My Yorkshire: David Hartley

What's your first Yorkshire memory?

Visiting Malham Tarn and Goredale Scar as a child. My love of being out and about in the countryside has continued.

What's your favourite part of the county – and why?

Wensleydale, which is my home now. It is the perfect countryside setting with a lovely wide-open valley with stunning heather moorland, stone barns and a picturesque river running through it.

What's your idea of a perfect day, or a perfect weekend, out in Yorkshire?

Trout fishing at Malham Tarn followed by a meal at a good hotel or pub serving locally produced food and beer. A ramble along one of the Yorkshire Dales many beautiful walks with my spaniel, Penny, comes a very close second.

Do you have a favourite walk – or view?

The view from the ramparts of Bolton Castle, where you can see Bishopdale, Wensleydale and Walden. It is one of the most spectacular and breathtaking countryside vistas in Britain.

Which Yorkshire sportsman, past or present, would you like to take for lunch?

Fred Trueman, whom I admire for having been such a proud Yorkshireman. I had the honour of meeting him at a Great Yorkshire Show.

Which Yorkshire stage or screen star, past or present, would you like to take for dinner?

Folk singer Kate Rusby who hails from Penistone, near Barnsley. I would love to learn first-hand where she looks for inspiration when she is writing songs.

If you had to name your Yorkshire "hidden gem", what would it be?

Hardraw Force, England's highest unbroken waterfall. It is a spectacular sight with its powerful cascade of water thundering over the edge and falling around 100ft to the ground below. It is just outside the tiny hamlet of Hardraw, near to Hawes, at the foot of Buttertubs Pass and the head of Wensleydale.

What do you think gives Yorkshire its unique identity?

The rural environment, the hills, the Dales farmers who are custodians and protect the landscape and last, but not least, the fantastic people. I would not want to live anywhere else.

Do you follow sport in the county, and if so, what?

I don't really follow any particular sport, but I always like it when Yorkshire teams do well and help put the area on the map.

Do you have a favourite restaurant, or pub?

This is a really hard question to answer as there are so many great places to eat in the Yorkshire Dales. If I had to pick, it would be either the Blue Lion at East Witton, the Wensleydale Heifer at West Witton (which serves the best lobster in Yorkshire) or the Yorebridge House Hotel at Bainbridge. The chefs at all three are renowned for creating mouth-watering, imaginative recipes using mainly locally sourced ingredients.

Do you have a favourite food shop?

A traditional deli, like Lewis and Cooper in Northallerton and Yarm, or Salt's in Leeds, Campbell's of Leyburn, or Weetons in Harrogate, would be top of my list. They are great places to shop, stocked with a vast array of British and Continental cooked meats, salamis, bacon, cheeses, chocolates, chutneys and other treats.

How do you think that Yorkshire has changed, for better or for worse, in the time that you've known it?

It has definitely changed for the better. The area and its people have always had great qualities and values, but the biggest change is that these characteristics are becoming much more appreciated by a wider audience.

Who is the Yorkshire person that you most admire?

There are three – Kit Calvert, John Gibson and William Hague.

Back in the 1930s' when the industrial depression made trading conditions difficult, the Wensleydale creamery was in significant debt to farmers and the dairy faced closure. Kit Calvert became a local hero when he came to the rescue, rallying support from local farmers and raising enough capital to save the only dairy producing cheese in the heart of Wensleydale.

John Gibson, from Masham, backed me and my fellow Wensleydale managers in our buyout from Dairy Crest in 1992. John made that deal possible and was a superb chairman of our business to 2006. He deserves every credit as he is the true entrepreneur, an inspiration to me and a great gentleman and friend.

William Hague, Richmondshire's MP, is to be admired for his support of local businesses, like the creamery, which are so important to the rural economy and the livelihoods of family-run farms.

Has Yorkshire influenced your work?

Yorkshire and its heritage is my work as Wensleydale cheese has a long pedigree – it was first made in the Dale at Jervaulx Abbey in 1150 by Cistercian monks. Today, we still use traditional methods with milk from local farms.

Name your favourite Yorkshire book/author/artist/CD/performer.

Book – The Inn Way to the Yorkshire Dales by Mark Reid which combines a guide to discovering the wonderful countryside alongside the area's wealth of hidden and unspoilt pubs.

Author – Gervais Phinn whose books perfectly capture the character of Yorkshire.

Artist – Piers Browne's paintings of Wensleydale.

CD – Underneath the Stars by Kate Rusby.

Performer – Kate Rusby.

If a stranger to Yorkshire only had time to visit one place, it would be?

Where else but Wensleydale?

YP MAG 28/8/10