About

For over 60 years, Catgill Farm in the heart of Bolton Abbey, has been our family home. Our love for Catgill and the stunning surroundings inspired us to invite others, so in 2014 we decided to share our little slice of Yorkshire heaven by opening a campsite, hoping our guests would fall for it just as we have.

Since then, we’ve expanded to include Luxury Glamping options with our unique Timber Pods and Bell Tents, offering the ultimate in glamorous camping! Now, celebrating our 10th anniversary, with many returning guests and exciting new additions, it’s safe to say they truly have…continue reading more about our story below.

Why visit Catgill Farm

With spectacular views across the Wharfe valley and a small stream meandering through the site, Catgill is a beautiful and peaceful setting in which to relax, the perfect place for a memorable stay in the Yorkshire Dales.

A Walkers Paradise

The farm is within a mile of Bolton Abbey and from there you will find walks for all ages and abilities. The Dalesway footpath winds its way along the river Wharfe passing through picturesque towns and villages such as Ilkley, Burnsall and Grassington.

Fire baskets

Everyone loves a campfire and we hire out fire baskets from reception. This comes complete with logs and kindling. If you stay in our timber pods or bell tents you have your own fire basket which includes a pizza oven!

Cycling

The farm is close to many popular cycling routes including the famous Tour de France and Tour de Yorkshire routes and offers an excellent base to explore the Yorkshire Dales. If mountain biking is more your thing, we are within 1 mile of the nearest bridleway which leads to miles of off-road biking and the challenging hills of the Dales.

Nearby Pub

Brasserie-style pub located at the popular Devonshire Arms country hotel with inside dining and outside seating. Only 15 minutes walk, it has stunning views towards the river Wharfe and is the perfect setting for a summer evening with friends and family.

Cat’s Kitchen

AM Coffee Shop – Our barista-trained staff look forward to serving you a variety of coffees, hot chocolate and freshly baked pastries. PM Pizza Shop – At the end of a long day let us do the cooking for you. Timings vary, see reception for more details.

Shop

No matter how hard we try we always forget something! But don’t worry, our small onsite shop situated in our new reception area is perfect for any basic essentials that you may have forgotten.

Forget the Car

We are close to so many local attractions there is no need to use your car during your stay. Hesketh Farm Park is a 2 minute walk from our doorstep and the famous Bolton Abbey priory, River Wharfe and stepping stones is a 10 minute walk away. Both amazing days out with plenty to keep both kids, dogs and grown-ups occupied.

Back To Nature

The farm is situated on a small country lane away from the hustle and bustle and only the sound of birdsong and the occasional hoot of a nearby owl can be heard. Rediscover your sense of wellbeing amongst the peaceful and relaxing surroundings.

Stargazing

The Yorkshire Dales National Park is one of the designated dark skies areas of the UK. Catgill Farm is situated on the edge of the national park away from areas of light pollution making it an incredible place for stargazing. Check out the Yorkshire Dales website to see what may be visible during your trip.

Our Story

Catgill Farm has been in our family for 60 years, traditionally run by my grandad Ken as a dairy farm with up to 120 dairy cows producing thousands of litres of milk each year. Catgill is a 60 acre farm located in the beautiful and popular village of Bolton Abbey which forms part of the Chatsworth Estate. Surrounded by open countryside its sometimes easy to take the stunning views for granted!

I was born at Catgill, spending 6 months here before we moved to a nearby farm in the village of Addingham, expanding the dairy business my dad and grandad ran together. Like most farmers sons I was quickly thrust into farming life and have memories of learning to drive the quad bike with my dad sat behind me helping with the heavy steering. Soon after he taught me to drive the tractor, but I could barely reach the pedals! So, we added some wood to them to make it possible. l couldn’t wait to get home from school to drive the tractor, it was my job to feed the cows every night and help dad with milking them.

