Splendid isolation

The approach to the north-western regions of the North York Moors brings you to Great Ayton, boyhood home of Captain Cook, with views of the distinctive floppy witch’s hat peak of Roseberry Topping in the distance.

Nearing the village of Kildale to explore the dales and villages of this part of the Moors, we noticed a lane stretching upwards to the south. Even on this kind of misty, murky day, this bridleway, which forms part of the Cleveland Way, was striking enough to arouse our curiosity. We couldn’t resist the prospect of where it might lure us.

The sign says to Baysdale Farm which, indeed, is correct. But the journey there involves a climb upwards toward Warren Moor, affording views over Kildale Moor, Battersby Moor, Baysdale itself and the Cleveland Hills to the south, views of surpassing beauty.

It is best, of course, to come and visit on a sunny day – we only caught tantalising glimpses of Baysdale’s distinctive allure each time the mist briefly relented a little. The sun was fighting a losing battle to reveal fully the glories of this half-hidden cul-de-sac valley. However, mists bring their own attraction, too – there were no other visitors in the dale that day and the foggy fells created an appealingly mysterious atmosphere.

The map suggested Baysdale Abbey lay at the far end of the track. On arriving, we found no trace of even a ruined abbey. But there was an imposing-looking grey stone house which is approached over an ancient bridge, often called the Abbey Bridge, dating from the 13th century.

Nearby were fields of sheep grazing, farm buildings and smart-looking barn conversions. It all felt very tranquil, a perfect country idyll.

The house, known as Baysdale Abbey, was built in the early 19th century and is now used by holidaymakers. It stands on the site of the Cistercian priory, home to about 12 nuns and a prioress between 1189 and 1536.

As we were admiring the house, a quad bike carrying farm manager Alan Jackson and his apprentice Jack Howard puttered into the farmyard. Alan kindly invited us into his cottage, which is part of the abbey, for a cup of coffee and a piece of cake saying: “We were just stopping for a break anyway.”

He has been working on the estate, which belongs to the Boyne family, for nearly 24 years and has been the farm manager since 2004 looking after about 600 sheep. Alan is very pleased to have Jack, from Askham Bryan College near York, as an apprentice and he was at pains to stress how important it is to get more young people interested in going into farming.

“The average age of a shepherd is 45,” says Alan, who is 55. “So we have to attract younger people. The apprenticeship scheme was started with the help of the National Park and the college. Apprenticeships are the future, really.”

Alan, who grew up near Saltburn on the coast, left school when he was 15 and started working on farms. “I always knew that was what I wanted to do. I really enjoy my work, but it has its ups and downs – mainly the weather.”

The last two winters have been pretty harsh and both times the valley was completely snowed in. “Even the snow plough couldn’t get to us,” he laughs. “Last winter we were snowed in for 11 days. Because the snow came earlier than usual we weren’t very well prepared either so we had no extra firewood or coal or provisions. I have a contract with the council for snow ploughing and I couldn’t get out to do it!”

After a bad winter, it is important to build stock back up again. “You can lose up to 30 or 40 ewes in the snow,” says Alan. His favourite time of the year begins in April with lambing time. “It’s lovely to see the lambs – that’s what you are working towards all year, really, to get to that point, so to see lots of lambs and healthy ones is great.”

Next door we met Nola Atkinson who has been living at Baysdale Abbey for 18 months with her husband, Paul, and their two-year-old son Nathaniel. They look after the holiday lets.

“The house was only used by the Boyne family during the shooting season but it has been a holiday let for about 10 years,” says Nola. “I’ve heard the abbey was lived in by some naughty nuns. There was a prioress who eloped and they say that some of the nuns used to meet up with the monks from Rievaulx.”

The abbey apparently had its share of problems over its 340 year existence including further rumours of disreputable behaviour among the nuns and other unsuitable prioresses. It was destroyed in 1539 by Henry VIII’s henchmen.

“One of the bedrooms here is supposed to be haunted,” says Nola. “It is a friendly ghost, though, of one of the family’s old nannies. She sits on the side of the bed looking over you. It’s funny but sometimes when I have made the beds, I come in and there is a dent on one of the beds as though someone has been sitting there...”

Having been born and brought up in Leeds, Nola lived in Helmsley before moving to Baysdale and the family has settled into life at the abbey very happily, although she admits that last winter was tough.

“It’s easy to forget what day it is around here. There’s no mobile phone reception, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing and we have to get our internet through the satellite,” she says.

“Everyone in the valley gets on well – there are about four families and we all help each other out. When you are up on the top, the views over the valley are amazing – and it’s an ever-changing view. My little boy has flown on a dragon up there – it really gets his imagination going.”

Another relatively new arrival in the valley is Cheryl Brown who is married to under-keeper Alan “Charlie” Brown. They moved to Baysdale from Norfolk in the summer and have found the valley folk very welcoming.

“I really like living here,” says Cheryl. “It might seem very remote but you are only half an hour away from big towns like Middlesbrough. All the people in the valley here are really nice; we all get on and the landscape is amazing. We have come from somewhere quite flat so I like the hills here. I’m looking forward to the snow and sledging in the winter.”

Cheryl and her husband came to Baysdale for the job for which a cottage on the estate is provided. “It’s something my husband has always wanted to do,” she says. “He did a game-keeping and countryside management course after he left school but then couldn’t get related work. Instead he worked as a roofer. But he always helped out on shoots, going beating on the estates near where we used to live.”

Cheryl’s husband works with gamekeeper Lee Diamond who has been on the estate for 20 years. “My job is mainly about looking after the moors for the red grouse,” says Lee, who also lives in the dale with his wife Debbie and their two teenage children.

“Other birds benefit from the way we manage the land, such as skylarks, curlews and merlin. We burn the heather in rotation to keep the different age structures. The rest is predator control – stoats, weasels, crows and foxes, which all pose a threat to ground-nesting birds. We have a good population of upland nesting birds.

“The best thing about living here? Well, I was going to say the tranquillity but there are lots of holidaymakers passing through here now – and there is quite a network of footpaths and bridleways on the moor – some long distance walks pass through here too, like the Cleveland Way and the Lyke Wake Walk.

“Baysdale is a lovely dale; it’s one of those dales that people don’t really know about and it’s not very populated. Everyone seems to get along and pull together, especially in winter.”

Part of Baysdale’s appeal is that it encapsulates so much of the essence of the North York Moors. Its beauty is allied to its atmosphere of serenity and calm. Winter can turn that beauty to bleakness with one fall of snow – even so, it is an appealing isolation that Baysdale offers.

Baysdale Abbey estate office 01746 787207.