We Are Teesside

"We moved at a time when house prices were doing strange things and houses were being sold before the signs even went up and in the end we ended up in Teesdale," explained Jan, casting another eye at the coffee maker, which was clearly working far too slowly for her liking.

"It was certainly a shock when we arrived, but it's amazing and I'm certainly very glad that we did come here."

Finally, the coffee was brewed and, as the early Spring sunshine beamed through the small, deep set windows of the old stone farmhouse Jan runs as a management training retreat, she began to enthuse about the life she has discovered in the North Pennines.

A ewe with lambs in Teesdale.

"It's quiet, there's security. Most importantly, I miss curries. It was wonderful having a curry that you could just 'phone up and have delivered in about ten minutes. The nearest curry house is about 20 minutes' drive and by the time you get home, it's cold, so you have to reheat it, so the whole pleasure of that experience is something I save for the towns now.

"It's just a very different way of life. Certainly at night here it's very dark. You have no light pollution. We actually have stars and the stars are incredible, when you can see them. We have lots of clear nights up here, but we also have cloudy nights too and the cloudy nights are quite tedious, because you can't actually dash with your shopping between the car and the front door without getting absolutely drenched."