I grew up on a dairy farm just outside Skipton, with a background of agriculture, farm diversification and outdoor events shaping family life.
After completing my schooling in Skipton, I had the opportunity to study Land Economy at Cambridge University, a truly wonderful (and exceptionally hard working) time in my life giving me a foundation of friendship that continues to this day.
I went on to train and qualify as a Rural Practice Chartered Surveyor in Cambridge, continuing my passion for rowing along the River Cam, but increasingly missing walking in the hills of Yorkshire. When an opportunity arose for me to join a consultancy firm in Leeds, I grasped it with both hands – my passport back to Yorkshire.
Through my work I travelled extensively across the UK and learnt the importance of having store cupboard ingredients in to rustle up dinner at late notice. I fundraised extensively through the firm’s charity scheme and joined an expedition to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with colleagues from the London and Manchester offices. I decided to put together some training weekends for them – to get to know them better but also to prepare us for the expedition ahead. I loved introducing colleagues to some wonderful walking routes in the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales. I planned and led the walks, booked the accommodation and coordinated all the arrangements. Sharing my love of the hills, and enjoying cameraderie in the outdoors, brought me great joy.
I continued to live in Leeds, and work in property consultancy – particularly enjoying a secondment in to the Civil Service in London. I became very familiar with train rides to the capital, working on laptops in tight spaces, holding take-away cups of tea, and frequenting station car parks in the early morning and late evening. Trade-offs for a stimulating job, certainly, but the kind of life that saw me retreating at weekends to walk and explore Yorkshire’s green spaces.
In the decade since graduating, I had watched my parents dedicate themselves to restoring and transforming Newton Grange Farm as well as continue to run the dairy farm near Skipton. It had been a real labour of love. At Newton Grange they had overseen the careful renovation of the two Grade II listed buildings on the farm, established a new sheep flock and farm buildings to go with it, planted hedgerows and shelter belts to encourage birdlife, set up and ran a B&B, converted the former dairy farm buildings in to holiday cottages and a stone barn to a live/work unit. They had started to receive enquiries for outdoor events and marquee weddings and began working with many different suppliers to deliver them – there was so much going on, and it all sounded great fun! I wanted to be a part of it.
Once married, my husband and I decided that it was the right time to move back to rural North Yorkshire and for me to help my parents in their growing rural enterprise. Living at Newton Grange, we find it the most wonderful place to raise our family with the freedom of green spaces all around. The landscapes of Yorkshire that I craved from the city office window are now just outside the door and it is such a privilege to live and work here.
One of my favourite parts of the job is how humbling it is to see guests returning to us year after year. My hope for future tourism at Newton Grange Farm is that we can continue to offer the high standards of visitor accommodation that our guests know us for, underpinned by a friendly welcome and excellent service. And as we do so, that our family business will continue to thrive.
