Working with local businesses to help us share our Dairy Days stories is a key part of the next phase of the project, now that the research and recording side of things is gradually coming to a close. Yesterday we went out to meet three more visitor businesses keen to find out what we can offer. The first was the Corn Mill Tearoom in Bainbridge. We already know how delicious their food is and how they use local dairy products as much as possible, as they have catered for some of our volunteer training days.
Courtesy of Corn Mill Tearoom
We then popped up to West Shaw Cote above Askrigg. This was once a dairy farm and the relics of those days are all around, from an old milk churn dug up from the ruins of a barn to the big winter shed and remains of the milking parlour.
The milk churn interestingly came from a dried milk manufacturer in Carmarthen!
Alongside their holiday cottage, the new owners are now setting up a luxury yurt camp site called Cherish Glamping which has the most amazing views across Wensleydale.
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- Credit: Whitfield Benson
Our final business of the day was Low Mill Guest House back in Bainbridge. We’ve already featured the mill as part of Margaret Moncrieff’s story in our blog post Harper’s Dairy at Low Mill. We were fascinated to learn that the dairy eventually fell into the hands of a family of butchers from Bedale, the Cockburns – here is some graffiti dated 1953 on the back of one of the doors. Eileen Cockburn nee Heseltine married into that family. Cattle on their way to market were sometimes held downstairs in what is now the guests’ lounge of the mill.
Bryan Cockburn 1953 – graffiti at Low Mill, Bainbridge
On our way home we had to make one final stop – at West Burton – where The Home Farmer had their brand new milk vending machine parked up for the day – we bought two litres of their absolutely delicious farm fresh milk – what a treat!
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- Filling the glass milk bottle
