YORKSHIRE'S PUFFIN COLONIES
Go for Growth
Summer in the vegetable garden
Brilliant BBQ dishes by James Whetlor
THE BEAUTY OF FRAGRANT ROSES
Summer 2023 9
Inspiring ideas for your home and garden.
18
Summer is the perfect time for a trip to the coast to see puffins.
Brian Pike reports on butterflies to look out for this summer.
How to make a fabulous thyme wreath.
Beetroot, beans and chicory are ideal for the first-time gardener, says Adam Appleyard.
Garden news, products and advice for the new season ahead.
As well as looking good, roses have a variety of delightful perfumes, says Brian Pike.
Food news, events and fabulous seasonal, local produce.
We talk to traditional greengrocer, James Potter.
How to make floral ice cubes.
Claudia Blake visits The Bay Horse in Ravensworth.
An enterprising family is breathing new life into a Swaledale hill farm.
68 ON FIRE
Transform your outdoor cooking skills with these brilliant dishes by James Whetlor.
76 EASY DOES IT
Trine Hahnemann shares some delicious, healthy recipes.
84 SUMMER TABLE
Simple, timeless dishes, perfect for alfresco dining.
94 IN BUSINESS
We meet Victoria Bilborough of Yorkshire Escapes.
99 GORGEOUS GETAWAYS
Sicily has long seduced travellers with its natural wonders and cultural treasures.
100 COLLECTED WORKS
Brian Pike reports on some charming Herend porcelain pieces.
106 DALES DIARY
A guide to local events compiled by Liz Hanson.
117 LETTER OF THE LAW
Buying and selling property can be overwhelming. Here's what you need to know.
129 TO DINE FOR
Great places to eat and stay in the Dales.
EDITOR Sue Gillman
DEPUTY EDITOR Brian Pike
PRODUCTION Claudia Blake
ADVERTISING Sue Gillman
ART EDITOR Stefan Suchomski
PROOF READER Steph Morgan
PROPRIETOR Sue Gillman
CONTRIBUTORS Adam Appleyard, Victoria Bilborough, Claudia Blake, Trine Hahnemann, Liz Hanson, Ben Leatham, Brian Pike, James Potter, RPS, James Whetlor, Clark Willis.
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Opinions or statements expressed in this magazine are those of the individual and not necessarily those of Dales Life.
The wealth of talent we have here in the Dales never ceases to amaze me. We have always flown the flag for local businesses, and in these challenging times it’s more important than ever to celebrate the local entrepreneurs who bring so much to our communities. In this and future issues that’s exactly what we’ll be doing.
On page 64 we report on how the Leatham family are breathing new life into a Swaledale hill farm. On page 94 we feature forward-looking businesswoman Victoria Bilborough, creator of a unique, Yorkshire-focused holiday lettings agency. And on page 52 we go behind the scenes at The Greengrocer in Bedale, where James Potter enthusiastically champions local produce.
Stunning seabirds
Summer is the perfect time for a trip to the seaside, and you really should consider visiting one of Yorkshire’s colonies of puffins. These charming little birds are under increasing threat from global warming.
To find out more, turn to page 18.
We’ll be back with all your favourite features in autumn; in the meanwhile, enjoy everything summer has to offer!
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Rive Droite bistro set, to order at Dovetail Interiors, Bedale, dovetailinteriors.co.uk
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Green gingham napkins by Walton & Co. mainsgillfarm.co.uk
Birds and Bees tall storage jar by Wrendale, Dovetail Interiors, Bedale, dovetailinteriors.co.uk
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ummer is the perfect time for a trip to the coast, and keen birdwatchers should definitely consider visiting the nature reserves at Bempton Cliffs and Flamborough Cliffs, a few miles south of Scarborough.
Both locations are famed for their huge seabird colonies – Bempton alone provides lodgings for half a million birds –but their most striking and best-loved summer residents are undoubtedly the puffins.
With their black-and-white plumage, orange legs and attention-grabbing multicoloured bills, there’s no mistaking puffins for any other bird. Despite their diminutive size – they measure less than 30cm beak-to-tail and weigh no more than a wood pigeon – they are remarkably tough, spending the winter months at sea and ranging as far north as the Arctic Circle.
Puffins arrive in the UK in spring to breed, returning to chillier waters with their new offspring in mid-August. They nest on grassy clifftops in metre-long burrows lined with grass and feathers. Each female lays a single egg, which the parents take turns to incubate.
When the chick has hatched the adults are kept busy fetching food, which consists mainly of sand eels and sprats. Usually they catch their prey close to the surface, but when needs be these remarkable little birds can dive to depths of 50 metres!
Brimstone
With their vivid colours and flickering flight, butterflies are one of summer’s highlights. Like many insects their population numbers are, sadly, at an all-time low. Fortunately there are still plenty of interesting species to be seen here in the Dales. Here are seven of my favourites.
Many butterflies are only seen on the wing during the summer months, but the vibrant lemon-yellow brimstone butterfly overwinters as an adult and can potentially be spotted at any time of year – even in the middle of winter, if the day is tolerably warm.
You’ll never find brimstone butterflies gathered together in large numbers, just the odd one or two. However, the species is widespread in England and Wales, and in recent years brimstones have been popping up increasingly frequently in the Dales.
Their caterpillars feed on the leaves of two rather dull-looking shrubs, buckthorn and alder buckthorn, both of which are found in damp woodland – a good place to catch a glimpse of the adults on a sunny afternoon.
If you’ve ever cursed nettles – and there can’t be many gardeners who haven’t – take comfort from the fact that they provide food for the larvae of one of our most attractive and easily recognisable butterflies.
The four ‘eyes’ on the peacock butterfly’s wings are a defence mechanism that startles insect-eating birds when the butterfly’s wings are flicked open – they resemble the eyes of a hungry hawk, owl or fox that’s getting too close for comfort.
The peacock has another intriguing selfdefence strategy too: when disturbed it can rub sections of its wings together to produce a sudden hissing sound. Experiments have demonstrated that this deters mice and other small mammals that attempt to snack on the butterfly while it is trying to hibernate.
Whereas the peacock butterfly takes a proactive attitude towards self-defence, the comma butterfly adopts a rather more passive approach.
Like peacock butterfly caterpillars, comma caterpillars feed on nettles but are rather more adventurous in their tastes, extending their diet to include willows, currants and (in the south of England) hops. The adults can be seen searching for nectar in gardens and forest glades, and along woodland edges and hedgerow-lined country lanes.
It might suggest a nautical connection but the red admiral’s name is actually the result of fumbled pronunciation. It was originally called the ‘red admirable’ in honour of its smart good looks; a few generations-worth of mumbling have turned ‘admirable’ into ‘admiral’.
Like the peacock and the comma, the red admiral’s caterpillars are fond of nettles. The adults are frequent garden visitors and, like peacocks, are often seen on buddleja.
The red admiral occasionally overwinters here, but most migrate from southern Europe in May or June to mate and lay eggs. A new generation of adults emerges three weeks later, and in a mild autumn can be seen on the wing well into December.
Like the red admiral, the painted lady migrates to the British Isles in early summer. But whereas red admirals are regular visitors, painted lady butterflies – which travel from Africa – are highly erratic. Some years they don’t migrate at all, other years they set forth in their millions, with some individuals even venturing as far north as Iceland.
OPPOSITE Comma
TOP Red admiral
BOTTOM LEFT Painted lady
BOTTOM RIGHT Peacock
As you would expect from the distance they cover, painted ladies are strong fliers. They can reach speeds of up to 30mph and travel up to a hundred miles in a day.
The ones that arrive here are partial to feeding on the nectar in thistles. Thistles are also a favourite choice for them to lay their eggs on.
As the name suggests, this neat little butterfly favours dense woodland habitats, but it will also visit shady gardens or parks, especially where there are stands of tall grass.
Its colouration varies depending on where it lives. In the northern part of its range, including the British Isles, individuals are dark brown with creamy white markings; the closer to southern France you go, the more the spots become orange rather than white.
The speckled wood butterfly’s caterpillars feed on a variety of native grasses, including cocksfoot, Yorkshire fog and couch grass.
Finally here’s a fascinating rarity: the purple hairstreak butterfly. The species, notable for its glossy purple sheen, can be seen here in the North, but is probably under-reported because of its reclusive habits.
The purple hairstreak spends almost all of its life high up in the crowns of mature oak trees. The adults feed mainly on the honeydew produced by aphids, only occasionally visiting flowers. The females lay their eggs at the base of oak leaf buds.
Butterfly spotters keen to see the purple hairstreak usually equip themselves with a pair of binoculars. Although you may not be able to see any fine detail, if you do happen to observe butterflies flitting around the top of an oak tree they’re almost certainly purple hairstreaks!
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This wreath is deceptively easy to make and creates a pretty focal point for a party or summer gathering. Either hang it on a door or gate to welcome guests or, alternatively, lay it flat on a table and put candles in the middle to create a charming centrepiece. To make a wreath to supply fresh thyme for cooking, omit the lobularia (so you don’t end up eating that as well) and use more thyme plants. Ensure you buy enough plants to cover the wreath – here I used eight thyme plants and eight lobularias.
Sheet moss (available from florists and garden centres)
Wire wreath base, 40cm in diameter (available from good craft stores and online)
Potting mix
Fine copper wire
Galvanised wire, 1mm in diameter, and a hook or sturdy nail, for hanging the wreath (optional)
1 Soak the rootballs of all the plants in water for 10 minutes or so. Lay pieces of moss on a table in a circular shape, with the green mossy side facing down. Place the wreath base on top of the moss circle and add more moss, so you will have enough to cover both sides of the base.
2 Water the potting mix and let it drain so it is moist, but not soaking wet. Put handfuls of moist potting mix on top of the wreath, working your way all the way around.
Lobularia maritima Easter Bonnet Series (sweet alyssum)
Thymus ‘Bressingham’, T. Coccineus Group, and T. ‘Hartington Silver’ (thyme)
Thymus serpyllum var. albus (white-flowered creeping thyme)
Take the wreath down and give it a good soaking every few days or even daily in hot weather. Also spray the wreath with water in very hot weather, using either a garden hose on a gentle spray setting or a plastic spray bottle.
3 Push the end of the roll of copper wire under the wreath and twist it around itself a few times to keep it firmly in place.
4 Wrap lengths of copper wire around the wreath, folding the moss over as you do so, to cover the base completely. Keep wrapping until the whole wreath is bound with moss.
5 Take a plant from its plastic pot and make it smaller by scraping off some of the potting mix from the rootball. Using your fingers, make a small hole in the moss on the wreath and push the roots of the plant inside. Thyme is pretty tough, so don’t worry too much about damaging the roots, but try to keep them intact if you can. Continue to plant more thyme and lobularia plants around the wreath in the same way until the whole wreath is covered. As the plants grow, they will fill in any gaps.
6 Water the wreath while it is still lying flat and do not allow it to dry out. Suspend the wreath using a loop of galvanised wire over a hook or nail.
Extracted from Small Summer Gardens by Emma Hardy, with photography by Debbie Patterson.
Published by CICO Books.
Our huge selection of summer flowering plants are looking at their best now. Alongside many exciting new varieties are a large range of traditional favourites.
We have a beautiful selection of trees, shrubs, alpines, herbaceous plants, fruit trees and much, much more.
We have been growing the plants for North Yorkshire’s gardens for over 125 years - call in and see what we have for you.
Our florist can provide hand-tied designs, bouquets and arrangements for any occasion.
Beetroot, beans and chicory are all delicious and easy to grow –ideal for the first-time gardener, says Adam Appleyard
f you’re new to vegetable gardening it’s a good idea to start with crops whose success can be pretty much guaranteed. And if you’re short on space it’s nice to have the option to grow them in containers.
