Farm behind Mootop milkshakes holds open day for special cause

Mootop Dairy, run by members of the Fitton family, is a small, 41-cow dairy farm located just off Wingates in North Westhoughton.

Usually, customers can’t get up close to the cows, as access to the farm proper is barred by metal gates.

But for two days, which got underway today, Mootop is fully open, meaning anyone can come in to get a peek behind the curtain.

“We wanted to do an open day as soon as we opened,” said farmer Robert Fitton, “but business was so good we didn’t need to.

James Egerton (Image: Chris Egerton)

“So we’ve decided to do it now in honour of James.”

James Egerton is a seven-year-old Westhoughton boy who loves football, playing outside, and milkshakes.

But on New Year’s Eve 2025, James was diagnosed with Metastatic Neuroblastoma, a form of brain cancer.

“Our world fell apart as a family,” said Chris Egerton, James’s father.

James Egerton (Image: Chris Egerton)

“We took him straight to Manchester Children’s Hospital where he started chemotherapy, but there were complications that led to a bleed on his brain.”

Chemotherapy is a notoriously taxing process, leaving patients tired, weak, and bedridden.

As a method of strengthening James back up after the difficult treatment, Chris would bring him milkshakes every morning.

“He’s happy because he gets a milkshake,” said Chris, “but it’s also good nutrition for him.”

(Image: Dan Dougherty)

One day, about six weeks ago, Chris went to Mootop Dairy with his parents for a visit, which is when the Fitton family first met him.

It was this meeting that convinced Robert and the rest of the Fitton family to do something good for the Egertons.

“It was one of those moments where I really realised how lucky we were as a family that we’ve never had to go through anything like that,” said Robert.

“I went back and hugged my kids that night.”

With the idea of doing an open day still in his head, Robert then had the idea of combining the two, and hosting the open day in honour of James and his family.

(Image: Dan Dougherty)

He contacted Chris and asked him who he’d like them to donate the money to, and Chris suggested the Manchester Children’s Hospital, who’ve been so good to the Egerton family over the last nine months.

“When Robert called us to let us know what they were doing, we thought it was unbelievable.

“This is a man who just met us once at the farm, and we started chatting.

“It’s very overwhelming – for him to do this for us without us asking him or anything is just fantastic. They didn’t have to do anything.”

For every litre of milk sold over the course of the weekend, 50p will be donated to Manchester Children’s Hospital.

(Image: Dan Dougherty)

There is also a raffle game involving guessing the number of balloons in a tractor, proceeds from which will also go to the hospital.

The open day gives customers the chance to tour the farm, meet the team, the cows, and the other animals.

There are also calves and lambs present for families to see.

Baby cows, only a few days old (Image: Dan Dougherty)

Of course, it’s also an excellent excuse to enjoy more of their delicious milk.

The open day will continue into Sunday (September 13) at Mootop Farm, located just off Wingates Lane.