Woman creates unique therapy with pigs

By Charlie Fenton

An animal lover has created the ultimate countryside therapy escape, walking with pigs.

Four times a day Rosie Stubbs, 33, takes adults and kids on two-mile trots around the stunning woodlands of Bilsthorpe, in Nottinghamshire, alongside four of her eight miniature pigs.

Her pigs - named Pumpkin, Tiny Tim, Trousers, Polly Pocket, Jimmy Pig, Rodney Trotter, Dozer, and Peggy Sue - are all rescued or hand-raised since piglets.

Guests get to pet and feed the farm animals as they roll around in the mud and forage. She also performs a short sprint race where guests can bet who is the fastest across 20 metres.

Upon returning home, Jimmy Pig performs tricks including playing the piano, and trotter - pig version of a dog's paw - before guests groom them and say their goodbyes.

Rosie, from Bilsthorpe, said she came up with the idea one day of offering the unique experience while walking her pigs herself in January 2024.

She says 80% of her customers are adults working desk jobs looking for a country escape, with it proving most popular with police officers, nurses, and teachers many of whom are returning customers.

The two-hour experience starts at $40 for adults and $25 for children under 16.

Rosie said: "There is never a dormant moment with the pigs, they are always doing something to make you laugh.

"I get a lot more adults than kids coming, it's mainly office people booking in wanting to get outside, breathe in some fresh air.

"At the end of every session, people always 'thank you' and tell me how much they enjoyed themselves.

"It is a fun escape for them, I guess."

Pig mad Rosie - who also runs a ferret rescue centre, has three meerkats, five skunks, ducks, and chickens - grew up on her parents' crop farm and worked on a pig farm farrowing unit for 10 years before starting her business.

The first pigs she rescued were Pumpkin in 2019, who is half wild boar half Juliana, and Tiny Tim, who is a Julianna.

The pair have had three litters of piglets and Rosie kept two, Trousers, 4, and three-year-old Polly Pocket.

She then rescued Jimmy Pig, who is a Gottingen, in 2024 and Julianna brothers Rodney Trotter and Dozer in 2025, as well as Jimmy's half-sister, Peggy Sue, who is also a Gottingen.

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The family munches through 6kg of food a day - their diet is made up from mixed fruit and veg and sow pellets made from wheatfeed, barley, soya, rapeseed, and molasses.

The fattest is Trousers who weighs 280 lbs.

She said: "I enjoyed my job, but I love my animals too much and felt like I was missing out on spending time with them.

"I started researching about pig walking in February to see if my idea was possible.

"To do it I needed to get permission to keep and walk our pigs from Defra (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs) and the Animal Health Plant Agency.

"The plan was to start in May, but I ended up having to open a month early in April after one of my videos blew up on TikTok."

Rosie runs her experiences from her back garden - which is an acre.

On a typical day guests meet the pigs and choose their favourite one before starting the walk from her back garden and onto surrounding fields and country paths.

She said: "They are off lead for the first mile, then the second mile they are on the lead.

"When back home, Jimmy Pig puts on a show showing off his tricks like trotter, sit, jump, and spin for them which is always a blast, then they get to groom them.

"By the end, everyone is knackered, relaxed, and ready to take on the world again."

Rosie said her favorite thing is meeting and chatting with her guests and seeing them engage with the pigs.

The animal lover said, "People from all over the world, like Europe, Australia, and America, have come to meet them, especially Jimmy. He is a bit of an internet star.

"Guests are always so friendly and respectful - they always have such interesting stories.

"A special thing is when people who have come with a group of friends and aren't so fond of pigs actually change their mind the more they spend time with them.

"By the end of the day, they will leave having hand-fed them, which is a life-changing experience."

Rosie also does full inclusive trips, adapting experience with people in wheelchairs or with other disabilities.

One day she hopes to expand the buisness adopting more pigs and employing staff to help her run walks.