At 25 years old I moved back to the cottage where I was born. My grandad lived alone in the farmhouse and although we had always had a good relationship, we became even closer, spending evenings together reminiscing about things that had happened over the years. Then, whilst on a summer holiday travelling and camping in Italy I noticed how many campsites there were and realised that there were no campsites in Bolton Abbey. Considering how much people love the village I excitedly returned to tell my grandad about my idea. A campsite! This was not an easy sell to a through and through farmer. He trusted me though and 1 year later my idea became a reality and we opened the campsite!

Getting the site ready wasn’t a simple process and I couldn’t have done it without my wife Cat and her mum Janet who were both integral in the opening and running of the new campsite business. Our dogs Molly, Luna and Marley were always on hand to take the stress away, one big tail wag and all the days troubles were forgotten!

We love Catgill and hoped others would to. Turns out they do! And we have been so lucky to share our farm with hundreds of people over the years, many of them returning year on year. My grandad, always the storyteller, became a legend among our guests, sharing tales of the past and making new friends. Though he never understood social media, he was often mentioned fondly in reviews and posts!

Our dream for the campsite was to make it the best and somewhere that was unforgettable. We started with a simple camping field and a high quality toilet block and have now added features such as an onsite shop and reception in the old milking parlour, coffee shop and pizzeria in Cats Kitchen, a second toilet block, electric hook up, Wifi and Cats Relax outdoor seating area where you can enjoy home made pizzas cooked in our fancy pizza oven!

In 2019, Cat and I got engaged, and opened our glamping accommodation! After a year of research, we decided on Luxury Timber Pods and Bell Tents all with private hot tubs. We dedicated many hours to the project and being perfectionists, we thought about all the little details that will create a memorable and unique stay. The overwhelming success we’ve experienced since then has surpassed our wildest dreams – our luxury timber pods have even earned prestigious awards and accolades!

We all remember 2020 and the Covid pandemic, this was a time that hit everyone hard and as a hospitality business that had shared facilities it was an especially tricky time to navigate. Working together with our amazing customers we moved bookings forward which helped keep the business going and meant that guests had something to look forward to when all the restrictions were over.

After the lockdown, camping and glamping surged in popularity as staycations became the preferred choice over holidays abroad. An opportunity we couldn’t resist became available and we expanded our venture by taking over Howgill Lodge, an award-winning site near Appletreewick. Over the last few years, we’ve worked hard to bring it up to the same high standards as Catgill, with five luxury timber lodges, new toilet blocks and site wide wifi. Howgill has a fantastic customer base with many returning year on year for the last 35 years! Naturally they liked things as they were, so it was important to us to upgrade the facilities whilst maintaining the charm and nature of the site. Roll on 4 years and with lots of amazing reviews and the same customers as well as new ones returning each year, we hope we’ve achieved that goal. If you’ve stayed at Catgill a few times you should definitely check out Howgill, we are sure you’ll love it there too!

In 2021 our first 3 alpaca girls took up residence at Howgill. These comical creatures soon stole our hearts and those of our campers, who loved to watch them grazing and playing in the sun. We have expanded our herd including 4 homebred cria and now have 3 boys at Howgill and 6 girls living at Catgill including little Effie (the youngest) who had to be bottle fed 6 times a day all through the summer by our team of very committed staff! Our alpacas now graze in a field next to the play area, so be sure to come and say hi to them on your next visit!

To take our story up to date, Cat and I married and in the summer of 2024 we welcomed our baby girl Harper, the latest addition to our family. We now have an amazing team of 23 dedicated staff members and we continue to improve our customer service and overall experience to the highest possible standard. We are like one big family and you’ll see from the regular reviews that our team always go over and above to make sure your stay is truly amazing and unforgettable.

As we continue to grow in our business and personally, our ethos is simple, be friendly, down to earth and always retain the family atmosphere, oh, and of course the traditional welcoming charm Yorkshire is famous for!

We hope to see you soon.

Oliver, Cat, Baby Harper, Marley, Luna and Molly x

Where to find Catgill Farm