I started Cumberland Turkey Company when I was 17, with six turkeys and a fairly simple question: would a bird reared naturally and slowly actually taste different from one bought in a supermarket? It did. Those first six birds have since grown into a Christmas poultry business here near Bowness-on-Solway, on the English side of the Solway Firth. I breed and hatch our geese here on the farm. Our turkeys arrive as day-old chicks in July and we buy only hens. We rear two types: free-range Bronze turkeys and slower-grown white turkeys kept in enriched, straw-bedded barns. The Bronze turkeys spend their first few weeks inside while they need the extra warmth, then go outdoors at around six weeks old. From there they have the run of our orchards and fields, scratching under the hedgerows and foraging for plants, berries and fallen fruit. Their feed comes from a local independent feed merchant and nutritionist. Our geese spend the summer and autumn outside too, grazing through the orchards and picking up the fallen fruit beneath the trees. We do things traditionally at the other end as well. Every bird is dry-plucked rather than wet-plucked after being immersed in hot water. That means we can hang the birds afterwards, which develops the flavour and helps produce tender meat. Our turkeys are hung for around seven days before they're dressed and boxed ready for Christmas. I began with those six birds. By 2025 we were rearing around 1,000 and supplying more than ten local butchers as well as people buying directly from us. That year I was also runner-up in the National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs Entrepreneur of the Year award. We sell whole free-range Bronze and barn-reared white turkeys, as well as crowns and legs. We also rear Christmas geese, ducks and chickens. Most people will never know what their Christmas bird ate while it was growing. Ours might have spent the afternoon eating fallen fruit under a Cumbrian orchard, and we can tell you if they have.

Awards and Recognition

Runner-up, National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs Entrepreneur of the Year 2025

Social Media

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cumberlandturkeyco/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575179671709

Can people visit or buy direct?

You can order our Christmas poultry directly through our website. We also supply local butchers and farm shops, and collection from the farm can be arranged directly with us. We don't have a farm shop or regular visitor opening hours.

Website

https://cumberlandturkey.co.uk

Address Summary

Bowness-on-Solway, Cumbria