Sanctuary
Sanctuary Open Day · 8 March 2026
Our Next Open Day Is
Closer Than You Think.
Come meet the animals, browse the plant-based market, and hear live folk in our yard. Free entry. All ages. Wellies welcome.
- 🐑Rosie — Suffolk Cross
- 🐄Bette — Dairy Friesian
- 🐖Percy — Gloucester Old Spot
- 🐐Clover — Anglo-Nubian
- 🦆Mabel — Aylesbury Duck
- 🐓Gerald — Brahma Cockerel
- 🐑Arthur — Herdwick
- 🐄Dolly — Highland Cow
- 🐑Rosie — Suffolk Cross
- 🐄Bette — Dairy Friesian
- 🐖Percy — Gloucester Old Spot
- 🐐Clover — Anglo-Nubian
- 🦆Mabel — Aylesbury Duck
- 🐓Gerald — Brahma Cockerel
- 🐑Arthur — Herdwick
- 🐄Dolly — Highland Cow
She arrived in a transport lorry
with no name and no papers.
Bette was pulled from a dairy pipeline at five days old, too weak to stand. Retired vet nurse Margaret Holloway bottle-fed her through three winters. She'll be in the yard on Open Day, and she very much expects a scratch behind the ears.
Mark Your Calendar
Saturday, 8 March 2026
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Sanctuary Farm
Longfield Lane, Upton Bishop
Herefordshire, HR9 7QP
Getting Here
Free parking in the lower meadow (follow the bunting). Bus 38 stops at Upton Bishop crossroads, 6-min walk.
Entry
Free — donations to the feed fund gratefully received.
The children were absolutely silent when they met Percy the pig. That kind of quiet — where a seven-year-old forgets their phone exists — is worth more than any worksheet I've ever handed out.
Sarah Cartwright
Year 3 Teacher, Upton Bishop C of E Primary · Visited Spring 2025
School & Group Visits
We welcome school groups by arrangement. Contact us at visits@sanctuaryfarm.org.uk
The Day
Afternoon Programme
Stroll the paddocks, meet the pigs, grab a hot drink from the barn stall.
Supervised meet-and-greet with Rosie, Arthur, and the goat crew. Under-10s loved.
14 local makers — sourdough, seasonal preserves, vegan street food, and surplus veg from our restaurant partners.
The Hollow Bones play an hour of acoustic folk in the hay barn. Bring a blanket.
A volunteer takes small groups through the rescue stories. Last tour at 3:30 pm.
Rescue Story
He weighed 4 kg when he arrived. He now weighs considerably more.
Percy was surrendered from an intensive unit in Shropshire after a facility inspection flagged overcrowding. He spent his first month here refusing to leave the straw pile. Now he patrols the yard like he owns it — because, in every way that matters, he does.
The Community That Keeps the Lights On
We run entirely on community generosity — no government grants, no corporate sponsorship. Every bale of hay, every vet bill, every bag of feed comes from people like you.
312
Monthly Giving Circle members
247
Animals in permanent care
1,400+
Visitors last Open Day
28
Restaurant produce donors
Neighbours Say
The people who keep coming back.
I've been fostering bottle-fed lambs for Sanctuary for three years. The support from the team is extraordinary — they ring to check in, they send you home with everything you need. It's the most meaningful thing I do with my time since retiring.
Margaret Holloway
Retired Veterinary Nurse, Ledbury
We organised a meatless week on campus and Sanctuary sent a volunteer to talk to students. The turnout was three times what we expected. People just need to meet one animal and something shifts.
Tobias Osei
Sustainability Officer, Hereford College of Arts
My kids still talk about Percy the pig and that was eight months ago. We've been back twice since. It's the kind of Saturday that reminds you what a weekend is actually for.
Priya & Rajan Mehta
Ross-on-Wye · Visited July 2025
8 March 2026 · Free Entry
Save your spot before the yard fills up.
We don't charge for entry, but registering helps us plan the petting area, food stalls, and parking. It takes under a minute.
Free parking in the lower meadow
Supervised animal encounters for all ages
Plant-based food market from 12:30 pm
Live folk music in the hay barn at 2:00 pm