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Generations of hardy Dales folk have stomped across the threshold of this farmstead, banging the door against the elements, to warm themselves at the monumental inglenook fireplace in the hall (today’s kitchen). Uninhabited for decades and bequeathed to the National Trust in 1989 by David and Graham Watson, Cowside had fallen into dereliction. The group of buildings (house, barn, byre, piggery and privy) is remarkably intact and characteristic of its period and setting. We were delighted to be able to rescue it by taking a long lease.
According to its datestone, the farmstead was built in 1707 and this seems accurate enough, even though it incorporates earlier fabric. It was built by the Slinger family with some pretension to gentrification: the standard of workmanship in the timber ceilings and in the masonry of the stone window is high, and there are no fewer than three hearths. Our faith in the building was further vindicated when we found monochrome wall paintings of Biblical texts in the parlour beneath layers of limewash.
Set in the heart of the North Yorkshire Dales National Park, Cowside is an ideal base to explore one of Britain’s most beautiful landscapes. The River Wharfe chuckles cheerfully, and occasionally spates thrillingly, along the foot of Cowside’s north-facing fell. Here you park, before walking some 250 yards, thinking, perhaps, of those Dales farmers and the inglenook waiting up the fell, where in summer, ‘banks are breet wi’ moss an’ broom, An’ sweet is t’ scent o’ t’ thyme'.
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Sleeps:
5
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