Kilnsey Trout Farm

Kilnsey Park is a working trout farm, and you will be able to see how the incredibly pure spring water is used on its journey through the Park before flowing into the River Wharfe, half a mile away. The fingerlings, or baby fish, are located at the top of the site, whilst the mature fish are sited in raceways at the bottom of the hill near to the trout processing plant. The average size of these fish is 1lb (500gms) but some are grown on to reach a weight of up to 18lbs (8kg).

Trout processing and smokery

In the processing unit, the fish are gutted and filleted; some are then soaked in brine for about 3 hours before being placed in the smoking oven. Hot smoke from burning oak sawdust cooks the fish producing naturally brown succulent smoked trout. Smoked fish can be eaten in the restaurant or taken home from the Farm Shop so that you are able to sample the finished product in its many different forms!

From the stream to your table!

You can view  the trout on their journey through the Park, then taste their unique delicious flavour in the restaurant!  You can also take home a taste of the Yorkshire Dales with some ready prepared meals that are just to be reheated and we have wide selection of trout products including beautiful trout fillets, whole trout and  smoked trout. 

For the slightly hesitant we have provuided some easy to follow instructions for cooking trout.  For more information on cooking and buying the fish, view farm shop section

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Some Kilnsey Park fish facts

• 35 tonnes of trout, that's 157,000 ten inch trout, are produced every year

• It takes 9-14 months to grow a ten inch or 12 oz trout

• All of the water for the fish comes out of the spring at the Dam

• The water temperature varies between 6.5 and 9 degrees, ideal for producing quality trout.

• The spring water is 100% saturated with oxygen but during the summer when the flows are lower, it needs to be re-aerated either by air-pumps or by splashing down the hill side.

• The raceways are cleaned every two weeks to prevent disease. The fish waste is collected into a vacuum tanker and spread onto the land as it makes an excellent fertilizer.

• The trout are fed 2-3 times per day or by the self feeders.

• The trout arrive as fingerlings and are put into the raceways at the top of the site in batches of 5,000. As they grow they require more space and so are moved into adjacent raceways.

• There are about 20,000 trout in the bottom raceway which is beside the fish processing unit. Most of the fish are used for food and others go to restock fishing lakes or other fisheries.

• The full range of Kilnsey trout products can be purchased in the Kilnsey Park shop. You can also try it in the restaurant.