The idyllic rural time capsule that was home to sisters for 60 years

The sisters, who never married, worked the land for the next 60 years and shared the little bungalow surrounded by seven fields.

For decades, Phyllis got up at 5am to milk the cows by hand, put the churns on a home-made cart, which she dragged across three fields to the road in time for the milk lorry at 8am.

"She did that for years every day in all weathers and they made a living from the milk, selling a few eggs and a few geese at Christmas plus one or two beefs," says their friend Eric Rowland.

It was a hard life, but now East Woundales Farm at Knayton, near Thirsk, is attracting hundreds of would-be buyers looking for the good life.

It is up for auction with Robin Jessop and comes with 36 acres of grassland around a detached three-bedroom bungalow.

The guide price of 375,000 could well be exceeded when the hammer falls.

"Phyllis would've been over the moon that there's so much interest. It's been unbelievable. Jessops have had to print another 100 brochures and I've showed people round from all over the country," says Eric.

The attraction is the "potential" and the superb rural location, which is secluded with beautiful views, yet close to the A1.

The meadows, which are untouched by modern farming practices and pesticides are unspoilt and full of wild flowers including orchids, violets and primroses. There are shooting rights with the land and fishing rights on Woundales Beck that runs through the property.

It is a little piece of paradise of which the Atkinson sisters were justifiably proud.

They were well-known personalities in the once close-knit villages of Knayton and Borrowby.

Gregarious Phyllis took the lion's share of farm work, while quieter Muriel kept the house and enjoyed the cooking using home-grown vegetables from the kitchen garden.

"They made a living and were happy, although they did have the odd argument," says Eric, 75, the son of a local shoemaker, who was often taken home and mothered by Phyllis when he was a little boy.

As he grew older he helped her out on the farm and looked after it when the sisters went on holiday.

It could've been a claustrophobic existence, but the Atkinson girls created their own space.

When they went into Thirsk shopping, they went in different directions only meeting up when it was time to go home in the car that Phyllis drove.

On a Sunday morning, they would also go their separate ways. Muriel was a staunch Methodist, while Phyllis was strictly C of E.

They were also regulars at whist drives and at country shows, where Phyllis entered her hand-knitted garments.

They were parted when Muriel died in 2003 at 82. Phyllis died at the age of 87 last October. She was 21 when she moved to the farm and worked it until the last few years of her life.

"They never got married or had a boyfriend, though Phyllis was sweet on the boy at the local shop. She used to wait around outside, but his mother chased her off and that was that.

"But they were quite happy and they had a lot of friends in the village," says Eric.

"Everyone knew each other back then in the 1950s and '60s and there were about 16 small holdings and 15 farms in the Knayton-Brorrowby areas all doing milk. There are a handful of smallholdings now, including East Woundales."

The sisters' little bungalow was built by a neighbouring farmer in 1925 and he sold it, along with the land, to Mr and Mrs Atkinson in 1943 for 3,000.

It isn't architecturally exciting and is in need of complete refurbishment but it is cosy with double glazing, central heating and a new roof.

It could, says Eric, easily be updated and possibly extended.

However, there is also the possibility of knocking it down and building something grander.

This prospect and the potential presented by the stone outbuildings, have attracted developers.

If they carve it up, convert and rebuild, the essence and character of this little farm will be lost forever.

Although the auctioneer's hammer will decide, it's absolutely clear what Phyllis Atkinson would've wanted.

Eric says: "If she had been showing people round herself, she'd have told them straight out: 'Come here and use it as a farm'."

East Woundales will be auctioned on Wednesday, March 24, at 7pm at The Hambleton Suite, Solberge Hall Hotel, New Wiske, Northallerton. For more details contact Robin Jessop, Bedale. Tel: 01677 425950 www.robinjessop.co.uk