Horncastle Farm and The Tatie Shed

Michael Palmer
2 days ago
6 min read

Horncastle Farm and The Tatie Shed: A Rustic Place to Visit in Havercroft

Horncastle Farm in Havercroft is much more than a working farm. It is developing into a distinctive Yorkshire place to visit, with The Tatie Shed restaurant, farm experiences, a large outdoor BBQ area, barns used for bands and live entertainment, seasonal activities and farm produce.

We called in for a coffee on August Bank Holiday Sunday and quickly realised there was far more here than we had expected. The wider site has the authentic character of a real working farm rather than a polished visitor attraction made to look rustic.

The Tatie Shed itself looked great. Set inside a restored potato-packing barn, it felt warm, rustic and authentic. We only had coffee, so we are keeping our own experience to what we actually saw. We are featuring Horncastle Farm because it is an interesting local place to visit and one that many people may not yet realise is there.

And, of course, the name immediately appealed to Lyn.

Lyn loves taties.

Horncastle Farm at a Glance

Place: Horncastle Farm and The Tatie Shed

Location: Cow Lane, Havercroft, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF4 2HN

Type: Working family farm, rustic restaurant and developing visitor destination

What you can find: The Tatie Shed restaurant, coffee, farm-to-fork food, an outdoor BBQ area, barns for bands and live entertainment, seasonal farm experiences and locally produced goods

Character: Rustic, authentic and unmistakably a working farm

Our visit: Coffee on August Bank Holiday Sunday 2026

Good for: A local outing, coffee, a meal, selected events, live music and seasonal farm activities

Current details: Visit the official Horncastle Farm website

More Than a Working Farm

Horncastle Farm covers around 200 acres between Wakefield and Pontefract. The Stevens family are the fifth generation to farm the land, continuing a story that began when John Henry Wellburn moved to Yorkshire from Lincolnshire in the early 1900s.

The farm has changed considerably over the generations. It developed from a mixed cattle and arable farm into a fully arable operation, and Ken Wellburn later became a potato supplier to Walkers crisps.

Today Horncastle grows crops including wheat, barley and oilseed rape. Sheep have returned to the rotation as part of its approach to regenerative agriculture and soil health, while the farm also raises Dexter cattle and Saddleback pigs.

It remains a genuine working farm, but it is now also opening up more of the place to visitors. That combination is what makes it interesting. You are not visiting a purpose-built attraction that happens to have a few farm decorations; you are stepping into a real farm that is finding new ways to welcome people.

The Tatie Shed

The Tatie Shed sits inside a restored potato-packing barn, and its name comes directly from the farm’s history.

Horncastle Farm explains that Lucy’s grandfather grew and packed potatoes in the barn and supplied the local village. The building has now been given a new purpose while keeping that connection to the land and the family’s farming story.

Inside, the restaurant looked excellent. It has a warm, rustic feel that suits the original building and does not seem forced or over-designed. Old agricultural character and the newer restaurant sit comfortably together.

We called in for coffee rather than a meal, so we can only comment personally on the setting. It looked like a great place to sit, the restored barn gave it plenty of character and it made us want to return for a proper meal another time.

Farm-to-Fork Food

The Tatie Shed describes its approach as farm-to-fork, using ingredients from Horncastle Farm alongside produce from local growers, butchers and other suppliers.

Its menus can change frequently to make use of seasonal and limited-availability ingredients. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, Sunday lunch, puddings and children’s choices are all represented among the sample menus on its website.

The sample Sunday menu available when we checked included roast meat, Yorkshire pudding, seasonal vegetables, farmhouse stuffing, beef-dripping roast potatoes and gravy. Dishes, prices and serving times can change, so check The Tatie Shed’s current information rather than relying on an older menu.

Outdoor BBQ Area and Live Bands

The restaurant is only one part of what makes Horncastle Farm worth visiting.

Outside is a large BBQ area beside the barns, creating plenty of space for outdoor food and relaxed social events. The barns are also used for bands and live entertainment, giving the farm a completely different atmosphere when something is happening.

These spaces help turn Horncastle into more than somewhere to stop for coffee or a meal. Depending on the programme, a visit could also include outdoor food, live music or a wider farm event.

The barns remain rustic and authentic rather than feeling like polished purpose-built entertainment venues. They suit the character of the farm and make the events feel part of the place.

BBQs, bands and events will not necessarily take place every day, so check the farm’s latest updates before making a special journey for live entertainment.

Farm Experiences and Seasonal Activities

Horncastle Farm began welcoming visitors in 2022 with hands-on lamb feeding. Its farm experiences have since developed to include opportunities such as feeding animals, driving a tractor, riding on a combine harvester and trying a wider “be a farmer” experience.

These activities offer families and anyone interested in farming the chance to experience British agriculture more directly. They also give visitors another reason to come to Horncastle beyond The Tatie Shed.

Farm experiences are seasonal and generally need to be booked, so availability should always be checked before travelling.

Local Farm Produce

Lyn at the Horncastle Farm and The Tatie Shed.

Horncastle Farm has also been developing the direct sale of its own produce. The farm raises Dexter cattle and Saddleback pigs, keeps sheep and has introduced beehives producing Horncastle honey.

Its aim is to connect customers more closely with the food produced on the farm and with other British and local producers. That same idea runs through The Tatie Shed and the wider visitor experience.

The range of produce and how it is sold may change, so the farm’s website is the best place to check what is currently available.

Rustic, Authentic and Still Developing

Horncastle Farm is not a polished country estate or a large commercial visitor attraction. It retains the authentic character of a working farm, and the place feels as though it is continuing to grow and find new uses for its old agricultural buildings.

For us, that authenticity is one of its strengths.

The smartly restored Tatie Shed, the outdoor BBQ area, the barns used for bands, the working farm and the seasonal visitor activities all sit alongside one another. It feels ambitious without losing the sense that you are on a real Yorkshire farm.

Visitors expecting everything to be perfectly finished may find it more rustic than they imagined. Anyone who enjoys discovering independent places with genuine character is more likely to appreciate what Horncastle is becoming.

Planning Your Visit

Horncastle Farm is on Cow Lane in Havercroft, between Wakefield and Pontefract. The farm advises visitors to look for the red pit wheel on the B6428, with the driveway immediately after it.

The postcode is WF4 2HN, although some sat-nav systems may direct visitors towards the street behind the farm. Checking the official directions before setting off is sensible.

At the time of writing, Horncastle Farm lists its general opening hours as 9am–5pm from Sunday to Thursday and 9am–11pm on Friday and Saturday. The restaurant closes before the wider site, including at 4pm earlier in the week and at 9pm on Friday and Saturday.

Opening hours, menus, experiences and events can change. Check the Horncastle Farm website before travelling, particularly if you want to book an activity, attend a live event or visit for a specific menu.

Why Visit Horncastle Farm and The Tatie Shed?

Horncastle Farm offers something different from an ordinary café, restaurant or organised farm attraction.

You can call in for coffee, book a meal at The Tatie Shed, look out for an outdoor BBQ or live band, join a seasonal farm experience and discover a fifth-generation family farm that is creating a new future for its buildings and produce.

It is local, independent, rustic and full of character. It is also still developing, which means it feels like a place worth watching as well as visiting.

We may only have called in for coffee on this occasion, but we saw enough to know that Horncastle Farm deserved a place in The White Shire’s collection of interesting places to visit in Yorkshire.

You can also discover more ideas through What’s On in West Yorkshire or combine your visit with one of our personally recorded West Yorkshire walks.