The Instagram farmers introducing the world to the wonders of the British countryside

“You seem to have your own private taxi service,” said the driver as I boarded one of just two daily buses from Skipton to Malham. I’d escaped London on a 5.55am train, swapping the morning commute for the joys of the Yorkshire countryside. Travelling on public transport allowed me to drink in the views: quaint tea rooms and an expanse of fields punctuated with dry stone walls and lambs cosying up to ewes.

I was on my way to Hill Top Farm, the inspiration behind the Instagram account @hilltopfarmgirl, which to date has gathered more than 20,000 followers. The page is both informative – scrolling through, I learned, for example, that before the days of quad bikes, farmers would once have used Dales ponies to tend their stock, but they’re now on the rare breed watch list – and picturesque.

Run by Leigh Weston with photo contributions from her husband (and farmer) Neil Hesletine, the account entices an increasing number of visitors to Malham and the family’s holiday cottage and barn.

Their account is just one of a number of UK farms on Instagram to have picked up thousands of international followers with their snaps of bucolic Britain. In south-west Scotland there’s @airyolland with 6,397 followers, run by Janet Mcquistin – her red-coated, horned highland cattle are a highlight.

In Stourbridge Valley, @telltalefoods (30,300 followers), 26-year-old chef and farmer Julius Roberts showcases farm animals and colourful plates of food. Over in the Carneddau Mountains of North Wales @1garethwynjones (5,890 followers) is run by TV farmer Gareth Wyn Jones, who shares shots of sheep dogs, sunsets and family life.

Due in no small part to the Instagram account, Leigh and Neil plan to set up formal tours of their farm. They already informally welcome school groups, guests staying at their barn and cottage, and the occasional unannounced visitor. Some of their guests even book through the image sharing social platform, with plenty pencilled in for the coming months. Visitors have come from as far afield as Japan.

“Americans in particular love the fact that the Yorkshire Dales are so picturesque. And that our cottage is so tiny and quaint,” Leigh told me as we sat in the couple’s traditional farmhouse sipping tea. Just behind the house sits the holiday cottage and I jump in Neil’s four-wheel drive for a tour of the hills where the stars of their Instagram page – a herd of Belted Galloway cattle – roam.

We’d barely left the drive when a woman with a hint of an East Coast American accent flagged down the car. “Does Hill Top Farm Girl live around here?” she asked. She was a painter and wanted to take some pictures of the couples’ Black Wensleydale sheep, which are certainly photogenic with their long, tightly curled black coats.

A Briton who’s long lived in Massachusetts, the artist explained that she just had to stop off to see the animals while in the area. Neil showed only a hint of amusement as he directed her to his home.

As we finally made our way into the snow-sprinkled hills, Neil pointed out the cattle dotted on the furthest point of the horizon. With the window open so I could snap pictures, the temperature drop was noticeable the higher we climbed.

Neil, I discovered, is the fourth generation of a farming family and has made significant changes to the way Hill Top Farm is run since he took it over in 2001.

“When I came home to farm it was all [run on] a conventional kind of mindset,” he explains. He and Leigh reintroduced cattle in 2003 as part of the Limestone County conservation project, which was delivered by the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

The Belted Galloway breed, natural to the Scottish Highlands, is hardy enough to live up on the hills grazing solely on grass throughout the year. They chomp down the thick grass in the winter leaving wildflowers to grow as the weather warms up, which provide insects and birds with food and habitat.

Neil expertly navigated the uneven terrain as we tried to track down the cattle which have free reign over a vast swathe of land. I’d almost given up hope of seeing these shaggy beasts when over the next hill a scattered gang of them appeared. As we stepped out for a closer look, the quiet of this rural corner of the UK was punctuated only by the sounds of cows raspy tongues on their coats and, then, the alien-like hoots of swooping curlews.

More shy than cows you see in populous areas, the Galloways watched me inquisitively but moved off swiftly when I tried to get closer. They typically spend around four years roaming these hills before they’re sent off to become high quality beef. So-called farm to fork tourism is another pull for visitors to Instagram farms.

Chef Julius Roberts, the man behind @telltalefood, is keen to educate people about the provenance of their food. He’d like to have school groups visiting and also has plans for adult retreats. “Teaching kids at a young age where their food is coming from makes such a difference to their attitude to eating meat – the amount they eat, the quality they choose to buy,” he says.

Julius moved back to take over his family farm in 2016 and part of what he enjoys about Instagram is the community of farmers it brings together. “I see all these amazing organic places that are managing to stay commercial but be very sustainable and treat the world, and their animals, a lot better at the same time.”

Another member of this online farming community is Janet Mcquistin, the woman behind @airyolland. “When you are farming in late winter it’s tough”, she says. “When you capture a picture of a moment where everything is going wrong but you can see other farmers on Instagram are having the same problems, it’s like a support network. There’s quite a few of us women farmers out there and Instagram kind of cuts the isolation of being on the farm.”

Janet is also in the process of setting up tours ready for a summer launch. The hope is that these will allow visitors to see the animals, and see how farming can enhance the area. Janet also plans to add extras, such as afternoon teas, and is keen to work with local accommodation suppliers.

Over in Wales, Gareth (@1garethwynjones) is already running a tour every Saturday morning, hosting around 25 Americans through the travel company Rick Steves. He also hosts private tours. “I take people in the four-wheel drive and show them how we sustainably produce food from the Welsh mountains. We talk about the flora and fauna and wildlife,” he says.

“My family has been up here for 358 years and people want to hear that story, they want to be part of it. So when they’re buying a piece of Welsh meat, they’re buying a piece of history, supporting sustainable farming.”

After spending a morning learning more about Leigh and Neil’s farm, seeing the cows up close, then an afternoon watching climbers on Malham Cove, wandering to Janet’s Foss waterfall and stopping for a drink in one of the villages’ vibrant pubs, I’m won over to the idea of touring the British countryside via its farms.

Instagram is often seen as encouraging tick-list tourism – and Instagram farmers haven’t entirely escaped from this. Benjamin Hole, a farmer who racked up 170,000 followers on Instagram, deleted his account after it attracted unwanted attention both on and offline.

But, for Hill Top Farm in Malham, and other farmers around the country, it’s a tool for learning, for educating and for creating a fresh source of income through tourism. Indeed, pictures of the sun setting over rolling hills and close-ups of newborn lambs should be enough to tempt any city dwellers to venture into the great British countryside.

For more information, see Yorkshire.com