Discovering Stay Farm In Kepwick!

If you travel just eight miles outside Thirsk, you’ll find the delightful village of Kepwick, nestled on the eastern edge of the Hambleton Hills and inside the beautiful North York Moors National Park.

The village itself is famous for being mentioned twice in the Domesday Book and being the home of Kepwick Hall, a beautiful mansion built in 1873… but it also has another amazing claim to fame – Stay Farm! Run by Ian Woodhead, the farm itself covers an incredible 4,100 acres of land, with livestock that includes 700-800 cattle and approximately 1,000 sheep!

Ian took over farm operations from his mother in 1980. She actually bought the farm 70 years ago and it has gone from strength to strength ever since. In fact, his mother also lived in Kepwick Hall itself before she bought the farm!

Farming has been carried out on the North York Moors for thousands of years. Some 5,000 years ago, the majority of the woodland on the upland plateau of Roulston Scar had been cleared away to make room for farming.

You can see evidence of this right across the region, especially in collections of small stoney mounds which are actually clearance cairns. You can also see it in boundary banks, which are made of stones that were cleared from the fields.

Here at JCB Workwear, we love supporting and championing local businesses and hearing their fascinating stories. To find out more about Ian, Stay Farm and their place in the rich history of farming in the North Yorks Moors, have a watch of our video interview with the man himself!

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