Rare chance to buy a stock farm in Yorkshire park
An upland stock farm offers the rare opportunity of valley bottom and upland grazing in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Described as “a good quality traditional stock-rearing hill farm,” Hesleden Farm is located at Cowside, outside the unspoilt Dales village of Litton, and about 19 miles from Skipton.
The farm comprises about 1,096 acres (443 ha), with a traditional-looking farmhouse, centrally located farmyard and a modern sheep building. The land includes riverside pasture and predominantly Grade 4-5 grazing land, while local livestock markets are at Skipton and Bentham Mart (20 miles).
“It’s unusual for such a well-balanced farm to come to the market in the Yorkshire Dales National Park,” said Steven Fieldsend, rural surveyor at Strutt and Parker. “There are very few other farms on the market and it’s a rare opportunity to buy a very good quality upland stock farm in the prettiest part of Yorkshire.”
The property is offered for sale as a whole, with a guide price of £1.58m, or in two lots.
Lot one includes the farmhouse, farmyard and buildings, and 1,083 acres, the majority of which lies close to the farmstead, with a guide price of £1.55m. This includes valley bottom land and meadowland (255 acres), hillside pasture (275 acres), moorland and rough grazing (521 acres), and woodland (20 acres). All is classified as severely disadvantaged and is entered into a combined Entry Level and Higher Level Stewardship agreement, which ends in January 2020. Part of the land is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is classified as Grade 4-5.
Fishing rights on the river Skirfare and some sporting rights are included in the sale.
The buildings include former dairy buildings, a 12-bay steel-framed sheep building, kennels/stables, a slurry store and sheep handling facilities.
The three-bedroom farmhouse is a converted barn with a large loft. It is built of traditional stone with a stone slate roof typical of the Dales area and faces south with stunning views over the garden and dale and is subject to an agricultural occupancy restriction.
A modern lodge home which lies adjacent to the farm buildings, is not included in the sale, but is known to be on the market with another agent.
A further 13.8 acres of good quality pasture and woodland is offered as the second lot, approximately 10 miles to the south-west of Hesleden Farm with a guide price of £30,000. The land has its own natural water supply and is classified as Grade 4.
(Strutt and Parker 01423 706 786)
Find farms, land and property for sale in our Property section