Category Archives: News

The Tour de Yorkshire 2017 will be passing through Upper Wharfedale on Sunday 30th April – and Kilnsey Park Estate is a good base for viewing this exciting event. 

Visitors to Kilnsey Park will only be 3 miles from the race route, which passes through the picturesque villages of Burnsall, Linton and Cracoe on its way from Bradford to the Peak District. As well as offering free parking we also have a busy day of family activities planned (including bushcraft, wild art and marshmallows on the campfire). The Cafe by the Lake will also be open as normal.

The road closures will be minimal for the event, with organisers indicating that each road affected will be closed for no more than 45 minutes (25 minutes before the race arrives and 5-10 minutes after the last rider has gone).

Visitors to Kilnsey Park Estate should be aware of the following road closures:

So we recommend that you arrive before 12.30pm, or ensure that you are north of the planned road closures (Threshfield and Grassington will both be open as normal and within short walking distance of the race route).

Join us for what should be a special day in the Dales.

A sculpture trail and a series of interpretation panels have been unveiled at Kilnsey Park Estate.

One of the sculptures is a giant Lady’s Slipper Orchid woven out of willow by Wetherby-based artist, Leilah Vyner; Kilnsey is one of only a handful of places within the National Park where the flower can be seen. Another is a leaping fish, by Wensleydale chainsaw sculptor, Andris Bergs.

The ten interpretation signs, designed by illustrator Gary Davies, give insights into the history of the park and its wildlife, while a new geocache trail uses linocut prints by Hester Cox from Horton-in-Ribblesdale.  Her evocative images capture the essence of the park, including the view of the lakes with the magnificent Kilnsey Crag in the background.

The project has also included the creation of new map for visitors to use.  It has been made possible in part by a grant of £9,882 from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s Sustainable Development Fund.

Estate owner Jamie Roberts said it had been a pleasure to work with so many local artists: “With this new project we want visitors to experience a sense of wonder about what makes this area of the Dales so special. From the awesome natural landmark of Kilnsey Crag to the smallest bee at the hive and everything in between, there is something here for everyone to enjoy.”

YDNPA Chairman Carl Lis said: “An important part of our work is to promote the Yorkshire Dales National Park as a leading sustainable tourism destination.  These new artworks and interpretation make Kilnsey Park an even more distinctive place to visit.  I salute Jamie and his team for their imagination and investment.”

Andris Bergs, who has been creating chainsaw sculptures across the country for 16 years, said: “The trout sculpture was carved from a willow tree. I worked closely with the fishermen, so each time they caught a trout I was able to look at it and take inspiration for the carving. Fortunately the tree stumps were just the right shape to be turned into leaping fish.”

As the air gets warmer, the nights get longer and the birds start to sing, it’s time to move onto our summer opening times and welcome you onto the Discovery Trail again.

We’ve had a busy winter of improvements around the Park. This year our new attractions include:

Waterplay area (open Saturday 8th April) – pump water from the stream using a vintage hand pump and watch it race down wooden channels, turning a water wheel as it goes.

Seasonal geocache trail – boxes hidden around the Park contain different animals and scenes. Collect all 8 to enter our special monthly prize draw.

New animals – meet our cheeky Tamworth ginger piglets and our teensy weensy miniature sheep. Plus there are chicks hatching as we speak and lambs to be fed!

Improved signage – we’ve got some great new information panels that tell the story of Kilnsey, its wildlife, history and quirky stories.

Sculpture trail – new willow sculptures celebrating the heritage of the Dales are hidden around the Park – can you find them all?

The opening times and prices of the Discovery Trail can be found by clicking here.

Kilnsey Smokehouse wins best fish product for our pate.

We’re delighted to have won a Taste Award for the first time. Our smoked trout pate has won the Best Fish & Seafood product at this year’s Deliciously Yorkshire awards.

“It feels great to have won an award for our smoked trout pate, which was first made by my mother to her own unique recipe over 20 years ago!” says Kilnsey smokehouse owner Jamie Roberts.

The award was collected by Jamie and his father Anthony, who established the trout farm and smokehouse in 1978.

The entries were judged by a panel including Radio 2 chef Nigel Barden. The judging panel described the winning product as “rich and delectable, with a luxurious taste and lovely flavour combinations – a real pleasure to eat.”

