Open Farm Sunday at Errington Cheese: Walston Braehead Farm Tour

On 7th June 2026, Errington Cheese opens its working doors for Open Farm Sunday at the Walston Braehead Farm site, a short drive from Carnwath in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The one-hour Errington Farm Tour pulls visitors across grassy paddocks and into stone barns to meet sheep, goats, and pigs, and to watch the first steps of artisan cheese take shape. This is a close-up portrait of food production: animals, milking sheds, and the human skill that converts raw milk into award-winning cheese. The route is straightforward but tactile—uneven farm tracks, muddy gateways, and low barn thresholds that place you at animal level. On the tour you’ll step into livestock spaces, learn about seasonal lambing and kidding cycles, and hear cheesemakers explain how grazing, breed, and timing shape flavor. The animals are the scene-stealers: inquisitive sheep that nudge out for a nose, sure-footed goats with lively personalities, and contented pigs rooting in shaded pens. Those elements combine with broad views over rolling fields and drystone walls that define this corner of the Scottish Lowlands. Errington Cheese staff are frank and approachable; questions about feed, milk-handling, or raw-milk safety are answered plainly. The tour makes a point of showing the processing arc—barn to vat to maturation—so visitors come away with a practical sense of why unpasteurised cheeses taste different and what farm stewardship looks like. Because Open Farm Sunday is free for this date, the event is as much community outreach as it is a demonstration of rural craft. Accessibility is limited: expect uneven ground and steps. Families do well here—children must be supervised—and comfortable footwear is essential. Photographers will enjoy soft morning light in the yards and late-afternoon glow across hedgerows. Plan for basic weather shifts; the farm has both shelter and open spaces, but some sections are exposed to wind and rain. Why book? For urban visitors or food lovers, the Errington Farm Tour compresses the story of artisanal dairy into one revealing hour. It’s an opportunity to meet the animals, learn directly from cheesemakers, and stand where milk becomes cheese. As a local experience it ties culinary taste to landscape, showing how grazing patterns and seasonal life cycles shape flavor. For a short, grounded outdoor experience near Carnwath, this tour is earnestly local, quietly educational, and immediately memorable. Arrive at the farmhouse entrance where signage will guide you to check-in; note the tour takes place at Walston Braehead Farm site, not the Errington Barn cafe site. Wear practical clothing and supervise children. Questions about dairy allergies or unpasteurised nature of the cheese are best asked before sampling. Tours can be rescheduled to three days prior. This hour-long visit leaves you with a sense of provenance and appreciation of craft.