The Red Card on the Egg Box

How a village show, a loaf of bread and half a dozen eggs became rather more important than we’d care to admit. It’s Official There is now an official red first-prize card attached to the little wooden honesty egg box on the back wall at Town End Farm. It wasn’t our...

Curiosity is a Wonderful Thing

How a French bread making course reminded us of the joy of learning new skills Emmanuel pressed one finger into the dough. A little later he pressed in a second mark. Then a third. It was such a simple way of keeping track of how many times each loaf had been kneaded,...

The Book That Introduces You to Appleton.

It all begins with one little book One of the most borrowed books at the Long Barn isn’t a bestselling thriller or the latest page-turner. It’s a slim book called A Baker’s Dozen. Written by the Appleton-le-Moors History Group and villagers, it tells...

Behind the Scenes; Changeover Day

The jobs, people and little details that get the Long Barn ready for its next family on changeover day. Head torches on. Portable Dyson in hand. Reading glasses perched on our noses. Every changeover day at the Long Barn ends with one final cobweb check. It might...