What is Bert's Barrow?
Our Story ………………….
This is how it all began & how it looked when Jason & Charlotte moved to the farm in 2014
Charlotte, Jason, Hattie & Tilly in the new Bert’s Barrow Farm Shop 2015
Leigh Jason’s Eldest daughter on her wedding day at Bert’s, in front of Bert’s 1979 John Deere Tractor
What is Bert’s Barrow ?……..
We are a small family-run farm spanning across generations in a little village called Hillam in North Yorkshire.
Started up by Marlene and Ian (Bert) Thompson (Jason’s Mum & Dad) with a cart at the side of the road and an honesty box, they sold locally sourced seasonal vegetables in aid of the village defibrillator fund. The barrows are still here to this day.
In November 2014 Charlotte and Jason extended into the old potato store with a shop.
2015 Bert's Barrow won the Yorkshires Finest Taste Award for Best Fresh Produce with our mixed £15 fruit, veg and salad box. We also welcomed Charlotte De Ville to our team who was a vital part of the team & allowed Charlotte to juggle the farm with bringing up Hattie & Tilly who were only three years old at the tiime.
2016 we were honoured to receive the Best Independent Retailer accolade, with an astonishing 100% rating across the board from our secret shopper! We secured planning permission to convert the other farm buildings into a wedding & event space. We also held our first wedding at Bert’s, Leigh Jason’s eldest daughter (see pictured below). It was a fabulous day, and so special to do it at home on the farm, that is where the wedding & event venue was born!
In 2017 We took fresh local produce to the Houses of Parliament to showcase what fabulous produce Yorkshire has to offer meeting Lords, Ladies & Gents, We also had a stand at The Great Yorkshire Show interacting with the general public showing them how important it is to support local!
2018 was a fantastic year for us, winning a number of awards including Best Independent Retailer, Rural Employee of the Year for Charlotte De Ville in the Northern Region and Local Food Hero for all the incredible work owner Charlotte does promoting Local Food and Drink! We were also finalists at the Welcome To Yorkshire Awards. This is the year we welcomed Kira from KL Falconry, she flies her Harris Hawk Goeff over the pumpkins to scare away the pesky crows. She also gets dragged into planting, picking and help running the pumpkin patch in October.
October 2019 we carried on growing our veg box round, growing different kinds of veg including the multicoloured beetroot which was shortlisted for a DY Fresh Produce Award.
2020 Through lock down we opened the first drive through farm shop in the UK supplying our local people with local produce. Our fabulous team worked their socks off, which was fabulous helping so many customers and producers in difficult times. We also sent veg boxes to the local hospitals for the staff.
2021 Charlotte & Jason took the emotional & tough decision to close the farm shop in 2021 to concentrate on weddings, events and pumpkins.
2022 We now have a marriage licence on the farm and have three rustic barns to accommodate 500 guests and we added the corn store to our event space.
2023 Every weekend we are holding wonderful weddings & events, we have also planted 60k pumpkins ready for our PYO Pumpkin patch in October. Hattie & Tilly raised over £500 for The Dogs Trust, Thankyou for your support.
2024 We still have our pumpkins and getting ready to open in October, we have grown wild flowers & sunflowers for two reasons. They are great for our couples getting married at Bert’s for pictures, but also Wendy who helps us out at pumpkins has her bees here on the farm, helping to pollinate the pumpkin plants. This year has been a bumper for events, with some fabulous weddings and corporate events.