visitors should expect to share the roads with tractors, livestock being moved between fields, and sheepdogs showing their expertise on the hillside. Gates should always be closed, and dogs must be kept on leads around livestock.

The farming community is friendly and welcoming. Many of the farms have been in the same families for generations, and the people who work this land have a deep knowledge of the dale and its history.