'We're creating a community for lonely farmers'

5 August 2025

Alice ScarffBBC News, Cheshire

News image — Alison and Fiona Bates run the weekly event alongside operating the farm

BBC Alison and Fiona Bates laugh during a conversation at their farm. They are in front of stacks of hay. Alison wears a black top and ponytail. Fiona is wearing a pink top and ponytail. — Alison and Fiona Bates run the weekly event alongside operating the farm

Two sisters who own a farm have set up a running club on the site to tackle isolation among rural communities.

Alison and Fiona Bates said about 50 people take part in their "farm run" every Sunday in Warrington, Cheshire.

Fiona told BBC North West Tonight: "Especially if you're an arable farmer and you're in one tractor cab on your own all day, doing the same job up and down a field, that can get quite repetitive.

"It's just nice - when you've got a rainy day like this - come on down and join us."

Dozens of women and men in multicoloured running wear warm up in front of a tractor in a farm yard. — About 50 people take part in the Warrington "farm run" every Sunday

She said they wanted to "create a lovely community vibe" at Bates Farm in Croft, adding: "It's what we love so that's what we're helping everybody else access from the village too.

"We've just set it up so you can run it on a nice good pace or you can chill at the back on a social run having a chin-wag to your friends."

Charity Farm Safety Foundation's research suggests about 95% of young farmers believe poor mental health is the biggest hidden problem facing the industry.

Local farmer James Fernie, who was at the run, said: "Mental health issues have really come to the forefront with farming now. So I think something like this is brilliant to engage the public with farmers.

"But it's also brilliant to give farmers something to go, 'oh it's Sunday morning, I'm going to go and have a run and have a coffee and a cake'."

A woman runs with headphones on ahead of other runners on a path next to tall grass and a yellow haystack, with trees in the background. — Organisers say runners can tackle the farm course at their own pace

Hannah Love, who also works on a farm, said farmers were "working on their own all the time throughout the year and I think it's nice to sort of come and think, 'Oh, he knows what I'm talking about'".

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