bout Us...
Pike Farm is a small farm situated at the end of a cobbled road just north of the village of Nangreaves in Lancashire on Bury old Road, the long ago main pack route between Bury and Rawtenstall. Barry and Anne manage Pike Farm along with their two children Samantha and Dominic, lots of pigs, several cows and a few chickens.
How It All Began...
Pig keeping started several years ago when it was decided to get a weaner (young Pig) to grow on for our own use. After all we had a small-unused outbuilding attached to an overgrown two-acre field. Perfect rooting territory!
We decided that white supermarket hybrid pork was not for us and longed for good old-fashioned Pork with a layer of fat and real crackling. We also liked the idea of promoting Rare and traditional British pigs so opted for a Large Black; so far so good.
Barry (big mistake), was tasked to source a suitable weaner. He made a few phone calls and off he went to collect our weaner. Three hours later he arrived home with a Sow and litter of nine weaners. Barry explained, using Barry type logic that, ‘’pigs are very sociable animals and it is cruel to keep one on its own’’ and that he could not decide which two to buy so took the lot.
That first winter was a nightmare. The roof blew off the building twice, the water that supplied the building froze up for weeks at a time and we made every mistake you could think of. But somehow the pigs thrived and prospered and we were hooked. So here we are a few years and tens of thousands of pounds later extolling the virtues of the British Rare and Traditional Pig and hoping we can tempt you to try some.
By the way we still have that first Sow her name is Matilda and here is a picture of here enjoying her retirement.