The full list of this year’s winners can be found by clicking here.

This month will see a change at our long-established café and shop.

The café and shop at Kilnsey Park Estate was established in 1994 and has been run by the Roberts family ever since, making it one of the longest family-run cafés in the Dales.

‘We’ve loved running the café for the past two decades but we knew the time was right to let someone else take the business forward’, says Kilnsey Park owner Jamie Roberts.

New owners James McNamara and Tracey Gill are happy to be returning to their roots after working in catering across Europe: ‘For the past 9 years we’ve catered to the rich and famous in luxury ski chalets and hunting lodges, but we always hoped to run our own business at home in the Dales’, says Tracey. ‘When the Kilnsey café became available just down the road from where we live we couldn’t believe our luck’.

To mark the change the business will be rebranded as the ‘Café by the Lake at Kilnsey Park Estate’. The café was awarded ‘Yorkshire Food Destination of the Year’ in 2014 and has a number of national Great Taste Awards for its fresh patés and pies.

James, an experienced chef, is looking forward to this new chapter in the cafe’s history: ‘We’re passionate about great taste and flavour delivered with a smile and we want to make sure the café keeps its friendly family atmosphere.’

The café menu will continue to feature the best of local produce, including traditional favourites such as its unique fish and chips made from rainbow trout reared in spring water at Kilnsey. ‘To have such fantastic and fresh ingredients right outside our own front door is a dream for a chef,’ says James.

The Roberts family will continue to run the Kilnsey Park visitor attraction and fishery, which was established in 1978. ‘We’re delighted that James and Tracey are now part of the Kilnsey Estate family, we’re looking forward to exciting times ahead and working together to ensure that Kilnsey Park is a must-visit destination in the Dales,’ says Jamie Roberts.

We are now a recommended venue on Festival Brides, the only website and blog in the world that focuses on festival and bohemian style weddings. All wedding bookings at Kilnsey Park Estate will now be made through the Festival Brides website.

We’re very happy to be partnering our beautiful location with one of the UK’s most popular wedding blogs.

Here’s the Festival Brides description of our wedding venue:

Set within 1000 acres of privately owned countryside and woodland in the heart of the breath taking Yorkshire Dales, this beautiful outdoor wedding venue offers something truly unique and very special for your wedding day.

Hold your ceremony by a gorgeous meandering river or by a crystal clear stream in private and secluded woodland. Party in the wedding field and enjoy the stunning panoramic views of the wild moorlands, lush hay meadows and surrounding woodland. There is plenty of space for a tipi, pole tent or marquee and the venue also offers a camping meadow with room for 100 of your guests and luxury stone barn cottage accommodation for up to 10 people

This is a venue that truly offers it all and is ideal for couples who are looking for a magnificent outdoor setting for their wedding day.

You can find out more by contacting Laura at Festival Brides.

A photo of traditional smoked food in the Yorkshire Dales has been shortlisted for an international food photography award – and you can have your say by voting for it.

The evocative colour image, showing a Kilnsey smoked trout being prepared, was captured by food photographer Joan Ransley and has been nominated for Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2016, the world’s leading awards celebrating the art and diversity of food photography and film.

The photo originally appeared in the Yorkshire Post Magazine feature ‘Smoky and the banquet’ published on 5^th December 2015. It will now be competing against more than 400 images in the People’s Choice vote in the ‘Food Off the Press’ category.

“We’re so happy that Joan’s photo of the Kilnsey Smokery is up for an award,’ says owner Jamie Roberts. “She’s captured a beautiful image of our traditional hand-smoking process.”

The panel of judges for the awards includes David Loftus (Jamie Oliver’s photographer) and Jay Raynor food writer for the Guardian/Observer.

Ilkley-based Joan Ransley specialises in photographing food and her work has featured in many national newspapers and magazines. She was commissioned by the Kilnsey Smokery to produce a series of images that showcase their traditional working methods – a selection of her images can be found by clicking here.

To cast your vote for the photo please visit the awards website www.pinkladyfoodphotographeroftheyear.com and choose the category ‘Production Paradise Food Off The Press’ before selecting your favourite image. Voting is for one week only, from Wednesday 30 March to Thursday 7 April at 12 Noon.

To read the original Yorkshire Post feature about the Kilnsey Smokery click here.

To find out more about Joan Ransley and her work click here.