The three vegetables we’ll be discussing here –beetroot, French beans and chicory – tick both of these boxes, and this is the time of year to come to grips with growing them.
One of the great things about cultivating your own beetroot – quite apart from the fact that it’s easy and fun – is the huge range of different kinds that are available as seed but which can seldom be found in the shops.
Store-bought beetroot is invariably spherical and dark maroon, but as a home-grower there are plenty more options, perfect for creative cooks keen to serve painterly plates of food.
There are white beetroots (such as ‘Albino’ and ‘White Detroit’), orange beetroots (‘Boldor F1’), yellow beetroots (‘Burpees Golden’, ‘Golden Eye’) and even striped beetroots that reveal alternating white and pink rings when you cut into them (‘Chioggia’). Most of these coloured varieties, by the way, are sweeter and less earthy tasting than the standard maroon type.
You can sow beetroot at any time from March until July, and they’re not particularly picky about what soil they find themselves in providing it’s not too stony. Sow 1cm deep, in the ground or in containers, in either case aiming for a spacing of around 10cm.
Beetroot seeds usually develop – and are sold – as knobbly clusters consisting of between two and five individual seeds, so it’s quite likely that more than one seedling will germinate in a particular spot. If so, thin out the weaker ones and add the thinnings to salads. Other than watering and weeding, your beetroots won’t require any further attention.
Sooner is better than later when it comes to harvesting, as older roots can become tough and dry. Aim to harvest them at a size that’s somewhere between a golf ball and a tennis ball. Simply grasp the stalks close to the ground and pull. They’re nicest eaten fresh, although when shorn of their top growth undamaged specimens will keep for a month or two in the vegetable drawer of your fridge.
French beans can be planted at any time between the last of the frosts and the end of July. Sow small batches every three weeks or so to maintain a continuous supply of this healthy and delicious vegetable through until mid-autumn.
Climbing French beans will need to be grown on a wigwam of bamboo canes, and it’s best to construct this prior to sowing. Beans love rich soil, so dig in plenty of well-rotted manure or homemade garden compost before you start. Whatever shape of wigwam you create, sow bean seeds near the base at intervals of around 15cm and tie in any loose shoots once they start to develop.
If this all sounds like too much trouble, dwarf French beans are compact enough not to need staking, and can even be grown in medium-large containers. ‘Purple Teepee’ is a good choice, and has the additional advantage of attractive dark purple pods, although sadly this striking colour reverts to green during cooking. Other worthy varieties include ‘Sprite’, ‘Boston’ and ‘Faraday’.
Beans like a lot of moisture, so water them regularly and mulch them if you can. Start picking your crop as soon as the beans are large enough to eat, and keep picking regularly to encourage further flowers to develop. Beans surplus to immediate requirements can be blanched for two minutes in boiling water and frozen, so there’s no excuse for holding back!
That said, leave one or two pods to mature on the stems. Collect them once they have turned brown and lay them out to dry indoors. Remove the beans from the pods after a fortnight and store them in labelled envelopes somewhere cool and dry ready for next year’s sowing.
The bitter, tangy leaves of chicory can be an acquired taste, but cooking will take the edge off the bitterness and transform them into a delicious accompaniment to any autumn meal.
To make things easy, forget the so-called ‘forcing’ chicories (forcing chicory is a bit of a faff) and buy seed of a red chicory variety such as ‘Palla Rossa’ or, for maximum sweetness, a ‘sugarloaf’ variety like ‘Pan di Zucchero’.
Sow outdoors in full sun or part shade in June or July, 1cm deep in rows 30cm apart or spaced randomly across large containers of peat-free compost. In either case, thin seedlings to 25cm apart once they are growing strongly.
Keep your rows or containers weed-free and water thoroughly in dry weather, otherwise your chicory may ‘bolt’, that’s to say start to produce flowerheads. If you happen to have well-rotted manure or homemade garden compost to hand you can use it to mulch your plants – it will help suppress weeds and keep the soil moist. Other than that there’s no special maintenance required.
Your chicory should be ready to harvest from late summer onwards, as and when you need it. Don’t be tempted to pull up the whole plant. Chop the head off close to ground level and with a bit of luck the stump will sprout again, giving you the chance of a second crop in mid-to-late autumn.
Discard the outer leaves, which will be tough and bitter – it’s the inner ones you’ll want to eat. Add chopped leaves to salads for a crisp, refreshing crunch, or use them in stir fries. Alternatively, halve the heads and braise them, or roast them with a dash of olive oil.
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Few climbing plants capable of surviving the British weather can boast flowers as exotic as those of the passionflower, Passiflora caerulea. Grow this tropical beauty against a wall or fence in a sheltered spot. Feed every few weeks and it will flower profusely from July through until September. Now in stock at Braithwaites, Leeming Bar
For tip-top topiary you’ll need a decent pair of clippers, and these Sophie Conran hedge and lawn shears from Burgon & Ball (burgonandball.com) are ideal for stress-free snipping. Their long ashwood handles give a welcome bit of extra reach and the high-carbon steel blades will make short work of those annoying straggly stems.
Once the top growth turns yellow it’s time to harvest your garlic. Gently ease bulbs out with a fork, brush away the dirt and lay them out in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place to cure. After two weeks you can braid the stems and hang them up to continue curing. Alternatively, cure for another fortnight then cut off the stems.
A good garden bench gives you somewhere to sit and admire the results of your horticultural handiwork – and, of course, prettifies the spot you choose for it. This handsome oak bench from Fall Timber at Leeming Bar (falltimber.co.uk) is just the thing for adding a touch of elegance to a cosy corner.
This is the perfect time to take cuttings from shrubby herbs like rosemary, sage and bay. Snip off healthy, non-flowering shoots. Trim them to 10–15cm long, cutting just below a leaf node. Remove all bar the top few leaves and insert into pots of gritty compost. Water well, then keep your cuttings somewhere sheltered and shady until roots develop.
Catmint (Nepeta) is easy to grow in a sunny spot, and will delight you with a haze of purple-blue flowers all summer long. It may well delight your cat too. Whilst some moggies are immune to its charms, many will nibble it or enthusiastically roll in it. Fortunately it’s non-toxic, and tough enough to bounce back from the attentions of the occasional furry fan.
Harness the power of the sun to add sparkle to your garden on summer evenings by investing in some solar-powered lights. These solar festoon lights from Garden Trading (gardentrading.co.uk) are perfect for draping in trees or shrubs, or using to accent the line of a fence or wall.
Wooden trellis won’t last forever but this stylish fan-shaped trellis from Harrod Horticultural (harrodhorticultural.com) is made from galvanised steel and designed to stand the test of time. The uprights are capped with ball finials for that extra touch of class, and the trellis is supplied with matching brackets for easy installation.
‘Everlasting’ flowers such as statice, helichrysum and gypsophila can easily be dried and turned into attractive posies or indoor displays. Gather your flowers in the morning. Remove the leaves from the stems, then hang them upside-down in loose bunches in a warm, dry, well-ventilated place away from direct sunlight. Once they’re dry and papery they’re done.
Tomatoes are hungry plants. At this time of year you should be feeding them every 7–10 days to maximise your crop. Use a specialist tomato feed rather than a general purpose product, because it will contain the extra potassium that your plants require if they are to set a decent amount of fruit.
As well as looking good, roses can reward the gardener with a variety of delightful perfumes, says Brian Pike
oses have been cultivated for well over two thousand years, but long before that time
wild roses were already being used to make rosewater, scented oils and other fragrances.
Nowadays, of course, we can benefit from the results of two millennia of selective breeding aimed at fine-tuning both the appearance and the smell of these much-loved flowers.
Whilst many unscented roses make excellent garden plants, it’s tempting to opt for the best of both worlds by planting varieties that combine good looks with beguiling perfume.
Smells are notoriously difficult to describe or categorise, but received wisdom has it that there are five main rose fragrances: old rose, tea, myrrh, fruit and musk.
Old rose, also known as damask, is the fragrance most of us would recognise as a ‘traditional’ rose smell – the one that’s familiar from rosewater and other rose-scented products. Old rose fragrances are usually only found in pink or red roses.
Tea fragrances, as the name suggests, are reminiscent of the smell of fresh tea leaves –loose-leaf tea rather than the minced-up stuff in teabags – and often have violet or earthy notes. Tea fragrances are frequently found in yellow or apricot English roses.
Myrrh fragrances are rich and aromatic, and are sometimes compared to the scents of liquorice or star anise. They are mostly found in English roses.
Fruit fragrances – a category covering a range of different odours including citrus, berry and apple –are also associated with English roses.
Musk fragrances are sweet, spicy and strongly reminiscent of cloves. Unlike other fragrance types, musk scents are produced by the rose’s stamens rather than its petals. Musk fragrances are characteristic of rambling roses.
So let’s run through some notable scented roses, starting with a thumpingly powerful example of old rose fragrance: ‘Gertrude Jekyll’. This is a metrehigh English shrub rose with large, bright pink flowers; it was bred by David Austin and named in honour of the famous garden designer.
Rosa gallica ‘Versicolor’, often known as ‘Rosa Mundi’, is another compact shrub rose of the old rose type, and its showy flowers are fuchsia pink striped with white. ‘Charles de Mills’ is a larger shrub rose – half as tall again as ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ – that also delivers a powerful old rose fragrance. Quite apart from its scent it’s well worth growing for its opulent magenta blooms.
If you’re looking for a tea-scented rose, ‘Lady of Shalott’, another English shrub rose from David Austin, certainly fits the brief, especially if you enjoy the colours of a fiery sunset. Its orange blooms have salmon pink outer petals with golden yellow undersides. Another tea-scented shrub rose – one whose fragrance also carries a hint of lemon – is ‘Charles Darwin’, which has large, golden yellow blooms.
Good examples of myrrh-scented roses are ‘Wollerton Old Hall’, ‘Shropshire Lass’ and ‘Strawberry Hill’, all of which are climbers. The first has pale apricot flowers; the second is white and the third has large, mid-pink blooms.
Roses that offer fruity fragrances include creamywhite climbing rose ‘Mme Alfred Carrière’, yellow shrub rose ‘The Poet’s Wife’, and the vigorous crimson rambler ‘Alexandre Girault’.
An even more vigorous rambler, the creamy ‘Rambling Rector’ is renowned for its strong musky scent, as is the equally hyperactive, pink-flowered ‘Paul’s Himalayan Musk’.
For a musky fragrance in a less triffid-like plant, the delicate pink ‘Blush Noisette’ is an excellent choice. I grow this tied in to a wooden obelisk and it’s a remarkably profuse repeat-flowerer.
As might be expected with any attempt to classify something as hard to describe as smell, not all roses fit easily into one or other of the five fragrance categories.
‘The Generous Gardener’, for example, is a gorgeous pale pink climber whose heady scent combines old rose, myrrh and musk. And ‘Arthur Bell’ is a perky, large-flowered, bright yellow floribunda rose whose robust fragrance is hard to describe as anything other than ‘sweet’.
In the final analysis we all respond to smells in slightly different ways. Reading descriptions can only take you so far, and the best way to find out what you like is to visit gardens, flower shows and nurseries and have a good sniff!
If you plan to go prospecting for scented roses, the morning is the best time to do it – or failing that, a warm but overcast afternoon. A certain amount of heat will accentuate the fragrance, but when roses bake in strong sunshine the volatile oils that give them their scent will evaporate, causing the strength of the odour to diminish.
Once you’ve decided on your scented roses, it’s worth thinking carefully about where to plant them. Ideally they should be outside your door, next to a garden seat or beside a favourite pathway – somewhere easily accessible that allows you to revel in those delicious odours as easily and as often as possible.
