Swithens Farm

Swithens Farm is a long-established working farm run by Ian and Angela Broadhead, who have spent decades welcoming visitors through the seasons. The Broadhead family’s connection to the land goes back to 1961, when Ian’s parents first took on the tenancy, growing vegetables for Leeds Market and selling potatoes from the gate.

Angela’s own story with Swithens began as a teenager, when she kept her first horse at the farm’s livery yard. She met Ian through the local Young Farmers group, and the two married soon after. Over the years, they built both a family and a thriving business rooted in the rhythms of farm life.

In the 1990s, the couple turned from pig farming to expanding the livery yard, adding stables and indoor and outdoor arenas. By 2005, when Ian’s parents retired, the couple were able to buy the farm outright. To help cover the new mortgage, they looked for fresh ways to diversify. Inspired by friends who’d opened a farm shop, they did the same – but soon found that visitors were just as interested in seeing the animals as in buying produce.

What began as a small working farm gradually evolved into a family-friendly attraction. Today, Swithens Farm includes a petting area, café, playbarn, butcher’s, and gift shop. Alongside cows, pigs, sheep and chickens, visitors can now meet llamas, alpacas, donkeys, rabbits, guinea pigs and even meerkats.

Despite the growth, the heart of the operation remains agricultural. The Broadheads breed their own livestock, producing meat and free-range eggs sold directly through the shop and served in the café – where a sausage sandwich might come from pork raised just a few fields away.

Now involving two daughters and several grandchildren, Swithens Farm continues to evolve while holding fast to its roots: a working Yorkshire farm that’s big enough to welcome visitors, yet small enough to care.