Through information posted on the Series 1 Filming Locations page and some additional sleuthing work, Lucy (aka AgentP) managed to locate the farm which is used as Gillian’s farm on the show. Earlier this summer, after holidaying in Scotland, Lucy made a detour to Yorkshire* (see comments below – the location is actually in Lancashire) to visit “Gillian’s farm”. She met with the owner, Bill, who very graciously gave Lucy a tour of the farm and introduced her to some of the farm animals.
Farmer Bill told Lucy that he was born at a farm just down the hill from his current residence. His son and brother now live in nearby farms. The farm itself is in a very remote part of Yorkshire, and it can get very cold in the winter time. When they filmed the first Series there last winter, the actresses had to have hot water bottles under their coats to keep out the chill. Bill said that they filmed the show in 3 day stints, and for Series 1, they spent a total of 12 days filming at the farm. When filming is in progress, the production company would close off access to the farm.
It was Bill who taught Nicola to drive the tractor and she rehearsed for ages in the field next to the house to prepare for her scenes with the tractor. He also taught Nicola how to repair stonewalls and handle sheep! Unfortunately, by the time they started to film Series 2, Nicola had forgotten how to drive the tractor – see this fan report for more details.
The farm was originally a sheep farm, just like Gillian’s farm. For Series 2, the farm cast is joined by 3 boy lambs and 3 girl lambs. The chickens from Series 1 were brought in by the production company. After filming of Series 1 was completed, they were left at the farm. Bill helped ‘organize’ the chickens to appear in shots at the right time. The chicken coop (where Gillian appears when she hears news that her Dad and Celia are safe in episode 1.4) was also brought in by the production team. When Lucy was at the farm, the chickens were wandering around the yard, just like they do on the show.
Bill helped to fix both LandRovers used in Series 1, the one that was torched as well as the new one given to Gillian. The remains of the torched LandRover is still at the farm.
The production team replaced nearly all the windows and doors at the farm for the exterior shots. We know from tweets posted by the location manager, Andy Morgan, that the interiors of Gillian’s farm were filmed on a soundstage. The production team also provided the circular flower bed by the house.
Big thanks to Lucy for sharing all this information and the photos she took at the farm!
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Just came across this by chance, I know Farmer Bill’s family, I played at the farm many times as a child, Farmer Bill’s son last I knew lived in a terraced house in Heywood with his family. The circular flower bed was there when I was a kid, but could be more than flower bed and hence the confusion. Bit surprised that you didn’t correct the location as it is very misleading and mixing up Yorkshire and Lancashire is not taken lightly by the residents from those counties (War of the Roses!). Also seen some references (not on this site as far as I am aware) that it is Knowl Farm, I thought that was the lower farm and not Farmer Bill’s, but I could be wrong? Might be that the Farm name is correct and the place marker on Google is wrong, I’ve moved the marker on Google, not sure when this will update. It’s a long time ago, I know the place but not sure of the name.
Any time a fan starts quoting the War of the Roses to me in relation to a filming location means that this “mountain” (out of a molehill) is getting out of proportions. Comments on this piece is now closed.
Farmer Bill is my Dad, I lived at the farm all of my young life. My brother, Bill’s only son lives in nearby town in a normal terraced house. I remember my Dad building the circular flower bed when I was a child.
Louise is actually “Farmer Bill’s” daughter…..which may explain her knowledge of the flower bed and where her brother lives. Not quite sure however, why you would make an editorial decision not to correct the farm location reference given it was described as being in a completely different county?
It would have been helpful if Louise explained in her first comment who she was. It’s disappointing that you and Louise choose to leave comments in such a snarky and abrasive tone. I have a feeling I know why. It’s a pity that you/Louise and your friend in Rochdale feel this way about our website. Please don’t visit in future if you don’t know how to be friendly and civil towards other fans.
The farm is not in Yorkshire. It is in Lancashire. The circular flower bed was built by the owner and his son certainly does not live on a nearby farm.
The farm is in Rochdale. We mentioned this in the Filming Locations section for Series 1. Manchester Tour Guide gives more detailed information in this post.
When Lucy filed this report, she thought that the farm was in Yorkshire. Subsequently, she realised that Rochdale is actually in Lancashire but we made an editorial decision not to correct that location reference.
At the time of her visit, Lucy spoke with Farmer Bill who she thought was the owner of the farm, and all the information about his son living in a nearby farm, and the production crew having provided the flower bed came from Farmer Bill. Maybe Lucy should have taped her conversations with Farmer Bill, but she didn’t think that it was necessary for something simple like a fan visit/report.
It would be helpful if you can give more information to support your assertions regarding the flower bed and where the owner’s son is currently living. Not that its relevant to fans’ enjoyment of the show, but as long as you are logging a comment in such strong terms, you really ought to explain yourself further.