Meet the family behind Telfit regenerative farm and luxury holiday let in the Yorkshire Dales

Lucy, and Oliver have lovingly restored every corner of Telfit, featuring 10 bedrooms, elegant communal spaces, a chef's kitchen, spa-like bathrooms, and outdoor terraces complete with a hot tub, sauna and BBQ area.

Beyond its luxurious accommodation, Telfit champions sustainability and eco-tourism, with regenerative farming initiatives and its own artisan farm shop, eatTelfit, it's sister-company, run by the Leatham’s eldest son Tom.

Guests can enjoy farm-to-table dining, scenic countryside walks, wild swimming, and on-site activities like archery and croquet. It's also a truly special wedding destination, hosting only 12 exclusive celebrations each year.

Telfit was originally part of the Marske Estate and was owned by the Hutton family, one of whom was Archbishop of York (1595-1606) and another the Archbishop of Canterbury (1757-1758).

Telfit was tenanted and subsequently bought by the father of John and George Allison in the mid 1960s. When their father died, the brothers split the house into two and continued living side by side while working the farm.

Oliver, who also co-founded Leathams which includes the Merchant Gourmet brand with his brother Mark, was familiar with Telfit having shot on the moors around the farm and has always been enchanted by the setting so when it came up for sale they jumped at the chance to own a breathtaking part of Swaledale.

“I used to stand on the moor and look down this beautiful bowl and think what I could do with the place. Then it came on the market and after seeking Lucy’s approval we bought it mainly for shooting. We really didn’t know what to do with the farmhouse,” says Oliver.

Lucy says she too fell in love with Telfit when Oliver took her to see the property.

"It was a perfect day and it is so stunning up there,” says Lucy.

The 500 acre farm is contracted to a farmer who farms the land on their behalf, but that still left them with the quandary of what to do with the farrmhouse.

“It was split in two when we bought it,” continues Oliver. “The brothers had lived in either side. I did think that we could do it up and live in it but we both like living in Leyburn. But we will still decided to do it up as if we were going to live there, somewhere we would be really comfortable going to stay with nice paintings on the walls and a lovely finish.” They gutted the farmhouse and knocked down some walls to create one house, removed the floors to put in underfloor heating and replaced every window using local builder the Biker Group (www.bikergroup.co.uk)

The Milking Parlour had farm machinery in it and so they set about turning that into a function space where weddings can be held but it is also used by a number of retreats, including yoga, who rent Telfit, many on a repeat basis. "It sort of evolved over the years,” says Lucy. “It is a real multipurpose space."

Despite all the work that needed doing Telfit was ready to take it’s first guests within 11 months. "I’d promised someone they could use it and so we were up against a tight deadline – at one point we had 40 people working on the site,” says Oliver.

"We did work really hard for a year,” says Lucy. “As clients were coming down the drive I was busy finishing it off but we got it done.”

Lucy, worked with interior decorator Meg Cunningham of Harrogate based Meg Treherne Designs to create the luxury yet homely interiors of Telfit – and also to act as mediator between Lucy and Oliver when their tastes or plans for the house

"I think we shopped madly for a year in fact we shopped so much that I no longer liked shopping,” adds Lucy who bought a lot of the furniture for the farmhouse and the adjacent Cart House from nearby Tennants Auctioneers. “We tried to keep most of it old as we wanted it to feel like it had a bit of a soul. The beds were all new and made by the Handmade Bed Company in York.” All the bedrooms are different with their own colour schemes and extensive use of wallpaper.

The art works that run throughout the farmhouse add to the feeling of comfort and luxury. They supported local artist Laura Middleton (Instagram @laura_middleton_artist).

Telfit champions eco-tourism and wellness travel. Guests can savour the finest local produce through eatTelfit’s online artisan farm shop, available for pre-order and ready to cook in the farmhouse kitchen or outdoors with the Big Green Egg or on the BBQ. This commitment to sustainability ensures a stay that nurtures both body and soul.

"I started to think what else is Telfit brilliant for. One of two retreats started to take it and now we have really expanded on that,” say Lucy. "Their clients all love it – it is so peaceful and time goes by very slowly – you feel like you are in a different world. It does feel quite spiritual.”

The farmland is fully functioning, where the family practices our commitment to regenerative agriculture, under the management of the Leatham’s eldest son Ben who returned home from London during Covid and then decided to stay.

“Instead of using chemical imput you try to use natural eco systems to farm instead – focusing on soil health, increasing biodiversity and using your life stock to mimic natural systems.,” says Ben.

"Conventional farming destroys soils, they have little or no life in them. Over grazing is really bad for the soil.” As a result they have reduced their livestock by half to allow the grasses to grow back.

The “Telfit Farm Project” includes initiatives such as planting 325 apple trees in a traditional orchard, restoring habitats with 18,000 trees, 3.5 km of native hedgerows, and wildflower meadows spanning 17 hectares and creating ponds that are not only perfect for wild swimming but also for enhancing biodiversity, sequestering carbon, and creating thriving ecosystems.

“It’s farming like it used to be hundreds of years ago,” says Oliver. “You don’t buy in anything so we have less feed costs.”

Meat from the farm is sold through the Telfit farmshop in Leyburn and online (eattelfit.co.uk) and is quick frozen after it’s been hung for the right amount of time.

“When an animal is eating a more healthy plant with more nutrients and that makes the meat better for you. We also practise nose to tail butchery – we even sell pigs ears,” says Ben who taught himself about regenerative farming which he says is becoming increasingly popular. "I work with eight farms at the moment that supply me. We freeze the meat because you can pick it when it’s at its best. It’s better for the farmer – we pay them a bonus for farming like this. It really doesn’t impact the quality of the meat.”

www.telfit.co.uk