A HUGELY popular tearoom on a farm high above Haworth is closing after 32 years.

Katrina and Andrew Heaton retired last week after their annual December season serving 700 pre-booked Christmas meals at Drop Farm.

The couple had hundreds of long-time customers who travelled regularly to their Penistone Hill eaterie from across the North of England.

There have also been VIP customers like Russell Grant, former Doctor Who Colin Baker, TV chef Clarissa Dickson Wright and TV restoration expert George Clark.

The husband-and-wife team will continue the catering arm of their business, providing home-made Yorkshire food, and will host private functions.

Katrina said: "It's the end of an era for us. We've had crying and cuddling with our customers, and people sending cards and writing poems for us. I told them they can still in and I'll make them a cuppa!"

Drop Farm had been in the Heaton family for a century before Andrew and Katrina inherited it 35 years ago, moving there to stop it falling into disrepair.

Three years later, when new milk quotas affected the viability of Andrew's job at his father's Oxenhope farm, Katrina and her mother-in-law began serving teas in the Drop Farm barn.

Katrina said: "It took two months to get the first customer, then people began dropping in as they were passing. The business took about two years to take off, when we started getting people through word-of-mouth."

At first there were only a couple of tables, with Katrina making sandwiches and coffee in her own kitchen, then after about six years the venture was threatened by tighter regulations governing food-serving businesses.

In response the Heatons built an extension to create space for about 50 people .

Katrina and Andrew have never looked back, growing their business year by year without ever needing to advertise or feeling the need to buy a computer.

Katrina said: "We decided to do proper roast dinners but nothing fancy, our customers know what they like. It's all home-made, including the cakes.

"We opened all year round except January and February. Locals have started coming only in the past five years – most of our customers are from places like Halifax and Huddersfield. They come every week and they have to have their own table!"

Some customers have been coming for three decades, such as Marjorie and Keith Harris, while five generations of the Mitchell family have dined at Drop Farm.

Katrina added: "It's always been a family affair – my sister and friends, niece and sister-in-law have all worked here."

Katrina said she and Andrew were giving up the tearoom due to their health, and so they can spend more time with their grandchildren and go walking.