The Project

Unusually for a pub, The Farmer’s Arms is now a non-profit enterprise, owned and run by Grizedale Arts, a registered charity. Our focus is on making creativity an everyday thing that enriches all of our lives, so we make situations where people can find and use their own creativity to benefit all of us.

We see the pub as a perfect place to make this happen. For centuries The Farmer’s Arms has been a place to gather, eat and drink, and we have extended this hospitality into making space for learning, entertainment and creative experimentation of all kinds, from the kitchen to the bar to the gardens. We are using our 6 acres of land to increase biodiversity, grow food and host all sorts of events. Our goal is to show how exciting and productive a rural cultural and social hub can be.

Our acquisition of this iconic historic institution at the top of the Crake Valley was by invitation from the local community, who succeeded in mobilising a campaign to save The Farmer’s Arms at the height of the first Covid19 lockdown. Following a fundraising campaign that attracted community investors and donors from all over the world, we finally got the keys to the pub in early 2021. With an incredibly hard-working band of local volunteers to help us, we were able to open the pub within months, after more than 3 years of dereliction. We soon gained our reputation for simple, delicious food using locally sourced produce – helped by the addition of an outdoor pizza oven and fermentation barn by architect Takeshi Hayatsu. Our monthly Gardening School helps look after the gardens which produce much of our fresh ingredients. Our workshops (in the pub’s former function suite!) were invaluable for the vast amount of refurbishment and fixing that we needed to do in the early years, and now host craftspeople and regular pottery and woodworking classes. In the Stable Bar we have always stocked locally brewed beers and interesting spirits and soft drinks from local and ethical suppliers, and the bar hosts regular music, open mic and spoken word events. And a juke box. We have used the whole building as a setting for a growing collection of art, craft and furnishings which relate to the local area and to rural subjects, mixing these with many original commissions and upcycled objects. We hope we have made a fascinating and fun place to visit, but also somewhere that makes you think too.

Grizedale Arts’ team at The Farmer’s Arms is small, non-hierarchical, and relentlessly practical. Many are artists and craftspeople too. Everyone pitches in across the bar, kitchen, gardens, accommodation, cultural programme and workshops. This is a space where all work is meaningful, respected and connected to the life of the community and land around us.

On Saturday nights the pub is run entirely by local volunteers. Our Saturday café is led by local teenagers, who manage menus, share profits, and run their own art projects. Our affordable community lunches are cooked by volunteers and we regularly hold artist talks, events and workshops that open up our pottery, woodworking, and creative spaces to beginners and experienced makers alike.

We want to support artists, makers, residents, and visitors alike to bring small-scale or ambitious projects to life, especially those that can benefit the community or the environment.

We are committed to supporting a wide range of community initiatives and creative collaborations at The Farmer’s Arms, and we welcome proposals that rethink how we can serve the community – whether that’s through educational programmes, social initiatives, or small-scale enterprise. Our doors are open to ideas that expand our reach, strengthen local connections, and make space for discussion and shared learning. We can’t do this all by ourselves, so get in touch if you have an idea and some energy to help get it off the ground with us.

Our ambition is that The Farmer’s Arms can be both experimental and sustainable, rooted in its place, yet outward-looking. This is a place where hospitality and creativity meet.

Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed to the project so far – whether you were a member of staff, a volunteer, a workshop participant or a customer. We could not have done this without you.

Contact For Details