April in the North York Moors: An Artistic Awakening
Forget just daffodils; April in the North York Moors brings a full-blown artistic awakening thanks to the Beacons for the Arts Festival. This newly-formed collective of creative organisations is a beacon, linking arts, nature, and community wellbeing. This month-long...
North York Moors Tips: A Local’s Guide to Sharing with Care
Share with Care We’ve lived in the North York Moors for almost 12 years, and in that time, we’ve learned a lot about how to truly appreciate and care for this special place. Before moving here, we experienced life in suburban areas, cities, and towns. While we always...
The Village Pond and the elusive Turtle Dove
If you’ve stayed at the Long Barn, you probably walked past the site of the original village pond without noticing it. Old photographs of the village show the original village pond opposite the Reading Room at the southern end. The old pond was a historic dew pond,...
5 things our guests love about the Long Barn
We’ve been looking back at guest feedback to see what you like about the Long Barn. It helps us to see what guests love as well as look at anything that we can improve on. From the comments in reviews and in our visitors’ book, these are five things that our guests...
No Short Straw Bedrooms at The Long Barn
Planning a group getaway? We know the struggle! This week, we've been searching for the perfect holiday cottage for our annual college reunion, and it's been a challenge. Finding a place with the right number of bedrooms and bathrooms is just the beginning. Then comes...
Dog-Friendly Holidays at The Long Barn: Explore the North York Moors (and Spoil Your Pup)
Planning a holiday in the North York Moors and want to bring your dog? Look no further! The Long Barn provides dog-friendly accommodation North York Moors that both you and your furry friend will love. The Long Barn welcomes canine companions and offers the perfect...
Dark Skies Festival: 10 Years and Still Shining Bright
The night skies over Appleton Le Moors are truly epic. We’ve written many times about the dark skies we are lucky to live beneath in our village. They blew us away the first time we saw the Milky Way from the Long Barn courtyard. And in the last 12 months, we’ve been...
Our 5 favourite things to do in Whitby
There’s more to Whitby than just fish and chips (although these are pretty delicious – see point 3 below) In fact, it’s a captivating mixture of narrow alleys, quirky shops and old-fashioned seaside fun. Whilst Whitby gets very busy during the school holidays, off...
How we can help you have the perfect stay
It feels like the blink of an eye, and it’s January again. And our annual routine of deep cleans, decorating and maintenance in the Long Barn are in full flow. Along with responding to lots of enquiries about the Long Barn as people start to plan for 2025 and beyond....
Lights, Camera, Action
It may surprise you that the North York Moors is a popular place for movie locations. Here are our top 5. North Yorkshire Moors Railway Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) There was quite a buzz when a section of track near Grosmont was set up to shoot a...
January Jobs
Making the decision to sell up and set up the Long Barn was the second best decision we’ve ever made. For those of you wondering, our best was to agree to go out for a date together when we met many years ago at Leeds Uni. We feel very lucky to have made these two...
December at the Long Barn
December is a lovely month to stay at the Long Barn and enjoy the Christmas build up in the North York Moors. It’s a great time to escape the at times “manic” nature of the countdown to Christmas and enjoy the simpler things in life. Our five favourite things to do in...
North York Moors Champion
We love living in the North York Moors National Park and want all our guests to experience this wonderful place to its full. Staying self-catering in the Long Barn, means that you can chose exactly where you want to explore and spend your time. But with so much...
Foraging for mushrooms in the North York Moors
We went foraging for the first time for mushrooms this October. It was a perfect option for us. Loving mushrooms, but not feeling confident to pick our own other than the classic puffball which grows round here. We met Justin when he was selling wild mushrooms at...
In the shoes of a self-catering guest
Recently, we’ve stayed in several very different self-catering cottages in Croatia and the UK. Being self-catering guests ourselves, really made us appraise what it’s like to be in the shoes of our guests. Here are three things that have struck us: Finding the perfect...
Our 5 Favourite Villages
We thought we’d feature our 5 favourite villages in this week’s blog. Obviously our very favourite village is Appleton Le Moors, which we’ve blogged about previously. But our challenge in writing this is which ones to choose. There are so many lovely places to visit...
What’s on in October?
Discover a variety of festive events in North York Moors this October, from harvest festivals to spooky Halloween fun for the whole family. Here are some of our favourite things to do this October. Malton Harvest Festival 5th – 6th October is the autumn version of...
Christmas and New Year at the Long Barn
Spending Christmas or New year self-catering away from home is a great solution to organising a family gathering. Especially at this festive time of year. The North York Moors is a wonderful wintery backdrop to a Christmas holiday. We can’t promise snow (although we...
September Wildlife in North York Moors
September is a wonderful month to see the North York Moors wildlife in all its autumn glory. The days may be shortening, but we often have blue skies and sunshine. The leaves begin to hint at the autumn colours to come. And the hedgerows are full of berries and fruit....
Our 5 “must visit” historic sights
The North York Moors is full of wonderful sights to visit. From wonderful views of the spectacular countryside to gorgeous market towns and villages. It’s also an area rich in history. We are spoilt for choice of places to visit, and you’ll find lots of information...