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Firing up the barbecue? You’ll need some top-quality meat to put on it. Mainsgill Farm Shop’s BBQ packs include beef and pork steaks, beef burgers, sausages and grill sticks, and they make planning your outdoor entertaining as easy as can be. Order your BBQ packs online at mainsgillfarm.co.uk or drop in to pick them up – opening times are on the website.
Champagne and sunshine make a perfect match, and now’s the time to stock up in anticipation of clinking celebratory glasses on gloriously hot lunchtimes and warm summer evenings. The well-stocked shelves at Mainsgill Farm Shop (mainsgillfarm.co.uk) on the A66 west of Scotch Corner offer a dazzling range of options, with big-name brands including Bollinger, Pol Roger, Moët & Chandon and Lanson.
Take it from us, cheese wedding cakes – a selection of cheeses stacked and garnished to give the effect of a traditional tiered wedding cake – are bang on trend. A cheese wedding cake is a photogenic centrepiece with a difference that will definitely wow the guests on your special day. Find out more at The Cheese Press, Victoria Road, Richmond, thecheesepressrichmond.co.uk
Now in smart new eco-friendly packaging, Yockenthwaite Farm’s delicious, super-fresh granolas are a great way to jolly up your breakfast table. With recipes that range from the original and ever-popular ‘Real Nutty’ to the zingy ‘Just Ginger’ and the indulgent ‘Choc Cherry’, there’s something to cater to every palate. Shop the range at Campbell’s of Leyburn, campbellsofleyburn.co.uk
Wensleydale Ice Cream Parlour in Thornton Rust near Leyburn is a great place to cool off and indulge in some delicious ice cream made from milk produced by the Harrison family’s award-winning Jersey herd. With dozens of flavours of ice cream, not to mention mouthwatering sundaes, waffles and pancakes, anyone with a sweet tooth will be spoilt for choice. For opening times see wensleydale-icecream.co.uk
To get the most from your barbecue this summer, why not learn to add smoking, roasting and baking to your alfresco cooking repertoire? The Weber Smoke House BBQ course on 15 July at the Swinton Estate Cookery School will teach you how to do everything from reverse-searing steaks and curing salmon to flavour-boosting your desserts with coffee beans. For more details visit swintonestate.com
Picking your own fresh fruit is fun for all the family, and from midJune onwards Hutton Bonville Fruit Farm near Northallerton will be open for you to forage your own juicy strawberries, gooseberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants and tayberries. Precise timings vary from year to year, so follow their Facebook page, @huttonbonvillefruitfarm, for the latest updates on what’s ripe and ready to harvest.
Rosé wines are ideal for summer drinking, and Campbell’s of Leyburn campbellsofleyburn.co.uk) have some splendid examples on offer until the end of July.
Yorkshire boasts some of the finest food and drink in the world, and an excellent selection of examples can be found at Mill Close Farm Shop at Hackforth near Bedale. Alongside top-quality beef, pork, lamb, poultry and game from the Yorkshire Dales Meat Company you’ll find artisan goodies from local favourites including Bracken Hill Fine Foods, Taplin & Mageean and Wensleydale Brewery. Find out more at yorkshiredalesmeat.co.uk
They include CVNE Viña Real Rosado 2022 Rioja, a delightfully fresh summer crowd-pleaser that’s down from £12.40 to £9.49, and Esk Valley Rosé 2021 from Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, an elegant dry wine that’s down from £14.80 to £11.99.
If you don’t normally like lamb, this might just change your mind! Salt marsh lamb, in season from now until late autumn, comes from animals pastured on coastal marshland full of nutrient-rich plants like samphire and sea purslane. Far from being salty, the meat is sweet, flavoursome and extra-lean. Interested? Available from mid-June at Booths of Ripon, booths.co.uk
4 miles west of Scotch Corner A66 (DL11 7PN) www.mainsgillfarm.co.uk 01325 718860 Open daily until 5:00pm
Artisan Kitchen Food Hall
Gifts & Clothing Tearoom
A ‘real’ farm shop offering a shop floor to our working award-winning family farm. All our beef, pork and lamb is traditionally home-reared here in Yorkshire
British Design Clothing & Accessories Gifts, Homewares & Outdoor Furniture
Tearoom with Outdoor Seating Real Dairy Ice Cream
Home-reared Meats & on-site Butchery
Homemade Cakes, Desserts & Pies
Finest Locally Sourced Produce Best of British Food & Drink
We meet James Potter, owner of The Greengrocer in Bedale
don’t think anyone ever plans to be a greengrocer, it’s something you just fall into. For me it started as a Saturday job working on a market stall. Quite a few kids came and went, but I stuck with it.”
“When the stall owners took over the old fruit shop in the centre of Thirsk I went to work for them there. Then in 2015, when they retired, my sister Fiona and I bought the business. After a while I wanted to see a bit more of the world, so I sold my share and went to Canada, where I worked as a ski instructor and cook.
“After two years I came back to Yorkshire and carried on working in catering. But when Covid hit, the restaurant I was with shut overnight and it was clear things weren’t going back to normal any time soon.
“My ambition had always been to be working for myself by the time I was thirty. When some family friends from Bedale told me that the town really needed a greengrocer I enquired into shop rentals and found the property we’re in now, between the Co-op and the butchers.
“I did all the shop-fitting myself and we opened in March 2020, just as the country went into lockdown. We were busy from the get-go because the only place people were allowed to go was to the shops!”
“On a typical day I will leave home in Thirsk at 4am to drive to the wholesale market in Leeds. I go through the market selecting the fruit and veg that we need, and also check what’s on offer at the plant and flower wholesale market next door.
“I’ll set off for Bedale with a van full of stuff around 7am, and by the time I arrive my staff will have already started setting up the shop. We’re a small, close-knit team and we always have a bit of a laugh, mainly at each other’s expense. Having happy, hard-working staff makes life a lot easier for me and there’s always a nice atmosphere in the shop.
“We’ll sort out what I’ve brought, then I’ll most likely go out making deliveries to individual customers and various pubs and trade clients. We’ve just set up a new website that will make it easy for people to order online, and which I hope in time will be as comprehensive as the shop. But I don’t think online-only would work for us if we didn’t have a bricks-and-mortar shop. The shop is our showcase.”
“When I’ve finished delivering there will be plenty of admin to do, including ordering from our local suppliers. We have some very good suppliers pretty much on our doorstep.
“For example, Mr Simpson, who is literally just two miles away, supplies us with potatoes: Sagitta, which is an excellent chipping potato, and Estima, which is good for roasting and mashing. Spilmans of Sessay supply us with asparagus in spring and strawberries in summer.”
“Hudsons in Crakehall provide us with pumpkins and squashes, we get eggs from Manor Farm at Sinderby, and our dairy products come from the Dales Dairies depot at Leeming Bar. There’s a nice little nursery at Knaresborough where we get our spring and summer bedding plants.
“And of course there are lots of other products that we stock that I need to keep track of: jams, chutneys, oils, salad dressings… I like to think that between us and the butcher next door you could get the whole of your weekly grocery shop.”
“Being a greengrocer isn’t an easy way to make a living. The hours are unsocial and it’s possible to feel a bit isolated. And there are plenty of challenges. Erratic weather and global warming increasingly mean products aren’t available when they should be and prices are extremely volatile. When they go through the roof we swallow as much of the rise as we can but ultimately we just have to trust that our customers appreciate we’re doing our best, and stick with us.”
“On the positive side, one of the satisfying aspects of the job is all the good feedback we get from the regulars who do their weekly shop with us. And in summer, when visitors to the Dales pop in, they often tell us how much they wish they had a shop like ours back at home. Traditional time-served greengrocers like me are a bit of a dying breed, but there’s clearly a demand for what we offer, and in a year or two I would definitely like to open a second shop.
“We strive to have the very best produce possible, and to stock things you simply can’t get in the supermarket. And if there’s something special that a customer wants, we’ll do our level best to get hold of it – luckily I have the contacts to do that. As a small business operating on tight margins we may not be able to beat the big multiple retailers on price but we can very definitely beat them when it comes to quality and service.”
The Greengrocer is in Market Court, Bedale. James’ new website can be found at thegreengrocer.co.uk
Our beautiful cheese shop is located in the heart of Richmond.
We stock a range of delicious British and European cheese plus tasty accompaniments. We always o er tasters and a friendly welcome.
So whether it’s a cheeseboard, a wedding, or a special occasion we’ll take the time to o er advice and chat cheese.
Why not join us at one of our popular cheese tasting events in our historic tasting room. Get in touch for more details.
7 Victoria Road, Richmond, North Yorkshire, DL10 4DW 01748 829789
thecheesepressrichmond.co.uk
thecheesepressrichmond
These pretty ice cubes get the most amazing reaction every time I produce them. People assume I’ve been doing elaborate things for hours with tweezers and tiny petals and can’t believe how simple they are to make when I explain.
Use edible or safe-to-eat flowers, such as violets, geraniums, jasmine, pansies (Viola), marigold (Calendula officinalis), cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus), and carnations (Dianthus). The ice cubes don’t really add anything to your drink tastewise, but because they are so beautiful, they make whatever you’re drinking seem like a celebration –perfect for a summery outside lunch party.
Filtered water
Ice-cube tray
Edible or safe-to-eat flowers
Scissors
1 Bring some filtered water to the boil and let it cool (boiling the water stops bubbles forming and keeps the ice clear, not cloudy).
2 Pour the cooled water into the ice-cube tray, filling a third of each square, and then put in the freezer until frozen.
3 Snip the flower stems to size.
4 Remove the tray from the freezer and lay the petals on top of the ice cubes. Cover with water to the top and return to the freezer until the cubes are frozen through.
NB Resist the temptation to pour all the water into the ice-cube tray together with the petals, as I did the first time I made them. I ended up with petals on the top instead of sitting prettily in the middle...
Taken from Inspire by Willow Crossley, published by CICO Books (£25).
Photography by Emma Mitchell © CICO Books.
A LUXURY INN, RESTAURANT AND PUB IN THE HEART OF MASHAM
There’s always a warm welcome awaiting you at The White Bear
The White Bear Country Inn
Wellgarth, Masham, North Yorkshire HG4 4EN • 01765 689319 • sue@whitebearmasham.co.uk
Unique
Enjoy Roux Scholar Jonathan Harrison’s unique cuisine in the traditional surroundings of the Sandpiper Inn.
Modern British food using only the finest local ingredients, beautifully prepared and presented.
Fine wines, real ales and friendly service.
Market Place, Leyburn, North Yorkshire DL8 5AT sandpiperinn.co.uk
Tupgill Estate, situated in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales with 513 acres of glorious Yorkshire countryside, is home to e Saddle Room restaurant.
At e Saddle Room we believe passionately about sourcing our ingredients from really local suppliers and wherever possible within a 10-mile radius of the restaurant.
e Saddle Room also has 5★ rated Accommodation with Cottages and Bed and Breakfast rooms creating the perfect place to relax and unwind.
✓ OUTDOOR DINING IN “THE PADDOCK”
✓ NEWLY REFURBISHED ACCOMMODATION
✓ OPEN FOR WEDDINGS AND EVENTS
✓ PRIVATE DINING
Grand honest food cooked to perfection
01969 640 596 | info@thesaddleroom.co.uk
Tupgill Park, Coverdale, Leyburn, North Yorks DL8 4TJ www.thesaddleroom.co.uk
ith its spacious village green ringed with stone-built houses – not to mention the romantic, albeit crumbling, remains of a 14th-century castle – Ravensworth, some five miles north of Richmond, is a charming spot on a summer’s evening.
The Bay Horse stands behind a handful of picnic benches at the northern end of the green, and gives the impression of having been cobbled together from two formerly separate cottages. To the relief of locals it reopened last December under new management, following a four-month refurbishment.
