Chris and Suzanne Mitchell moved to Swaledale from East Yorkshire around six years ago and love living here. We asked Suzanne to tell us more.
"Chris and I absolutely love living here. The scenery is stunningly beautiful in every season and you get proper winters here (and everything doesn't grind to a halt either at the first flake of snow!). We're close to the gorgeous village of Muker and love the pub, tea room and shops there. The walking round here is second to none - our favourite walk is the Kisdon Hill Circular and we also love going up to Crackpot Hall and over Swinnergill. Just gorgeous. We love the peace, fresh air and the sense of space. The lack of light pollution means we get gloriously starry skies. It's an incredibly friendly place to live - we were worried we'd
be isolated but we have a better social life here than we did before (and that was saying something!) People really look out for each other here and help each other out all the time.
"In Keld, locals have worked together to create a winter tea room and a community orchard - it's so lovely to be part of projects like this. We run a holiday cottage business and love sharing this beautiful place with our guests. The most
common comment we get when people arrive and see the view is wow! Even the delivery drivers are wowed by the views and take photos on their mobiles!"
This all sounds idyllic. Have there been any challenges living in a more isolated area?
Chris continues "Online shopping has made it a lot easier to live and run a business here - in fact I don't know what we'd do without it. The doctors here are great and so much more flexible than in towns. They even deliver prescriptions to you!
"Of course there are challenges and downsides to living here. It's been a struggle to get decent broadband (now about to change thanks to the power of the local community). Distance to hospitals is a worry. Lack of public transport is also a key issue - fortunately we have the Little White Bus (mostly run by volunteers) that runs up and down the Dale. The trains have now increased their services to Leeds which is brilliant news (and the station is only about 25 minutes from here with easy and free parking). We love a day out in Leeds or Bradford going to restaurants and the theatre. We are both keen squash players and gym goers so do miss not having leisure facilities but we go walking and jogging instead. And we have a DIY Zumba class in Muker which is great fun. We just can't imagine living anywhere else!"
"Chris and I absolutely love living here. The scenery is stunningly beautiful in every season and you get proper winters here (and everything doesn't grind to a halt either at the first flake of snow!). We're close to the gorgeous village of Muker and love the pub, tea room and shops there. The walking round here is second to none - our favourite walk is the Kisdon Hill Circular and we also love going up to Crackpot Hall and over Swinnergill. Just gorgeous. We love the peace, fresh air and the sense of space. The lack of light pollution means we get gloriously starry skies. It's an incredibly friendly place to live - we were worried we'd
be isolated but we have a better social life here than we did before (and that was saying something!) People really look out for each other here and help each other out all the time.
"In Keld, locals have worked together to create a winter tea room and a community orchard - it's so lovely to be part of projects like this. We run a holiday cottage business and love sharing this beautiful place with our guests. The most
common comment we get when people arrive and see the view is wow! Even the delivery drivers are wowed by the views and take photos on their mobiles!"
This all sounds idyllic. Have there been any challenges living in a more isolated area?
Chris continues "Online shopping has made it a lot easier to live and run a business here - in fact I don't know what we'd do without it. The doctors here are great and so much more flexible than in towns. They even deliver prescriptions to you!
"Of course there are challenges and downsides to living here. It's been a struggle to get decent broadband (now about to change thanks to the power of the local community). Distance to hospitals is a worry. Lack of public transport is also a key issue - fortunately we have the Little White Bus (mostly run by volunteers) that runs up and down the Dale. The trains have now increased their services to Leeds which is brilliant news (and the station is only about 25 minutes from here with easy and free parking). We love a day out in Leeds or Bradford going to restaurants and the theatre. We are both keen squash players and gym goers so do miss not having leisure facilities but we go walking and jogging instead. And we have a DIY Zumba class in Muker which is great fun. We just can't imagine living anywhere else!"
