The Craven Arms is real family affair – owned by local farmer Adrian Procter and his wife Ann and managed by his sister Deb Simpson.

Adrian’s 275-acre farm at Far Cappleside is just three miles away from the hotel and restaurant. It has been farmed by his family since the 1930s and been in Organic Entry Level stewardship since 1999, which has meant planting and maintaining hedges as well as stone walls, and has recently entered into Higher Level stewardship to provide a wetlands area for wild fowl and waders.

There are 50 pigs reared outdoors [Saddleback cross Duroc], 45 breeding cows based around traditional breeds like Beef Shorthorn and a collection of Aberdeen Angus extensively reared on rich grassland for 30 months to offer more flavour. There are also 250 breeding sheep [LLeyn cross Dorset] to provide a year round supply of lambs, plus a rafter of turkeys and a wide selection of game drawn from our farm and the surrounding Cappleside Estate.

“We’ve got our own cold stores and cutting room so we can retain full control of hanging and butchery of meat,” Adrian explains. “We’re extremely environmentally conscious, believe strongly in low food miles and because we farm organically we don’t use pesticides, fertilizer or genetically modified methods.

“The farm, like the restaurant, is all about using traditional organic techniques to produce the best natural results. We have supplied meat to quality restaurants and local butcher Roy Porter in Chatburn for the last seven years and are delighted that we can now supply the produce for our own restaurant.”