Step inside and you’ll find exactly what you would expect from a traditional Yorkshire country pub: dark oak beams, gleaming brassware, an eclectic mix of furniture and floor coverings, a selection of sporting scenes on the walls. A bold white and dark olive paint scheme helps pull the diverse elements together.
What strikes you most forcibly, though, is the atmosphere – the buzz of conversation, the laughter, the bonhomie. This is a friendly, happy place that clearly has a loyal local fanbase, and where everyone gets a warm welcome.
There was a cosily retro feel to the menu, with prawn cocktail, scampi and mushroom fritters all featuring. For starters we chose cod goujons with tartare sauce – another classic example of comfort food – and grilled black pudding with haggis fritters and onion marmalade.
With goujons the quality of the batter is crucial, and The Bay Horse’s version had the ethereal light crispiness of a tempura batter as opposed to clunky standard-issue local chippy batter. Inside the crackling coating the fish was moist and flaky. The tartare sauce was caper-rich, sharp and bright; call me greedy, but I would have loved a slightly bigger serving.
The black pudding was as refined as the goujons –not the uncooperative, claggy black lump you despair of ever finishing, but a beguilingly light and savoury interpretation. The haggis fritters too were soft and fluffy inside their wafer-thin crispy coating. I’m no great fan of haggis (cue outrage from friends north of the border) but these were lovely. The luscious onion marmalade, with its finely balanced sweet-sharpness, cut through the rich oiliness and helped everything slip down nicely.
On, then, to mains, beginning with a celebration of lamb in the form of roast rump accompanied by a mini shepherd’s pie and served with dauphinoise potatoes, char-grilled asparagus and a minted pea purée dotted with broad beans.
One thing is certain: at The Bay Horse they know how to cook meat. The lamb, obviously a quality cut, was nicely seared on the outside and pink inside, creating that winning conjunction of soft meltingness and crisp charring. The dauphinoise potato was buttery and garlicky, and the green veg not only brightened up the plate but added further tantalising textures.
Our other main, pan-fried calves’ liver and bacon with creamy mash and onion rings, was another textbook example of conscientious meat cookery.
Liver, bacon and onions is, of course, a classic combo, but liver is notoriously hard to get right. There’s a fine line between underdone and rubbery, with chefs usually erring in the direction of rubbery. Not so at The Bay Horse, whose liver was so tender it seemed on the point of dissolving. Crisp salty bacon added oomph and crunch, as did a generous serving of tenderstem broccoli, and there was plenty of creamy potato purée. If you’re looking to fill your boots, this dish fits the bill.
After all this meaty indulgence it was touch-andgo whether we could accommodate any puds, so we chose the two lightest-sounding items on the menu: a mixed berry pavlova, and a lemon and amaretti trifle.
The smart trifle, served in a glass, was less lemony than the menu description might have you believe. The predominant impression from the upper layers was of raspberries, raspberry coulis and cream, this giving way to the almondy amaretti below as one’s spoon probed more deeply. I presume there was lemon in there somewhere, but it kept its head below the parapet. No matter, it was a decidedly delightful dessert.
The pavlova was a perfect example of its kind: crisp but gooey meringue, a luscious fruit compote, lashings of cream and a generous pile of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. Bliss!
Indulgent, expertly cooked food served in a cheery village pub: what’s not to like? With rural hostelries in crisis, the inhabitants of Ravensworth are lucky folk indeed to have The Bay Horse on their doorsteps. I plan to visit again before too long has passed – and if you enjoy good food and good company then so should you. For more information about The Bay Horse at Ravensworth visit thebayhorseravensworth.co.uk or call 01325 494437.
Unpretentious but immaculately cooked, crowdpleasing food.
The friendly, informal, relaxed vibe that you get in the best of British country pubs.
Cheerful and extremely efficient.
Three courses each for two cost us just under £80, that’s to say around £40 each, drinks not included.
Wines by the glass start at £4.25 (175ml). Fine ales on tap.
Ravensworth makes a good starting point for a variety of gentle circular walks in Holmedale, including a pleasant circuit to the southeast taking in Whashton, Gilling West and Hartforth.
A little bit of luxury in the Yorkshire Dales
Great food focusing on fresh, seasonal ingredients
Exciting new menu for summer
Extensive new wine list with a vintage section for those Bordeaux lovers
Luxurious and relaxing new rooms
Always a warm welcome at The Blue Lion after a long day walking
Log burning fires
Friendly service
Fantastic breakfasts
Main Road, East Witton, Nr Leyburn, DL8 4SN 01969 624273 enquiries@thebluelion.co.uk
thebluelion.co.uk
An enterprising family is breathing new life into a picture-perfect hill farm
he majority of visitors who drive up and down Swaledale in summer are blithely unaware that they are missing one of the area’s most scenic spots – a spectacular tributary valley that was once carved out by mighty glaciers and is now occupied by the gently meandering Marske Beck.
A couple of miles upstream of the village of Marske, looking out across a gorgeously rugged upland landscape, is Telfit Farm. Since 2016 Telfit has been in the hands of the Leatham family, and father Oliver and son Ben have been busy developing it into a hub of activities that complement and enhance the hill farm and its rich natural environment.
And it’s the environment that is of paramount importance to the Leathams. Telfit’s flower-rich moorland, woodlands, meadows and scrub sustain a wealth of wildlife, including many rare and threatened species of birds such as curlew, golden plover, lapwing, oystercatchers and black grouse. It’s a rich and biodiverse landscape that needs to be treated with respect.
The Leathams intend not just to preserve the status quo but to make things better still. “We have recently decided to go down the regenerative farming route,” explains Oliver. “Regenerative farming is about going back to basics, restoring and improving the environment by farming in the way it used to be done years ago.
“For example we will be practising ‘mob grazing’, which involves having a lot of stock in a small area for a short space of time, then moving them on and leaving the grass plenty of time to grow longer. This in turn allows the roots to grow deeper, which creates more microbial activity in the soil, helps prevent run-off and makes the pasture more drought-resistant. Letting the grass grow longer also encourages it to produce more nutrients, meaning that we don’t need to buy in feed.”
It’s hardly surprising that the animals grazing these herb-rich pastures produce exquisite meat, and the Leathams have selected their stock carefully. Visitors are always awed by Telfit’s handsome White Park cattle; these are one of the rarest breeds in Britain, descendants of Northumberland’s famous Chillingham wild cattle. Telfit’s sheep are a hardy Swaledale-Texel cross, and their pigs are Middle Whites – another extremely rare breed whose meat is highly prized for its refined and distinctive flavour.
There are smaller foragers at work at Telfit too. In late summer and early autumn 100 hives-worth of honey bees busily scour the surrounding moorland, bringing back nectar to produce Telfit’s ‘Skelton Moor’ heather honey. Heather honey is renowned for its unique flavour and consistency, and Telfit’s rich, dark, mellow honey is a classic example.
These gourmet delights are the core inspiration for a new, wider-ranging retail business, EatTELFIT. It’s a food brand, explains Ben, that will bring together a carefully curated range of top quality, sustainably produced foods – including, of course, Telfit’s very special meats and honey. EatTELFIT is launching this August with an exciting prize giveaway – visit the website and follow the brand on social media for more details.
But there’s a lot more going on at Telfit than just the farming. The carefully renovated, luxuriously appointed Georgian farmhouse and its adjacent cart house, with their wealth of period features and modern amenities, can sleep up to 22 guests as a holiday let. Facilities include a hot tub, sauna, games room, barbecue and fire pit, with wild swimming available in the river below.
And with a former milking parlour that has been transformed into an on-site event room, Telfit makes a wonderful wedding venue. An exclusive one too – Telfit only hosts twelve weddings a year, meaning that your special day won’t be just one more event on a non-stop matrimonial production line.
Thanks to the same combination of excellent facilities and magnificent surroundings, Telfit is also the perfect place to hold business conferences, courses and other events. The peace, quiet and natural beauty make it a natural fit for yoga retreats and similar health-focused activities. “It’s a very good place to get your head clear,” says Oliver.
So what else does the future hold for Telfit? The Leathams have no intention of resting on their laurels any time soon. A newly planted orchard will add another string to their bow, and Telfit apple juice and cider are likely to be added to EatTELFIT’s product range in due course, along with a range of top-quality charcuterie and ready meals.
In another development, Telfit has already featured as a photo-shoot location for a leading fashion brand. With more film and photography crews likely to follow in their footsteps, the spectacular scenery of this often overlooked beauty spot may soon be getting the share of the limelight that it deserves. For information about Telfit Farmhouse, The Cart House and weddings, conferences, retreats, photoshoots and other activities at Telfit visit telfit.co.uk
For information about EatTELFIT visit eattelfit.co.uk
“It’s a very good place to get your head clear.”
Transform your outdoor cooking skills with these brilliant dishes by
green beans with Jersey Royals
Rack of goat with walnut and date chutney
Grilled peaches with tomato, feta and basil
As much as I love a head torch and umbrella being part of my BBQ gear, sunny days are the best days for cooking outside. If hot days leave you wanting to eat something a little lighter, this will hit the spot. This recipe calls for Jersey Royals that are in season from March to July-ish. If you are making this outside of those months, you could use Pink Fir Apple potatoes instead.
Suitable for all BBQs
SERVES 4
600g Jersey Royals (or other new potatoes), scrubbed and halved
400g green beans, trimmed
3 tablespoons extra virgin
olive oil
juice of ½ or 1 whole lemon
100g rocket, roughly chopped
50g pecorino, finely grated
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the BBQ to a medium heat. Cook the potatoes in plenty of boiling salted water for about 15 minutes or until tender, adding the beans for the final 5 minutes of cooking time. Remove from the heat, drain and keep warm. Place the beans and potatoes in a bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and a big pinch of salt. When the grill is hot, arrange the green beans and potatoes on top and grill for about 3–5 minutes on each side, or until lightly charred. The beans should be long enough not to fall through the gaps but you’ll need to arrange them across the grill to minimise the amount of beans that fall through! Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl. Add the remaining olive oil, lemon juice and chopped rocket, toss together and season to taste. Serve on a big plate and shave over the pecorino.
This is a classic way of cooking fish over an open fire. Please don’t be daunted. It’s also very easy and, once the fish is secured, it is all about the fire management. It doesn’t require much investment or gear, the cook itself isn’t complicated and it’s very easy to serve once cooked. Traditionally one would use cedar wood, which lends a subtle flavour, but you don’t have to use it. I have used a simple bit of pine soaked in water. Suitable for cooking directly on coals and the open-faced breeze block grill
SERVES 4
750g–1kg fillet of salmon, pin-boned
125g melted butter
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
KIT REQUIRED
1 x large wooden plank just a bit bigger than your side of fish
7 x nails
herb brush temperature probe
Lay the side of fish on the plank and hammer six nails in, through the fish, on either side of the fillet. Hammer the final nail into the top of the fillet, taking care to secure the tail at the top as this will take most of the weight. Season the salmon with salt and pepper and, using the herb brush, brush with the melted butter. Place a log beside the fire and lean the plank against it so the salmon is facing the fire with the tail end up. As it cooks, occasionally brush with more melted butter. The cook time depends on the heat and distance from the fire but it should take 18–25 minutes, until the internal temperature at the thickest part is about 50°C.
To pre-empt any confusion, this is a walnut chutney in the Indian sense, not in the accompaniment for cheese sense. Goat will cook exactly the same way as lamb so you have nothing to fear from it.
