Hi, my name is Helen, and I am a freelance journalist based in rural North Yorkshire. I specialise in magazine articles with a countryside theme, illustrated with my own photographs.
The picture shows me picking apples at home in my garden in the village of
Appleton Wiske. My house was built in the orchard of the ‘big house’, and I benefit from the fruit trees.
Here in Appleton Wiske, we are blessed with a thriving village, with shop, Post Office, school, Church, Chapel, two pubs and a village hall. We are situated between Yorkshire’s two National Parks: the Yorkshire Dales, and the North York Moors.
Nearby Co Durham boasts the Durham Dales – quieter than the Yorkshire Dales, but just as lovely.
There are many aspects to living in the countryside, but the thing that binds all of us together is the need for self-help. Many services that are taken for granted in towns simply don’t reach us out in the rural areas. So we rely on volunteers to manage the village hall, drive the community minibus, and fetch medicines for the sick.
My work reflects my location: I write about Yorkshire, County Durham, Countryside and crafts. My special interests include:
Yorkshire; Rural Life; Farming; Crafts; Environment and Conservation; Food; Heritage and traditions; Landscape; and Co Durham