We feel incredibly lucky to live and work in the North York Moors. Living in the North York Moors has completely changed what we value the most.
Next week marks 14 years since we moved to Appleton le Moors. Our solicitor Mike chose the 6th June as he felt “D Day” was appropriate for such a momentous step.
It was a huge step after 20 years living in Harrogate and working in demanding corporate careers. But we knew we needed to make a big change in our lives, and also that it was now or never.
All these years later, we value completely different things than we once did.
The pace of life
Life feels very different to those days when we were so exhausted by the weekend that we had barely recovered by Sunday night before it was time to “go again”.
We often joke about living in the “Appleton Bubble”. Once you drive over the cattle grid into the North York Moors National Park, it feels as though you decompress from the outside world.
The sheep wandering over the common and through the village force you to slow down. People stop to talk and have time for neighbours and friends. Conversations revolve around who’s heard the first cuckoo, when the lambs will arrive on the common, and how long this glorious May weather is going to last.
That’s not to say we don’t have our moments here.
Last week Ian discovered water gushing from an overflow pipe in the Long Barn. A blown valve meant calling Guy, our local builder and plumber, driving round plumbers’ merchants, and finally getting the problem fixed less than 24 hours before guests were due to arrive.
Some things never change.
Nature becoming part of everyday life
In our old lives, we never had time to notice nature properly. Now we notice not only the changing seasons, but also the subtle changes within them.
The birdsong starts at dawn and shifts through the year. Walking down to collect eggs from the hens might mean spotting a barn owl hunting, a leveret hidden in the long grass, or hearing yellowhammers singing what sounds like “a little bit of bread and no cheese”. And if we’re lucky, the call of a curlew overhead.
Then come the changing flowers through the seasons. The first frothy blackthorn, wild daffodils in the woods, and hawthorn across the common. The scent of hawthorn in May is intoxicating.
On clear moonless nights, we’ve walked back from the pub under the Milky Way. We’ve spotted shooting stars, satellites crossing the sky, and have even been lucky enough to see the Northern Lights several times, most recently from the Long Barn courtyard.
Space to reconnect
We’ve never spent so much time outdoors in our lives.
Whether it’s a walk through Hell Bank Woods to see the bluebells or heading up to Ana Cross from Lastingham for those huge North York Moors skies, life here naturally draws people outdoors.
There’s more time for walking rather than rushing. Time to stop for a chat over a garden gate, check in on a neighbour, or call into the Moors Inn for a pint.
We notice our guests slowing down too.
Many arrive tired, stressed, or still caught up in busy lives elsewhere. We welcome every group personally, with Ian walking them through the essentials at the Long Barn. Often when he gets back to the farmhouse and Jackie asks how they are, his answer is, “I’m not sure they took anything in.”
Partly excitement at seeing everyone together again, and partly the stress of the journey still hanging over them.
But gradually things change.
Cars stay parked up for days. People relax in the courtyard garden or wander slowly up to the pub. Families head out on one of our recommended walks from the door. Sometimes we get a message asking whether the children can come and help collect the eggs.
People spend time together differently here.
One of the things we value most about living in the North York Moors is seeing guests slow down and reconnect when staying at the Long Barn. We never take for granted that we get to live in this part of the world. One of the nicest parts of running the Long Barn is watching guests connect with the same things we value ourselves.
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