Suitable for all BBQs
SERVES 2
2 x rack of goat
naan or flatbreads, to serve FOR THE MARINADE
2 teaspoons Kashmiri
chilli powder
1 heaped teaspoon grated
fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, grated
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons plain yoghurt
FOR THE WALNUT AND DATE CHUTNEY
60g walnuts
30g seeded dates
1 garlic clove
1 heaped teaspoon grated
fresh ginger
2 green chillies
½ teaspoon sea salt
4 tablespoons plain yoghurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
KIT REQUIRED
2 tandoor skewers
Mix all the ingredients for the marinade together, then cover the meat until thoroughly coated and set aside in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. Preheat the BBQ to a medium heat. For the chutney, place the walnuts, dates, garlic, ginger and chillies in a blender with the salt. Add 2 teaspoons of water and pulse until you have a smooth paste. Add a little extra water if it needs loosening. Place the yoghurt in a separate bowl, then gently mix in the walnut paste with the lemon juice and check the seasoning. Thread the racks onto the tandoor skewers and place on the BBQ; grill for 6–8 minutes until medium rare, with an internal temperature of 56°C. Using the bone to guide the knife, slice the racks and serve the meat on naan or flatbreads with the chutney on the side.
If you are looking for a starter for a BBQ main course, this one is perfect. Plus, if you’ve been grilling something that needs to rest, you’ll be able to cook this while you are waiting. Just give the grill a wipe before you start on the peaches.
Suitable for all BBQs SERVES 4
75ml extra virgin olive oil
30ml red wine, white wine or cider vinegar
½ small red onion, very thinly sliced
4 ripe peaches, cut into quarters
500g tomatoes, a mix of colours and sizes is nice, cut into bite-sized pieces
a small bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked
200g feta or buffalo mozzarella, cut or crumbled into small pieces
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the BBQ to a medium heat. To make a quick onion pickle, mix half the oil and all the vinegar together in a bowl. Stir in the red onion, add salt and pepper to taste, then set aside to macerate. In another bowl, gently toss the peaches in the remaining oil and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Place the peaches on the grill, cut-side down, and cook for 2–4 minutes on each side until lightly browned. Spread the tomatoes out over a wide serving platter and season lightly with salt and pepper, then top with the grilled peaches. Stir half the basil through the dressing and spoon over the salad. Top with the cheese, scatter with the remaining basil leaves and serve immediately.
Recipes taken from The DIY BBQ Cookbook by James Whetlor (Quadrille, £20). Photography by Sam Folan.
Trine Hahnemann shares some delicious recipes with the emphasis on simple healthy ingredients
A super-easy way to make a tasty soup in the oven in 30 minutes, to be served hot or cold. I always, actually, eat this when I’m at the beach. So, you could say this is my summer tomato soup. However, you never know what the weather is going to be like, so here is a cold soup for sunny days, or a hot soup for when it rains!
SERVES 4
1.5kg plum tomatoes, ideally San Marzano
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp coriander seeds
leaves from a small bunch of basil
200ml water
sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
TO SERVE (OPTIONAL)
croutons, or bread
full-fat crème fraîche
spring onions, or chives, or chive flowers, finely chopped
Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 6.
Line a baking tray with baking parchment.
Cut the tomatoes in half and place with the onions and garlic on the prepared baking tray.
Drizzle the olive oil over the tomatoes and sprinkle with the coriander seeds and some salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes.
Take the baking tray out of the oven and place the contents in a blender with the basil. Blitz into a soup; it should be a bit lumpy. Place in a saucepan with the water and bring to the boil, then season to taste.
Serve right away with croutons or bread, crème fraîche and spring onions or chives or chive flowers, or cool down and chill, to serve cold.
This bread is inspired by a cake that my grandma used to make, which I loved. I decided to try to make a bread following the same idea. This is now the bread that I bake on rainy summer days.
SERVES 6–8
25g fresh yeast, or 7g (1½ tsp) fast-action dried yeast
350ml lukewarm water
1 egg, lightly beaten
350g strong white flour, plus more to dust
150g wholemeal spelt flour
1 tsp sea salt flakes
100g raisins
100g dried figs, chopped
100g dried apricots, chopped
100g walnuts, chopped
TO GLAZE
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 tbsp light brown sugar
Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water, add the egg, then stir in both the flours and the salt to form a wet dough. Add the raisins, figs, apricots and walnuts. Knead by hand for a few minutes, or in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, until smooth. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas 6.
Tip the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead lightly, then shape it into a round loaf. Line a 40 x 30cm baking sheet with baking parchment, then put the loaf on the sheet. Glaze with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the brown sugar.
Bake for 25–30 minutes, then remove from the baking tray and leave to cool on a wire rack.
Fish cakes can be made in so many ways. This is an updated version with more flavour and texture. These are good with potatoes and cabbage on the side.
600g pollack fillet, or other firm white fish fillet
100g carrots, grated
1 onion, grated
4 tbsp finely chopped parsley leaves
2 tbsp finely chopped tarragon leaves
2 eggs, lightly beaten
100ml single cream
75g small (not jumbo) rolled oats
4 tbsp plain flour
100ml sparkling water
2 tsp sea salt flakes
2 tbsp salted butter
2–3 tbsp neutral-tasting vegetable oil
freshly ground black pepper
lemon slices, to serve herb flowers, to serve (optional)
300g full-fat crème fraîche
200g carrot, coarsely grated leaves from a large bunch of parsley, finely chopped large bunch of dill, coarse stalks removed, finely chopped finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2–3 tbsp lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4.
Chop the fish finely with a sharp knife, or use a food processor. Place in a large mixing bowl and add the carrots, onion, herbs, eggs and cream. Now add the oats and flour and mix again; finally fold in the sparkling water and season with the salt, then pepper to taste.
Melt the butter with the oil in a large frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat. Form oval-shaped balls of the fish mix with a tablespoon, using your free hand to help. Place them gently in the melted butter mixture and fry for about 4 minutes on each side. With a slotted spoon, transfer the fish cakes to an ovenproof dish and bake them in the oven for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a mixing bowl, mix the crème fraîche, carrot, herbs and lemon zest, then season to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Serve the fish cakes with the sauce and lemon slices, and a sprinkling of herb flowers, if you like and have them to hand.
Trifle is a great choice, as it’s light and sweet with some acidity, and gooseberry is my choice of fruit.
SERVES 6 FOR THE COMPOTE
600g gooseberries
1 vanilla pod, split
200g caster sugar
FOR THE CRUNCH
100g caster sugar
150g jumbo oats
50g hazelnuts, roughly chopped
50g salted butter
TO SERVE
200g double cream
For the gooseberry compote, place the gooseberries in a saucepan with the split vanilla pod and let them simmer over a low heat for about 5 minutes. Add the sugar, stir well and let it simmer for another 10 minutes. Leave to cool, then store in jars in the refrigerator. It will keep for 2–3 weeks.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4. Mix the sugar, oats and hazelnuts and place on a baking tray. Divide the butter into small pats and spread it over the mixture. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, then mix the crunch well and bake for another 5–10 minutes, or until golden brown.
Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Choose 6 glasses or jars. Spoon in alternate layers of gooseberry compote, cream and crunch, finishing with a swirl of cream on top.
Recipes taken from Simply Scandinavian by Trine Hahnemann, published by Quadrille (£27).
Photography by Columbus Leth.
Impress your guests with these timeless recipes, perfect for alfresco dining
Recipes taken from Mediterranean Summer Table by Kathy Kordalis, published by Ryland Peters & Small (£20).
Photography by Mowie Kay. © Ryland Peters & Small.
This is inspired by the snacks or mezedes that are served alongside an ouzo in an ouzeri, a drinks and snacks taverna – but with a twist. The ouzo is served in a cocktail garnished with olives and cucumber. The baked feta is semi-wrapped in vine leaves and served with blistered tomatoes. Simply take to the table with some forks and share with all.
150g vine-ripened cherry tomatoes on the vine
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing
8 vine leaves preserved in brine, stems removed, rinsed
200g block of feta cheese, cut into 4 thick slices
grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon runny honey
OUZOTINI (makes 1)
30ml ouzo
30ml vodka
60ml pineapple juice
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon runny honey ice cubes
GARNISH
1 mini cucumber, shaved lengthways
1 green olive, stoned
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas 6. Line a baking sheet with non-stick baking paper.
Trim the tomatoes into bunches of 3 or 4, place them on a small baking sheet and sprinkle with chilli flakes. Drizzle with the oil, season to taste and roast for 10–15 minutes until cooked through and the skin blisters. Meanwhile, lay 2 vine leaves slightly overlapping on a work surface, brush with a little oil, place a piece of feta on top, sprinkle with lemon zest and drizzle with honey. Loosely wrap the vine leaves around the feta to form a parcel and place on the lined baking sheet. Repeat with the other feta slices and vine leaves. Brush the parcels with oil and bake in the oven for 10–15 minutes until the feta is soft and warmed through. Serve hot with the blistered tomatoes and an ouzotini.
OUZOTINI
Add all of the ingredients to a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice cubes and shake vigorously until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with cucumber and an olive.
Serve alongside the feta baked in vine leaves.
The roasted romesco can be made in advance to allow the flavours to develop, so all you have to do at the last minute is griddle the bread and prawns. This makes for a very easy and impressive plate.
12 tiger prawns, peeled, heads removed, tails intact
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons sherry
ROMESCO SAUCE
1 vine-ripened tomato, quartered
1 red pepper, quartered
4 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil
30g crustless sourdough bread, coarsely torn
20g roasted hazelnuts
11⁄2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, or to taste
freshly squeezed juice of 1⁄2 lemon
1⁄2 teaspoon sweet paprika
sea salt and black pepper
roasted red onions or shallots
griddled sourdough
salad leaves
wooden or metal skewers
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas 6.
For the roasted romesco sauce, place the tomato, pepper and garlic on a baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil, season and roast in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes until tender.
Halve or quarter the onions or shallots, depending on their size, drizzle with a little oil and roast alongside the romesco mixture.
When the romesco mixture is cool enough to handle, squeeze the garlic from their skins (and discard the skins), then transfer the roasted garlic, tomato, pepper and any pan juices to a food processor or blender. Add the bread, hazelnuts, vinegar, lemon juice and paprika and process until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the remaining oil and blend until emulsified. Season to taste and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow the flavours to develop.
For the prawns, put the prawns, garlic and sherry in a bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour to marinate. Thread the prawns onto skewers and heat a char-grill pan over a high heat. Brush the prawns with a little olive oil and cook in batches, for 3–4 minutes, or until cooked through.
Serve the char-grilled prawns with the romesco sauce, roasted onions, griddled sourdough and salad leaves.
The best way to cook a roast chicken is on a bed of potatoes.
The best way to cook a roast chicken is on a bed of potatoes. As the chicken cooks, the juices get absorbed by the potatoes for a super flavourful dish. Herbes de Provence traditionally includes dried thyme, basil, rosemary, tarragon, savory, marjoram, oregano, bay leaf and sometimes lavender. This roast is served with a buttery lettuce salad and a mustard vinaigrette – the ultimate comfort food.
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon dried herbes de Provence
1kg Desiree potatoes, thinly sliced
1.8kg chicken
2 onions, thinly sliced
4 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves picked
4 fresh rosemary sprigs
100g mixed butterhead lettuce and lamb's lettuce
bunch of spring onions, thinly sliced
sea salt and black pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
pinch of sugar
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
90–100ml extra virgin olive oil
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas 6.
Mix the olive oil, butter and herbes de Provence in a bowl. Place the potatoes in a large bowl, add half the herb butter mixture and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
Coat the chicken with the other half of the herb butter mixture.
Place the chicken in the centre of a roasting pan and arrange the potatoes and onions around. Scatter the thyme and rosemary over the top. Roast in the preheated oven for 50–60 minutes until the potatoes are golden brown and crisp and a probe thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken breasts registers 70°C (temperature will climb to 75°C as the chicken rests). Leave the chicken to rest for at least 20 minutes, and up to 45 minutes.
To make the dressing, whisk the mustards and the sugar into the vinegar in a bowl and season well. While whisking, gradually drizzle in the oil to form a thick dressing.
