Fresh from delivering cow cuddling and cattle trekking, East Yorkshire is now offering a new visitor experience this summer – cow safaris followed by a vineyard tour.
Two family-owned pioneering rural businesses have joined forces to create the new tour, combining a farm wildlife safari, with the chance to get up close to cute and fluffy Highland Cows, and a tour of an award-winning vineyard just a few miles away.
‘Herd it on the Grapevine’ will run every Wednesday from 2 August, and has been put together by Dumble Farm, near Beverley, which already hosts cow cuddling and trekking alongside safari trips, and Laurel Vines, a popular vineyard in the Yorkshire Wolds.
Hopping aboard the Dumble Bus – a purpose-built, fully weatherproof tractor and trailer – visitors will head across the farm’s grassy meadows for a close encounter with the Highland Cows and their calves, as well as learn more about the area, its history and conservation.
The family-owned farm is a cow lover’s delight, thanks to the herd of Highland cattle, which were introduced on to the 200-acre estate as part of a major conservation project. The safari provides plenty of time to photograph the cattle with their dramatic horns and long flowing coats, feed them from the trailer, and often stroke the calves from the door.
Afterwards, the focus switches to Laurel Vines, a family run vineyard and winery that has grown from just 2,000 vines planted in 2011 to more than 15,000 today, which not only produces award-winning wines, but also stages vineyard picnics and wine bar events.
As part of the new combined tour, visitors will wander the vineyards, along with the state-of-the-art winery – which has a capacity of more than 30,000 litres – while the team reveals more about the family’s story and how they create their wines.
To complete the experience, the day ends with a picnic for two, featuring sandwiches, crisps, homemade scones with jam, cream and butter… and, of course, a bottle of wine.
The new tour costs £40 per person (with a minimum of two people per booking), which also includes tea/coffee, plus a slice of homemade cake at Dumble Farm, and booking is essential.
Both businesses champion green initiatives, with Dumble Farm switching from intensive dairy farming to a new wild farming adventure aimed to boosting the environment and biodiversity, and Laurel committed to being a low carbon, low environmental impact vineyard.
For more details, and to book tickets, visit
General tourist information on East Yorkshire as a destination is available at www.visiteastyorkshire.co.uk
