The little Hambleton village opening its arms to visitors to say 'you're welcome here' with tickets, tea, and cake

Now, as its field of daffodils bursts into bloom, the little Hambleton village of Crayke has opened not just its gardens but its arms in a truly heartwarming event.

This Sunday will see a grand invitation to visitors, with tickets to tour the village and gardens, and yes, reams of obligatory tea and cake.

To one of the organisers Michael Pepper this little village may seem as British in appeal as any can be, but its welcome, he insisted, is “Yorkshire through-and-through”.

He said: “We have this mass of daffodils on the hill - it’s always fingers crossed we get the opportunity. We’re looking at the daffodils then looking at the weather....

“They have all come out just a bit late, which is great news for us. They’re glorious.

“The village is coming together as a community,” he added. “It’s saying to visitors ‘you’re welcome here’.

“A lot of people come here walking, we have a network of footpaths. But of course people have not been coming to the village so much recently.

“So this is saying ‘come and see what we’ve got, and bring a picnic’. It’s keeping the community together all the while.”

Crayke is set atop a hill within the Howardian Hills range, in both a Conservation Area and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

It has a long history with evidence of settlements here dating from the Bronze Age to Roman occupation.

Both its church and castle can be traced as far back as the 15th century, with the hill for which it sits rumoured - among others - to be the one mentioned in the Grand Old Duke of York.

This Sunday’s event will see a ‘new beginners’ exhibition hosted at St Cuthbert’s Church, alongside an exhibition of Crayke’s history and the more recent findings of an ecological survey in the village hall.

Crayke Primary school, where children have been cultivating and harvesting plants, will open its gardens to the public, while village-made tapestries and new stained-glass windows will also be on display.

There will be treasure hunts, tombolas, and plant sales, while the Easingwold Town Development Band plays and the Ripon Resound Choir sings.

Open gardens

Around a dozen gardens, most promised with spectacular views, will be open to the public as well, from the humble to more expertly planned.

Funds raised on the day will go to support community projects such as the primary’s forest school, improving the sports and village hall’s capacity for events, or visits to the church.

Mr Pepper said: “This is about establishing community links, funding social and education projects.

“It’s self finance, looking at what we can provide for our communities and neighbouring villages. There hasn’t been the opportunity over the past couple of years.

“Crayke is quintessentially Yorkshire, although an awful lot of people say it reminds them of a Tuscany village,” he added. “It’s Yorkshire through and through.”

The Open Gardens and Open Village event will be held this Sunday, April 3, from 11am. Tickets are £5 for adults, children are free.

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