Hunton Primary School Hunton and Arrathorne CP School is a small village school in Lower Wensleydale between Catterick Garrison, Bedale and Leyburn. We believe that the key to a productive school life is for children to feel happy and secure which is something we pride ourselves on at Hunton & Arrathorne. Our class groupings are kept small for the core subjects of English and Mathematics and this enables us to really know the children, to meet their needs and to help them to focus on their next steps, to challenge them and to extend their learning. If you wish to visit our school you are warmly welcomed to make an appointment through the school office on: 01677 450342. Mr S Donaldson. (headteacher).

Hunton’s Annual Steam

Gathering

The 39th Anniversary Steam Gathering will take place on the 12th and 13th September 2026 in farmland to the east of the Village of Hunton in Lower Wensleydale. The event boasts over 1000 exhibits displaying over 120 years of Agricultural and Motoring Heritage on the 70-acre rural event site. Exhibitor highlights include over 30 steam engines and 60 miniature steam engines along with an original set of steam gallopers. In addition to this, we have over 200 classic cars, 200 tractors, commercial vehicles, motorbikes, stationary engines and much more. Attractions also include a large Craft and Food Market showcasing local produce, Trade stalls, vintage working demonstrations, full catering facilities, auto-jumble and Fun Fair including steam powered gallopers. An action packed main arena will see displays from the vast exhibits and many unique displays. Additional attractions include a vintage ploughing match on the Sunday of the event with the addition heavy horses competing in the match. Over the weekend the site comes alive with the smell of steam, sounds of vintage working engines and fair organs playing throughout the site to create an atmosphere of nostalgia and bygone days. The event aims to provide something for all the family and is now one of the biggest events of its kind in the North. Organised by an entirely volunteer committee the HSG Team have donated thousands of pounds to local charities over the years. The Team invite you to come along and enjoy an action-packed weekend.

Hunton Play and Recreation

Area - History and Development

As a community, Hunton benefits from an excellent play and recreation area in the centre of the village. It is used by both residents and visitors for a range of activities and provides a safe area for children to play. It is also used for various village events and the primary school use the area for physical education classes. The area was gifted to the Parish Council back on the early 1980’s as part of the development of Greenaces. The Green continues to improve, Hunton in Bloom provided a seat and paving with room for a wheelchair or buggies, This enables parents and carers with dogs to watch their children while playing in the play area. Around the seat has been beautifully planted. In 2025 we planted over 2000 crocus on the bund, Half of which had been kindly donated by the community. Hopefully giving colour in early 2026. We hope these will multiple over the years. We have a small circle of apple trees, which in summer provide apples for the children to eat. On the green we have 2 wild flower areas. We have seen improvement in the number of insects and small mammals. Gifted bird boxes have also given extra homes to numerous birds. The Parish Council continues to manage the maintenance of the green and other areas within the village. We have a contractor who attends to the grass cutting Green and other areas within the village. We also have an amazing community who help on the annual work day, clearing along the Beckside, and cleaning play equipment etc. In 2025 the Parish Council used Tree Boy surgeons company, attended to the larger trees. This just covered some of the work, making the green a pleasant place for school to use and children and families to enjoy.

Countryman’s Inn

THE STORY OF THE COUNTRYMAN’S INN – Hunton’s Community Owned Pub The Countryman's Inn was originally known as The Oddfellows Arms and has been serving class ales in Hunton since 1849. Through civil war, two world wars and the good times it has provided a warm welcome to all who enter. In 1984 the name was changed to the present Countryman’s Inn. With this history, it came as a shock when in 2021 it was threatened with closure. Not wanting to lose the hub of the village, a group of locals got together to form a steering group and set about buying the premises. The Countryman’s Community Pub Society (CCPS) was formed. With a combination of government grants and community shares made available to villagers, locals and those further afield, the cash was secured and the pub bought as a community asset. As a testament to the fine selection of ales now being served in the pub, the Countryman’s has won northwest Yorkshire CAMRA pub of the year in 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026. Whilst this has been a fantastic achievement since opening as a community pub, an even higher accolade was achieved in September 2025 when we were voted runner up in CAMRA Yorkshire region pub of the year based not only upon the quality of the ales but also the warm welcome and friendly community. Dan and Katie have continued to improve the facilities with weekly coffee mornings, monthly steak and curry nights, quiz nights, cards and games night, live music, local ales plus new and themed menus of home cooked and locally sourced food. We continue to encourage investment into the pub to ensure continuity and want to take this opportunity to welcome and encourage new residents to pop in and say hello. There is always an opportunity to buy shares. If you would like to buy extra shares, or know of others who would like to invest whilst also supporting our community pub, contact admin@countrymanscommunity.org for more details or speak to Dan or Katie in the pub. We are always looking for volunteers to join us and if you have any questions of points that you wish to raise, please contact us or speak to any committee member.