CHURCH STILE

NETHER WASDALE

THE FARM

ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES

VISITORS

CHURCH STILE is a hill beef and sheep farm located in the village of Nether Wasdale in the Wasdale valley. All the land is Less Favoured Area with common grazings rising to 873 metres.

Alan Knight (father) and Ian Knight (son) run the farm and are the 3rd and 4th generations of the Knight family to farm at Church Stile. Alan’s wife Ruth, is a partner and works on the farm as well as running the camp site enterprise. The farm also employs a full time local worker.

The family also has a second farm, Low Broadleys near Calderbridge, 9 miles from the main holding. This is on better land and houses a proportion of the suckler herd and lambs being finished for market.

HISTORY

The Knight family first farmed at Church Stile in 1898 following in the footsteps of the Fletcher family who farmed before them for 300 years. The first record of the farm is from 1547.

Local mythology says that Nether Wasdale is located on the “Devil’s Footprint”.

LOCATION

TERRAIN

Church Stile has around 200 acres of inbye land with the rest rough grazing and fell. Nether Wasdale common is heather fell with rocky outcrops and the Knight’s heaf extends up to Seatollan and Middle Fell.

SIZE OF THE FARM

The two farms are owner occupied with Church Stile extending to 400 acres with a further 100 acres at Low Broadleys. The Knights also have rights to graze on Nether Wasdale Common over an equivalent area of 330 ha. The Knight’s sheep flock represents the largest grazing flock on the fell.

LIVESTOCK & NUMBERS

Church Stile farm runs 720 pure bred Herdwick fell ewes and around 120 beef suckler cows. A proportion of the suckler herd and lambs being finished for market are housed at Low Broadleys.

70 of the Herdwick ewes are put to the Texel Ram to produce cross bred lambs, but the remainder are all purebred. The Knights market the majority of their herdwick lambs through to Booths supermarkets from January to April.

At Low Broadleys farm there are 400 Texel and Cheviot ewes and 100 Texel gimmer hoggs. These are crossed with Beltex rams with the lambs sold as stores at Carlisle auction.

GRAZING & CONSERVATION

The farm is in the Lake District Environmentally Sensitive Area scheme with some land registered as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Greendale Mires SSSI is an area of wetland with a management agreement which requires grazing by cattle only at certain times of year.

Nether Wasdale common is in Tier 1 heather fell ESA which restricts stocking levels and a proportion of the sheep are sent away in winter to reduce grazing pressure.