When ready to serve, place all the salad leaves and the spring onions in a bowl and dress with the vinaigrette.
Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and carve. Serve with the crispy potatoes and buttery salad.
Our famous store on Leyburn Market Place has evolved over 150 years and 5 generations of Campbell’s to offer its own distinctive style of supermarket shopping
• An extensive choice of artisan and mainstream cheeses from around the world
•A range of ready meals created by our butchers
• An unrivalled selection of worldwide wines and spirits
• Beer and spirits from craft breweries and distillers
Semifreddo is different to ice cream or gelato as it’s a frozen mousse with extra ingredients added for flavour. It has more air incorporated in the mixture, giving it the lighter feel. Ice cream is denser in texture, has a higher fat content and lower air content. This recipe is light as air with a mellow honey flavour and a pleasingly savoury tang from the ricotta.
SERVES 6–8
oil, for greasing
300ml double cream
200g ricotta
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
grated zest of 1 orange (reserve the juice)
2 egg whites
60g runny honey
40g caster sugar
30g liquid glucose
80ml berry coulis
CHERRIES AND STRAWBERRIES
200g cherries, stoned and halved
200g strawberries, hulled and sliced
100ml dessert wine
60ml runny honey, plus extra to finish
reserved juice of 1 orange
bee pollen (optional)
24 x 11cm loaf pan
Brush the inside of the loaf pan with oil and line the base and sides with non-stick baking paper, leaving an overhang of about 2cm (or use a silicone loaf pan).
Pour the cream into the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until soft peaks form, then fold in the ricotta, vanilla seeds and orange zest. Transfer to a medium bowl and refrigerate.
Put the egg whites and a small pinch of salt in the clean bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment in place.
Put the honey, sugar and glucose in a small saucepan over a medium-low heat and stir until the sugar has melted. Increase the heat to medium, bring to the boil and leave to bubble for about 2 minutes, resisting the urge to stir, until it registers 110°C on a sugar thermometer. Immediately begin whisking the egg whites on a high speed until soft peaks form. When the syrup reaches 116°C, remove the pan from the heat and turn down the mixer speed to medium. With the machine running, slowly and continuously pour the syrup into the egg whites, whisking all the time, until it is all incorporated, then continue to whip for another 8 minutes until the mixture is cool.
Fold in the whipped ricotta cream until completely mixed through, then pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan. Ripple the berry coulis through to create a ‘veined’ effect and smooth the surface. Gently tap the pan on the work surface, transfer to the freezer and leave overnight.
Combine the cherries, strawberries, wine, honey and orange juice in a bowl, stir until well mixed, then refrigerate to macerate for 10 minutes.
Unmould the semifreddo on a chilled platter and serve in slices with the macerated cherries and strawberries, sprinkled with bee pollen if using.
We meet Victoria Bilborough of Yorkshire Escapes
hen Victoria Bilborough set up Yorkshire Escapes in 2017 she was determined to create a unique holiday lettings company – one that would give both holidaymakers and property owners a far more personal and ‘hands-on’ service than anything the big established lettings agencies could offer.
And it was an ambition for which her previous work experience had equipped her remarkably well. Victoria initially worked as a London estate agent for several years, then went on to run her own interior design business before moving back to Yorkshire in the 1990s. Her husband Chris is a property developer, and this led on to her project managing a variety of different house refurbishment projects.
With all this under her belt – along with her abiding passion for Yorkshire and its rich and varied landscapes – it’s hardly surprising that the idea of creating a bespoke Yorkshire-based holiday lettings company struck her as the perfect match for her skill-set.
“After doing my research I realised that the best way to get started was to put my properties on Airbnb,” she says. “I hit the market at just the right time, because not a lot of letting agencies were using the platform at that point.”
“It proved to be a good way of getting access to a younger generation of clients, people who weren’t particularly aware of the larger lettings companies. So I started with a couple of cottages and worked my way up from there. We’ve got nearly forty properties on our books now, covering the whole of Yorkshire.”
“Although we do have a handful of cosy country cottages, perfect for romantic getaways for couples, we tend to specialise in large, high-end properties.
“Big houses have become increasingly popular with staycationers, especially since the pandemic. They provide a great opportunity for families to get together and relax without anyone having to worry about hosting, cooking and so on. And our guests don’t necessarily come from miles away –many of them live within a couple of hours’ drive.
“The largest house currently on our books is Highleases Farm near Richmond, which sleeps 24 people in nine bedrooms. It’s probably our most popular property – in fact it’s already pretty much booked up until next summer. As you’ll see if you take a look at our website, it really does have that all-important ‘wow’ factor.”
“Highleases Farm has been renovated and decorated to a very high standard. It has a contemporary feel, with an interesting openplan layout, a fabulous spiral staircase and floor-to-ceiling windows that make the most of the spectacular views over Swaledale. The house is surrounded by decking and has lots of outdoor space.
“Another example? Caldbergh House in the village of Caldbergh in Coverdale sleeps seven guests in three bedrooms. It’s a lovely old Dales house that has recently been carefully renovated and immaculately kitted out. There are stoneflagged floors with underfloor heating so it’s lovely and cosy all year round and there’s a beautiful farmhouse kitchen complete with Aga. Like Highleases Farm and many of our other properties, it’s dog-friendly.”
“In contrast to most of the big agencies we’re prepared to get very involved with owners and guests. If you have a property that you are thinking of using as a holiday rental, we’re happy to help with the project at an early stage. Thanks to my background in project management and interior design I can advise on how to do up and style a property to maximise its appeal – everything from finding suitable tradespeople to organising furniture, curtains and so on.”
“When a property is ready to be marketed we will have detailed discussions on pricing with the owners rather than simply relying on algorithms like the big agencies do. And we’ll go as far as the owners need with the management of each property. We’ll vet and communicate with guests, take security deposits and organise check-ins. And if the owner wants we can deal with all aspects of cleaning and ongoing maintenance, and be the point of contact for guests in the event that anything goes wrong. We’re very flexible!
“We’re equally hands-on when it comes to guests. As well as giving them detailed information about their rental property of choice, we can advise on the area and its attractions to enable them to experience the very best of Yorkshire. We can also help visitors access a wide range of services including bespoke catering, baby sitting, outdoor sports and activities, beauty therapies and much, much more.
“What do I most enjoy about the job? Well, I’ve always been fascinated by property and I love beautiful houses. And I very much enjoy the interaction with everyone – you develop a genuine bond with both owners and guests.
“I’m very ambitious and I want to build the business into something really special. Because I get a huge amount of pleasure from doing it, I’m happy to work for however long it takes, seven days a week and all hours. I’ve got a wonderful team behind me, which makes for a great office environment – we look after each other, and we genuinely care about creating the best possible experience for all concerned.”
For more information about Yorkshire Escapes visit yorkshireescapes.co.uk or call 01677 460196.
We are hot tub specialists and only supply the finest hot tubs on the market with unique features. With over 30 years’ experience, we pride ourselves on providing the correct hot tub for you and your family. Please visit our showroom or call us for further information.
A Bigger Splash, Unit 6, Brompton Industrial Park, Station Road, Brompton-on-Swale, N. Yorkshire DL10 7SN 01748 812039 www.a-biggersplash.co.uk abiggersplash2@aol.com
• CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY
• PSYCHOTHERAPY
• HYPNOTHERAPY
• EMOTIONAL FREEDOM TECHNIQUE (EFT)
• COUNSELLING
• TRANSFORMATION COACHING
• MINDFULNESS
• CHILD & TEEN THERAPY
• DRUMMING
To book please go to our website or call 07887 506163 to discuss a treatment suitable for you. Visit www.tanfieldwellness.co.uk for further details.
Tanfield Wellness is a team of therapists offering a holistic approach to healing, addressing mind, body and spirit. We specialise in trauma, stress, anxiety and depression, parent/child and family issues, chronic pain and a variety of other symptoms.
THE TRAVEL LOUNGE IS RENOWNED FOR ITS EXCELLENT SERVICE AND COMPETITIVE PRICES.
Our friendly expert team is second to none and uses their extensive knowledge to create the perfect holiday, just for you.
Our in-depth experience and proven high levels of service are supported by the financial security of being fully ABTA-bonded.
“Sicily is one of our top-selling destinations at the moment,” says Emma of Bedale-based travel experts The Travel Lounge.
Travelogues such as the BBC’s Anton and Giovanni’s Adventures in Sicily have, she explains, boosted the profile of this sun-soaked island, the largest in the Mediterranean. Fans of the TV series Inspector Montalbano are also keen to visit locations frequented by the fictional police chief.
Sicily is a magnet for history buffs as well. The island has been a cultural crossroads, and successive waves of Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans and Spaniards have left their mark in terms of food, culture and some impressive architectural remains.
What’s more, it’s the perfect place to relax. “We visited in August last year,” says Emma, “and it was very family-friendly. We stayed in Cefalù, which is a quaint coastal town with a beautiful cathedral.”
“The weather was fantastic and the Sicilian people are lovely, they simply can’t do enough for you.
“We took an excursion to Mount Etna, which I would definitely recommend – very much a bucket-list trip. Another resort we visited, and that we thought was wonderful, was Taormina. It has a really special atmosphere and there are picture-postcard views from the main square. Siracusa is another must-see place.
“Public transport is excellent and it’s easy to get around. There are plenty of beaches and sporting activities available, and the food and drink are amazing.
“Direct flights from Leeds Bradford take just three-and-a-half hours, so it’s very straightforward to get to. The best time to visit is between May and October, which is when the weather is warmest.”
The Travel Lounge is at 11 Market Place, Bedale.
Call them on 01677 427358 or email sales@thetravellounge.co.uk
orcelain has long been regarded as the most desirable and prestigious form of pottery – which is hardly surprising, given that it so perfectly combines beauty and functionality.
Dazzlingly white, delicately translucent, tough, chip-resistant and proof against thermal shock, it’s the ideal material from which to make everything from top-quality teapots to exquisitely detailed ornaments.
Porcelain was developed in China nearly two thousand years ago, but it wasn’t until the early 1700s that makers in Germany, France and England discovered how to produce wares that could rival those from the Far East.
The Herend Porcelain Manufactory, based in Herend near the ancient city of Veszprém in modern-day Hungary, may have been a latecomer on the porcelain-making scene, says Jody Beighton, auctioneer and valuer at Tennants Auctioneers in Leyburn, but in terms of craftsmanship it’s up there with the best.
“Like all the great factories, Herend won royal patronage, which is what gave them their longevity and success,” explains Jody. “They created large services for very wealthy clients and exported worldwide. Even today, everything Herend produces is handmade and hand-painted, and the quality is always extremely high.”
The Herend factory was founded in 1826 by Vince Stingl, although it wasn’t until several years later when Stingl went bankrupt and sold the business on to Mór Fischer that Herend started making porcelain in earnest. Soon the enterprising Fischer was selling Herend dinner services to the Hungarian aristocracy and exhibiting the company’s wares on the international circuit, with showings including the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations in New York in 1853 and the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1855.
2. Two Herend porcelain models of golden pheasants. Sold for £120.
3. A Herend porcelain Rothschild Bird pattern tureen, tureen stand, sandwich plate and large bowl. Sold for £750.
4. A pair of large Herend porcelain models of hares. Sold for £600.
5. A Herend porcelain model of a pelican, together with two Herend models of pairs of ducks. Sold for £700.
This proactive marketing paid off, and several European royal houses put in substantial orders. They included Queen Victoria, who chose a pattern featuring brightly coloured butterflies and flowers for use in Windsor Castle. Fischer promptly and astutely named it the Victoria pattern, and a version of it is still available today.