What’s on in September?
September is here, and it’s a beautiful time to visit the North York Moors. Every year, the North York Moors themes September as a mindful month, and signposts to a host of relaxing activities to do. Travel writers and adventurers Fay and Matt Doyle have written a...
Cycling Adventures in the North York Moors
The North York Moors offers incredible cycling adventures for riders of all skill levels, from leisurely family outings to world-class mountain biking. Explore the huge network of downloadable cycling routes spanning the North York Moors and Howardian Hills. There are...
Special celebrations at the Long Barn
We think that the Long Barn is perfect for celebrations, and it seems our guests do to. Many guests book a stay with us to celebrate a special occasion. And lots return for other celebrations and gatherings. Our unique barn provides the perfect backdrop for...
The Northern Lights in North Yorkshire
We live in the North York Moors, a Dark Skies Area where we've seen amazing events like the Perseid meteor shower and Northern Lights. In this blog post, we'll share our experiences and give you tips on where to go,. What apps to use, and how to enjoy stargazing in...
The Flower Belt
Part of our ethos of running our own self-catering business at the Long Barn, is supporting other local business. And there are some brilliant ones in the North York Moors that we encourage our guests to support. The Flower Belt is a perfect example of one. It...
What’s on in August?
Summer is here and August is a great month for visiting the North York Moors. Our 3 absolute favourite things to do this month are: 1. North York Moors Chamber Music Festival runs every year for two weeks. This year’s theme is “Echo’s”. Where the musicians explore the...
How a weekend away makes you think.
During a recent self-catering getaway to the Lake District, we found ourselves reflecting on our North York Moors home, appreciating its beauty and the value of local hospitality. We both grew up in the Northwest of England, and as kids, many family holidays were in...
The 3 Challenges of booking a self-catering cottage for a large group.
Booking a self-catering stay away on behalf of family and friends can be stressful. We think that there are 3 challenges if you are the “lucky” person in charge of organizing. Challenge 1: Agreeing on one date that everyone can make. This can be made easier with a big...
July at the Long Barn
July is a lovely month to stay self-catering at the Long Barn and enjoy the North York Moors in summer. There’s plenty of space to relax in the south facing private courtyard with friends and family. You can enjoy walks from the door and or explore the beautiful...
Discovering Appleton Le Moors – 5 historical gems
Nestled in the picturesque North Yorkshire countryside, Appleton-le-Moors is a historic medieval village that offers a unique glimpse into England's past. When you stay at our beautiful self-catering Long Barn, you'll experience the village's rich history first hand....
Self catering a Summer BBQ
It’s official. The weather currently is rubbish. However, dodging a few showers is part and parcel of a British BBQ. And as the weather starts to improve, we guarantee we’ll all be making up for lost time. The good news is that it really is easy to BBQ when...
Five Unforgettable Coastal Adventures in North Yorkshire
Would you like to know our five favourite places for an unforgettable coastal adventure in North Yorkshire? One of the great reasons to stay at the Long Barn is how close we are to the wonderful coast. The Yorkshire coastline stretches 100 miles from North to South;...
Behind the Scenes
We get lots of comments whenever we post anything about behind the scenes on social media. So, we thought we’d let you see behind the scenes on a changeover day at the Long Barn. As you can imagine, turning round a large self-catering barn for 14 people is quite some...
Something for every generation
We have lots of families staying with us especially grandparents, their grown-up children and grandchildren. Self-catering in the luxury of the Long Barn is perfect for all ages. There is plenty of space for everyone to have fun and relax in. The West Barn is a great...
What to do on a wet day
The good news is that the North York Moors is one of the driest of Britain's uplands owing to our easterly position. However, when the clouds gather, and the rain arrives there are plenty of things to do when on holiday self catering in the Long Barn. Here are some...
Indulgent Dining “in”
There have been so many big birthdays being celebrated this year at the Long Barn. So, we thought we’d suggest a few ideas on ways you can indulge yourself when dining in. Self-catering doesn’t mean that you must do it all. We have some fantastic local catering...
Long Barn Sustainability
Living closer to nature than we ever have before has made us think more about how we can be more sustainable. There's been real change in the climate since we moved to Appleton. Wetter and wetter winters and springs, followed by drier summers. This year, the local...
May in the North York Moors
We think that May is possibly one of our favourite months. It looks like lots of guests agree with us, as we are booked every single night in May. So, a busy month ahead. May is the month for hawthorn blossom. Along with all the hedgerows in bloom, the common from the...
A Taste of North York Moors
If you’ve stayed at the Long Barn, followed us on social media or get our monthly newsletter, you’ll know that we love our food. And also that we love supporting our local passionate chefs, producers, farmers’ markets, food experiences (and cake…) The North York Moors...
Share with Care
Share with Care We’ve lived in the North York Moors for almost 11 years. Before then we’ve lived in suburban areas as well as cities and towns. We loved the countryside for weekend walks but living in it has given us a different perspective. It's made us appreciate...