THE residents of Hutton-le-Hole don’t care that their Domesday Book village has been untouched by progress – even if that does include mobile phones and internet services.
Given its beauty, you could be forgiven for thinking that the historic heart of the community was built for the tourism industry and picture postcards.
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Quaint tea rooms and cottages are clustered around the Ryedale Folk Museum, which pays tribute to the communities past.
But there are drawbacks to being a full time local – including no phone signal, planning restrictions, and limited Wi-Fi connection.
Centuries have been spent forging the community from ancient roots including trades such as limestone burning, iron stone mining, black smiths, shoe making and rope making.
Thousands of tourists now flock to the prettiest Village in the North York Moors National Park with its rolling greens, gushing streams, white fencing, and village duck pond.
Most of the houses were built between 1650 and 1750.
They are now much sought after properties but were originally the cramped homes of weavers and spinners.
Sarah Coupland, 46, runs the Old School House Deli and Bakery on the Main Street of the village where she lives with her partner and 14-year-old son.
She said: “No mobile phone signal is one of the drawbacks about living here and it is quite bleak in the winter.
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“We just close between December and January because there is no trade.
“But it is an amazing village and great community where everyone knows each other.
“We had a WhatsApp group throughout Covid so if anyone needed anything we could pick it up for them.
“The local pub opens every Christmas morning so the residents can get together and wish each other a Happy Christmas.”
Every year, a duck race involving more than 1,000 plastic creatures is held on the village pond.
This year, as in previous years, it raised thousands of pounds for charity.
Sarah added: “Although it is village in the summer it is a very, very calm village.
“The scenery is amazing. I have been in the village eight years and set up the business two years ago in 2021 just after Covid.
“I am originally from Hull and during a long weekend we visited the village for the first time.
“My son was six then and played in the stream for hours and I thought, ‘What better place?'”
It’s a beautiful place to work, a beautiful village and a beautiful setting.
Duncan Harper
At present, the village consists of just 151 residents, many of whom have lived there for generations.
Duncan Harper, 48, does a 50-mile commute from Scarborough to the job he loves – working behind the bar of the village local, The Crown pub.
Pulling pints for a crowd of tourists just alighting from one of the many coach tours, he said: “It’s a beautiful place to work, a beautiful village and a beautiful setting.
“But the council and North York Moors National Park can be quite strict on planning.
“I appreciate it is a fine balance between letting people do what they want and ruining the village, but I know quite a few locals who have tried to get plans approved for things and come up against a brick wall.
“You get used to not being able to use your mobile phone here. People survived without them for long enough.
“But on the other hand better mobile phone coverage would be a benefit to the village and I don’t see why it should be so difficult.
“We felt it when we lost television for 18 months when the local TV transmitted caught fire.
“It was fine for places who had some form of streaming platform but not us.”
In the beer garden, John Dixon, 59, from Redcar, was enjoying drinks with partner Anna Clark, 55, from Northumberland, while giving her a first tour of the village.
He said: “I have been coming here all my life. I used to come here with my grandparents from Redcar.
“It’s a very pretty village – nice and quite beautiful.”
‘LIKE GOING BACK IN TIME’
Nodding in agreement, Anna said: “It is like going back in time but I would not change a thing – apart from not paying £4 for parking here since there is a cost of living crisis.
“The one thing I am disappointed about is the price of property here.
“It is pricing local people out of the market and you have to pay a lot of money to stay here as a holidaymaker.”
Caroline Edwards, 52, is boss of The Barn guest house and tea rooms, further along the high street.
She opened the business more than seven years ago after moving from Sheffield.
The family, which has a background in the hospitality business, were looking for somewhere to open their own place.
And Hutton-le-Hole, named by the Telegraph as one of the villages most unspoilt by tourism in Britain, ticked all the boxes.
She added: “We fell in love with it here.
“What makes the village unique is you are very restricted in planning terms what you can and can’t do so it will always remain unspoiled.
“It is tough in winter. We keep the guest house going as long as we can but it is very bleak and January is a no-go.
“Fortunately, we do have a lot of regulars. Out of season we get the walkers and couples wanting short breaks.
“We try to work together as businesses to support each other.
“It is a small community here 12 months a year and as a community we all get on very well, which I have not always had in other places I have lived.
“When people move into the village, they can keen to join in with what is going on.”
It is great if you want to get away from it all but not so great for business or in medical emergencies.
Caroline Edwards
When the village battens down the hatches, the locals have to make their own entertainment.
The hall hosts music and film nights and soon its first murder mystery event, which is already sold out.
Caroline reckons the lack of mobile phone coverage is a mixed blessing.
She added: “It is great if you want to get away from it all but not so great for business or in medical emergencies.”
Retired painter and decorator Graham Marriott, 74, drinking tea with wife Sue, 67, said: “We have been coming here 40 years – maybe a bit longer even.
“If they did change things around here I think it would spoil it. It is like a different world.”
Sue continued: “The moment I arrive here, I immediately relax because of the slower pace.
“It is slow relaxing and easy – and you know you are going to get good food here – apart from the beautiful countryside and lovely walks.
“All the village is lovely. Although the mobile signal is sporadic all you have to do is walk as far as the main road to get a signal.”
Gareth East, 49, who runs the Chocolate Factory, featuring a range of eye catching candy, said: “I cannot see why some people are bothered by the planning controls.
“When you move here you told you have to have certain windows, you can’t put a satellite dish up, and any extensions have to be in a certain kind of brick.
“But most people around here have lived here a long time and have real pride in the place. Obviously, the main industry these days is tourism.
“Certain resorts have lost out to overseas holidays but I have been here 21 years and if anything it has got busier due to all the interest in outdoor activities that our visitors have.”
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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