Another famous Herend pattern of the same era, also commissioned by a wealthy patron and still in production, is the Rothschild Bird pattern. This was inspired by a romantic Rothschild family story; versions differ, but the gist of it is that Baroness Rothschild lost a favourite necklace and at some point later birds were spotted playing with it in a tree. There are numerous variations of the Rothschild Bird motif, but each features a pair of birds along with the missing necklace, draped on a leafy twig.
A characteristic feature of much Herend porcelain, albeit not the Victoria or Rothschild Bird patterns, is the factory’s distinctive ‘fishnet’ or ‘scale’ patterning. Originally inspired by oriental decoration, this was first used by Herend in the 1870s but was used increasingly liberally from the 1930s onwards.
Creating these delicate filigree patterns is a painstaking and time-consuming process. First the scales are marked out with a drawing pen, following which the centres of the scales are filled in with a paintbrush in one or more colours. The overall effect, with its intricate geometry, is instantly recognisable as Herend.
Over the last few decades the Herend scale pattern has been applied to an increasingly wide range of wares, including a bewildering variety of figurines, both human and –especially – animal. From bears, birds and bugs to waterfowl and wolverines, pretty much every creature you can think of has been given the Herend scale treatment.
“Secondhand values for Herend wares have always been strong, and they remain so,” says Jody. “Dinner services are both decorative and useful, and can make well into four figures at auction. They are popular with interior decorators, and fit well with a certain kind of country house look. We have plenty of buyers locally for traditional pieces, and nowadays collectors from the Far East are also taking a serious interest in quality Western tea services.
“The ornaments too are selling well. We have a pair of ducks coming up for sale shortly, and I am expecting them to easily make between £300 and £500.”
So do you have any Herend porcelain tucked away at the back of a cupboard or in the loft? The factory’s name may not be as well known or as long-established as those of Meissen, Chelsea, Royal Worcester, Royal Crown Derby or Sèvres, but your Herend could be worth a lot more than you think.
For more information about Tennants Auctioneers, or to arrange a valuation, visit tennants.co.uk or call 01969 623780.
There are numerous variations of the Rothschild Bird motif, but each features a pair of birds along with the missing necklace, draped on a leafy twig.
Viewings welcome at our showroom in Copt Hewick, Ripon. Open every Saturday from 11am to 4pm.
Hand picked, beautiful, practical furnishings for your home.
We source new, vintage and antique furniture and one-o pieces. o
Based in North Yorkshire, Ryedale Plasterers are a dedicated team of skilled heritage plasterwork cra smen.
With a national reputation for repairing, manufacturing and installing the very best historic, traditional and contemporary plasterwork.
Whether you are looking for a ceiling rose for your home, repairs to damaged decorative plasterwork or a large scale restoration of a historic property, we can assist.
Telephone: 01609 776 462 www.ryedaleplasterers.co.uk
Each lodge is fully equipped and has its own private hot tub set down into the balcony. Peaceful setting so guests can have a relaxing and enjoyable time.
Masham, Ripon, HG4 4JH 01765 680900
Gentleman’s Afternoon Tea
17 & 18 June
swintonestate.com
Treat the men in our lives to a gentleman’s afternoon tea at Swinton Park. Tuck into delicious homemade savoury and sweet treats, from sandwiches, pork pies, scones and fabulous cakes! Includes a half pint of Black Sheep beer. Bookings essential. £35 per person. Visit swintonestate.com for more information.
25–27 June
A two-night fabulously relaxing digital detox, staying in a hand-built, off-grid, Woodland Tree Lodge, nestled in the trees on the edge of the moor at Swinton Bivouac. Unplug and unwind, find space to clear your mind and relax. You’ll also have access to the wellness, thermal, outdoor and wild swimming experiences at Swinton Country Club and Spa. From £362.50 per person. Visit swintonestate.com for more information.
3–4 July & 17–18 September
Looking to perfect your front crawl? Taught by Salim Ahmed, founder of SwimLab, you will learn to perfect your front crawl technique, increase your speed and improve your endurance. Stay in the opulent Swinton Park Hotel during your retreat, which also includes forest walking, yoga, wild swimming, pool sessions, nutritious breakfast and lunches. From £295 per person.
Visit swintonestate.com for more information.
Every Wednesday throughout the school holidays
Woodland School is all about exploring the great outdoors. Learning through play and exciting activities in the Druid’s Plantation. Parents are welcome to relax in the Café Bistro throughout the session.
Two sessions run each day: 10am until 12:30pm & 1:30pm until 4pm. Each session follows a different theme.
Suitable for ages 6–12 years. £15 per child per session with pre-booking required as space is limited.
To book, call our friendly reservations team on 01765 680900.
4 August, from 6pm
Join Heartbreak Productions at Swinton Bivouac for this warm-hearted tale that follows the highs and lows of a fatherson relationship.
An open-air adaptation of David Walliams’ Bad Dad is the perfect summer family entertainment! Buy tickets at swintonestateshop.com
Near Scorton, Richmond, DL10 6AT 01748 818178 kiplinhall.co.uk
Open 6 days a week (closed on Thursdays)
The Forage Box
Thursday 22 June, 10am–2pm
Adult £35, Child (5–18) £15. Booking essential. Shop in nature’s pantry! Discover wild food on a 4-hour workshop.
Jazz in the Parkland with The Friends of Kiplin Hall
Friday 7 July, 7pm–9pm
Friend £14, Adult £16, Child £5.
Quantum Theatre presents Wind in the Willows
Saturday 8 July, 7pm–9pm
Adult £15, Con/child £10, Family £45.
Buckets of Fun – Summer
Friday 21 July–Wednesday 6 September
Discover buckets of fun activities hiding in the grounds this summer. Included with admission.
Three Inch Fools presents As You Like It
Saturday 22 July, 7pm–9pm
Adult £18, Child £10, Under 5 free, Family £45.
Trinity Church Square, Richmond, DL10 4QN 01748 826561 greenhowards.org.uk
Monday to Saturday 10am to 4.30pm
Free Exhibition: We are Golden
Monday–Saturday, 10am–4.30pm
Free display celebrating the museum’s 50 years at home in the centre of Richmond.
Exhibition Private View and Film
Sunday 18, Tuesday 20 & Thursday 22 June
Curator-led Great Escapes special exhibition private view at the museum, plus a screening of The Great Escape at The Station Cinema. £13. Times vary. Booking essential.
Museum Talk: 80th anniversary of Sicily landings
Thursdays 29 June & 27 July, 7pm
Two linked talks marking the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings in Sicily, telling the stories of the soldiers who were there. £5. Booking essential. Call 01748 826561.
19 July–12 August
Enjoy a sumptuous summer-themed high tea served in the splendid surroundings of the museum’s Normanby Room. £20/£25. Booking essential.
Church Bank, Aysgarth, DL8 3SR 01969 662829
yoremillcraftshopandgallery.co.uk
22 July–31 August
During lockdown, for Julie, the unusual circumstances and the experience of being cut off from the outside world with her mother ill in hospital seemed to conjure powerful emotions of growing up in the 60s and 70s.
The idiosyncrasies of the family unit are portrayed in a series of oil paintings and mono prints.
Attitudes towards The Child at school and treasured childhood possessions all come together in this eclectic mix of images that may spark something in the viewers’ memory.
Julie uses found materials to evoke memory such as vintage fabrics combined with methods and media such as collage, surface texture, and crayon-like oil bars.
Julie builds layers into the paint similar to the layering of memory.
Depictions of familiar objects may be rendered uneasily by the suggestion of brokenness or murky backgrounds.
Julie says, “The things we remember are the things that form us, however don’t forget the things we choose to focus on, those things that seemed once important to us, may be false.”
Check our website for further details.
Constable Burton Hall Reading Room
From early June every Thursday for six weeks
Elevate your flower arranging skills and learn techniques to get the best out of your flowers. All equipment and refreshments included. To book contact info@rosemaryandtwine.co.uk
The weekend of 30 September–1 October, from 10am
Masham boasts one of the largest and finest market squares in England. The popular fair not only raises money for charity but fills the town with fun and entertainment. Events include an action-packed programme from sheep showing, craft market, fleece stalls, handbell ringers, sheep dog demonstrations, art exhibitions and much more.
Further details from Mrs Susan Cunliffe-Lister, High House, Swinton, Ripon, HG4 4JH 01765 688417 or susan@burtonagnes.com All proceeds go to Yorkshire charities.
During the weekend from 10.00 am
SHEEP SHOW • SHEEPDOG DEMONSTRATIONS • SHEEP RACING
SPINNING & WEAVING DEMONSTRATIONS • HANDBELL RINGERS
OLD TIME CHILDREN’S FAIR • WOOL EVENT – WOOL STALLS & DEMOS
MORRIS DANCERS • TOURS AROUND BLACK SHEEP BREWERY
HARVEST FLOWER FESTIVAL • BISHOP BLAIZE PROCESSION & BANDS HANDSPUN WOOL COMPETITION
Further details and entry forms are available from MRS SUSAN CUNLIFFE-LISTER, High House, Swinton, Ripon HG4 4JH Tel: 01765 688417 or susan@burtonagnes.com or at Broadley’s Insurance O ce, Market Place, Masham ALL PROCEEDS GO TO YORKSHIRE CHARITIES
Returning to Tennants for its third year, this well-established annual event has a unique status in the north of England. It brings together some forty select dealers and discerning collectors in an environment full of quality and choice.
28 September - 1 October 2023 Thursday 11.00 -18.00 Friday - Sunday 11.00 -17.00
The Garden Rooms at Tennants Harmby Road, Leyburn North Yorkshire DL8 5SG
www.northernfair.com
01797 252030
Bedale, DL8 2PS 01677 425323 thorpperrow.com
22 June, 6pm–9pm
Learn about the history of the family, the house, the estate, the planting of the Arboretum and conservation today in this guided after-hours talk. After the tour, you’ll head back for canapés, drinks, a chat and a chance to walk around the garden. £65 including canapés.
20 July, 10am–4pm
Join our in-house avian experts and volunteer photography guides for your Bird of Prey photography workshop. You’ll meet the birds then take your photography skills to new heights as you explore the best ways to showcase their spirit and beauty with your camera.
£65 including lunch.
16 August–20 August
Enjoy a fabulous, fun filled family show in a traditional Big Top tent with the famous National Festival Circus. With clowns, contortionists, jugglers and tumbling acrobats, there’s entertainment for all the family.
£9 per ticket, 3 shows per day.
(Arboretum admission is not included in the circus ticket.)
7 Victoria Road, Richmond, DL10 4DW 01748 829789
thecheesepressrichmond.co.uk
13 July, 7pm
Join us for a Bastille-themed evening of cheese and wine on Thursday
13 July at 7pm. During the event we will walk you through four cheeses with accompaniments and paired with two wines to complement each cheese. Additional wine and non-alcoholic alternatives are also available. Tickets £30 per person.
Wensleydale Showground, DL8 5JG
The Wensleydale Agricultural Show is a great day out. A traditional Dales show located close to Leyburn in the heart of Wensleydale.
The show features an extensive range of competitive classes including showcasing the best of local livestock, horticulture and handicrafts. Local interest displays such as dry stone walling take place during the day. For shoppers there are many trade stands offering a variety of products and produce.
Zetland Estate, DL10 5HQ
01748 822888 kissthemoon.com mochachocolateshop.co.uk
Monday-Saturday 10-4pm inc. Bank Holidays (Mocha also open Sunday)
24 June, 2pm–4pm
£10, booking required.
An insightful afternoon with Elizabeth Joseph, journalist and mid-life expert, to discuss menopause symptoms, their impact on sleep and how to naturally navigate through them.
W/c 17 July, 10am–4pm
Swing by the Kiss the Moon store between Monday and Saturday for a free sleep assessment, expert tips on how to sort your sleep and special in-store offers.
