A family adventure farm in Dumfries has received a prestigious national award for the social media content it started during lockdown.
Dalscone Farm Fun staff were presented with the accolade by TV presenter Jules Hudson.
The team took the honours in the digital presence category at the National Farm Attraction Awards.
It was thanks to their Facebook live streams becoming a huge success in the UK and internationally.
More than 26,000 Dalscone Farm Facebook followers watched the award ceremony taking place at Harrods in London last week.
Social media manager at Dalscone Farm, Ellis Corrigan, said: “It’s amazing to see the hard work everyone has put into the streams and social media content be recognised on a national scale.
“I feel very lucky to be able to work in a job that allows me to incorporate my passions for design and video making.”
Farmer Connor Cairns added: “Winning the award was somewhat unreal.
“We were just filming ourselves farming, doing our everyday jobs and it’s grown from there so to not only be nominated but win an award was amazing.”
Peter Best at Dalscone started the live streams in 2020 during the pandemic. It allowed people to see the animals and their progress when the park had to close due to lockdown.
The streams gradually grew in popularity with viewers appreciating the contact with nature and Peter’s messages for the day.
In October 2021 the birth of two donkeys, Pumpkin and Winston, went viral, recording millions of views.
Father and son duo Peter and Ben Best never imagined their live streams would be as successful and they are both involved in keeping followers up to date with life at the farm.
Peter said: “The awards was a very exciting night and it made it even more special that we were able to live stream it to our Facebook friends.
“More than 26,000 people watched it.
“That just made it feel that bit more magical, that the people who follow and support us could be a part of the night as well.”
The live streams continue to gain popularity with viewers from as far away as Australia, South Africa, Canada and the USA. One came to Dumfries for a week-long holiday from Alaska, and hundreds of families from oversseas have notified the farm they are coming to Scotland this year.