26 July
Celebrate a decade of Mocha serving fabulous coffee and chocolate with a free slice of birthday cake for every customer.
Monthly weekend workshops Contact 01748 825655 for details.
Tennants, Harmby Road, Leyburn, DL8 5SG northernantiquesfair.eventbrite.co.uk
The unmissable Northern Antiques Fair, brimming with creative ideas, inspiration and fascinating works of art from all periods of history, is returning for the third year to The Garden Rooms at Tennants, Leyburn. Presenting a wonderful mix of antique and contemporary works of art from the UK’s leading antiques and fine art dealers – selling period furniture, oil and watercolour paintings, glass, sculpture, clocks, silver, jewellery, ceramics, rugs and a wealth of decorative items, this event offers the ideal opportunity to catch up with family and friends as well as renewing or making new contacts with the dealers. Prices range from a few hundred pounds to five figure sums.
The Garden Rooms provide a very light, airy and modern setting complemented by the exhibitors maintaining a high standard of stand design. There is ample parking for everyone and enhancing the visit to the fair is the popular café, bar, bistro and gift shop.
£7.50 including programme & re-admission. Tickets available on the door and via Eventbrite.
Please view our website to discover some of our creations. We design residential, commercial and leisure buildings and deal with planning, design, conservation and construction details, throughout Yorkshire and the North of England so talk to us about your imaginings!
We o er a professional exterior cleaning service using low pressure, high temperature steam which is non-abrasive. Techniques approved by Historic England, which are used on stone, brick, cement and render to remove paints, bitumen, dirt, algae, mould and moss.
We also o er a low-abrasive, dustless, wet-blasting service for the removal of stubborn paints, cement residue, soot/carbon, gra ti and salt/calcium build-ups.
Alister Jones is head of the Residential and Commercial Property team at Clark Willis Solicitors. He is an experienced property solicitor and helps clients with all kinds of property matters, including freehold and leasehold sales, purchases, transfers and equity release. For most of us, our home is the most expensive asset we are ever likely to own, so it’s hardly surprising that buying or selling a property can be a difficult and stressful process. Fortunately, though, you can make things a whole lot easier for yourself by ensuring you have a good solicitor on your side.
Suppose, for example, that you are selling. “You may think that in the current state of the market your property will be easy to sell,” says Alister, “but things are starting to get a little more difficult, especially with properties of a certain value, and with rural properties where there may be complex issues involved.
“Just as you should be looking at engaging a proactive local estate agent – someone who understands the area and will actively sell your property for you – you should also be looking to instruct a proactive local solicitor.”
“Online estate agents and conveyancers may appear to be cheaper, but you only get the service you pay for.”
“Most sellers still wait until they have accepted an offer from a buyer before engaging a solicitor, but that’s not necessarily the best strategy. Sales can easily fall through because of issues regarding timings. Nowadays the estimated turnaround time between acceptance of an offer and completion is eight to twelve weeks, and that average is creeping up. By instructing a solicitor at an earlier stage you can potentially speed things up by two to three weeks.
“Your solicitor can get all the initial forms and documents in order early and be ready to send out a buyer’s pack immediately you have accepted an offer, putting you ahead of the game. Here at Clark Willis we don’t make a charge for work done at the marketing stage in the event that you don’t find a buyer – so for you, the seller, getting started early is essentially risk-free.
“As a long-established, experienced firm of solicitors, customer service is at the heart of what we do. We will explain things clearly and concisely, deal promptly with enquiries and help preempt potential difficulties. As much as is possible we will take the weight off a client’s shoulders.”
“Ours is a professional, proactive approach to the transaction as a whole, a level of service that you won’t find with many of the other options out there.
“Of course buyers too deserve the same high standard of service – although unfortunately they don’t always get it. People often tell me they have been given a quote and then find out at the end of the process that they were liable for several unexpected extras: stamp duty, land registry fees, search fees and so on.
“As a regulated firm of solicitors, here at Clark Willis we have to be transparent about our fees, so you won’t get any nasty surprises. When we give a quote we make sure we include anything and everything that is likely to be an expense for the client. We can provide concise quotes by email or in person at either of our offices.
“Once the contract pack arrives from the seller we’ll deal swiftly with everything that needs to be done, preparing a detailed report and getting searches under way. Searches that are usually done as standard are local authority searches, water and drainage searches, and environmental searches.”
“Local authority researches cover things such as a property’s planning history, buildings regulations history, adopted roads and paths and public rights of way, and there’s the option of an additional search for planning applications nearby.
“A water and drainage search will examine issues such as the location of adopted sewers and whether the water supply comes from the mains, a borehole or a private supply. An environmental search will look at factors such as possible historic contamination of the site, flooding risk, ground stability, agricultural ties and National Park status.
“At the same time as getting the searches done we’ll be using Land Registry information to compile a Report on Title that will highlight issues such as restrictions on the property, rights that benefit the property, and rights of way.”
“If anything emerges that requires clarification we will immediately raise enquiries, and if satisfactory answers are provided we will then look towards signing the paperwork, such as the contract and transfer deed, and setting a date for exchange of contracts and completion. If the client is getting a mortgage, the offer will come to us via the mortgage lender.”
“Regarding financial issues, in recent years there has been a notable increase in the risk of fraud due to the online nature of so many aspects of the conveyancing process. At Clark Willis we have very strict protocols regarding financial safety, and the protection of our client is utmost in our minds throughout the transaction.
“We believe that proactive management and our friendly personal touch make a real difference to our clients. Of course a chain is only as strong as the weakest link, and we can’t guarantee that the other party in any transaction will employ conveyancers that meet the same high standards of speed and efficiency that we aspire to. Nonetheless we believe that with our experience and professionalism we can make the experience of the conveyancing process as simple, straightforward and painless as possible for our clients.”
Clark Willis Solicitors have offices in Darlington and Northallerton. For more details visit clarkwillis.com or call 01325 281111 or 01609 765765.
“proactive management and our friendly personal touch make a real difference to our clients.”
Beautifully secluded four bedroom farmhouse with barn in idyllic rural location.
Guide Price: £675,000
Robin Jessop Ltd. 01969 622800 robinjessop.co.uk
Attractive four bedroom detached house, garage, outbuildings and extensive gardens.
Guide Price Range: £575,000 - £600,000
Robin Jessop Ltd. 01969 622800 robinjessop.co.uk
Grade II listed property with training yard, stabling & small garth.
Guide Price Range: OIEO £795,000
Robin Jessop Ltd. 01969 622800 robinjessop.co.uk
Two bedroom character cottage with garage, garden & parking.
Guide Price: £600,000
Robin Jessop Ltd. 01969 622800 robinjessop.co.uk
Two bedroom semi-detached cottage, off-road parking and gardens.
Guide Price Range: £200,000 - £225,000
Robin Jessop Ltd. 01969 622800 robinjessop.co.uk
Two bedroom traditional stone cottage, rear garden adjacent open countryside.
Guide Price: £250,000
Robin Jessop Ltd. 01969 622800 robinjessop.co.uk
Bear Cottage, Hawes
Booths, Ripon
Campbell’s of Leyburn
The Cheese Press, Richmond
The Co-op, Masham
Dovetail Interiors, Bedale
Fairhursts, Swinithwaite
The Fleece, Richmond
The Green Howards Museum, Richmond
Lewis and Cooper, Northallerton
Mainsgill Farm Shop, Richmond
Milners of Leyburn
Ripon Walled Garden
Rosemary & Twine, Leyburn
The Station, Richmond
Stoneygate Farm Shop, Richmond
Tennants of Leyburn
Thorp Perrow Arboretum, Bedale
The Travel Lounge, Bedale
Wonky Tree Bookshop, Leyburn
See daleslife.com for details of more collection points to come.
We believe that successful, stress free property transactions are built upon good, regular communication and provide direct contact numbers and email addresses to allow you to speak directly to the person dealing with your matter, so when you have anything you need to ask us, our highly experienced Conveyancing team are there to help.
We pride our selves in creating a home from home, in a welcoming atmosphere. Our Residents enjoy savouring our fabulous restaurant quality meals and af ternoon teas as well as enjoying daily activities. All our homes have an excellent reputation in the local community. A Home for life.
samuel’s restaurant
Fine dining at its best. The spectacular elegance of the decor is complimented by seamless levels of service, exquisite wine selection and a seasonal menu, curated by Executive Chef, Ruth Hansom, combining the finest locally sourced ingredients.
the terrace restaurant & bar
The heart of relaxed eating and drinking on the Swinton Estate. Fabulous, beautifully furnished alfresco ‘terraced’ gardens, perfect for spring and summer lunches, suppers and drinks with friends; with blankets, heaters and sheepskins galore for chillier days.
afternoon tea
bivouac café
The quirky Bivouac Café is our ‘on site’ watering hole where delicious, hearty breakfasts, lunches and suppers await! Coffee, teas and oodles of cakes are ready to sustain after a fabulous day outdoors. It boasts fabulous views over the Yorkshire Dales, with plenty of space to eat outside.
A quintessential tradition best enjoyed in the spectacular setting of Swinton Park. Enjoy beautiful, sweet delicacies from our pastry kitchen, locally sourced meats, local preserves, and perhaps a glass of English sparkling wine or champagne, for an extra special occasion.
More dining experiences available on our website swintonestate.com/dining
The White Bear’s talented chefs use locally sourced ingredients to create delicious seasonal dishes, and there’s an extensive wine list to complement the menu. You can enjoy your meal in the charming dining room or the traditional bar, with open fires creating a cosy atmosphere throughout.
whitebearmasham.co.uk 01765 689319
Situated just off the market square next to the Georgian Theatre, The Fleece is open to all for coffee & cakes from 11am. Lunch, dinner, drinks & cocktails are on offer in the stylish bar and restaurant.
There are 13 ensuite bedrooms, many dog friendly. thefleeceyorkshire.co.uk 01748 503104
With a new owner and new luxury rooms, The Blue Lion offers a warm welcome after a day out in the Dales. There’s an exciting new menu featuring food crafted from fresh local ingredients, and a wine list whose vintage section will delight Bordeaux lovers. Well behaved dogs are welcome.
thebluelion.co.uk 01969 624273
This beautiful country house hotel near Hawes serves delicious classic dishes using locally sourced ingredients. Visitors are welcomed daily for a sumptuous evening meal in its intimate restaurant or for a light lunch, afternoon tea, or coffee and cake in its comfortable Oak Room.
stonehousehotel.co.uk 01969 667571
The Garden Rooms Bistro offers exceptional food in a unique setting. The passionate kitchen brigade pride themselves on delivering beautifully crafted dishes using the best Yorkshire produce; each highly seasonal menu offers an affordable choice of classic and modern British food delivered with outstanding service in a comfortable and relaxed environment
tennantsgardenrooms.com 01969 621146
Grand honest food cooked to perfection, all locally sourced and freshly prepared. Situated on the Tupgill Park Estate near Middleham in the heart of the Dales.
The Saddle Room also has nine bed and breakfast units, seven cottages and a wedding venue that will seat 120 people.
thesaddleroom.co.uk 01969 640596
From the award-winning, fine-dining experience in the grandeur of Samuel’s Restaurant to the more relaxed AA Rosette Terrace Restaurant and Bar, serving morning coffee, lunch, dinner and fabulous cocktails. Both restaurants showcase local and seasonal produce with much from the estate and four-acre walled garden.
swintonestate.com 01765 680900
Sample award-winning chef Jonathan Harrison’s unique take on modern British cooking in The Sandpiper’s 40-seater restaurant or the cosy traditional bar serving local ales, fine wines and an extensive range of whiskies. There are two tasteful boutique-style en-suite doubles for overnight guests.
sandpiperinn.co.uk 01969 622206
