The History

Bulmer Farm Ryton, has been in existence for over 300 years. It is hidden away in the Vale of York and the house is set in beautiful well established gardens.

Prior to Barbara and John purchasing the farmhouse, the property was used as a holiday cottage and was extremely popular with holiday makers, being fully booked all year round. Barbara and John fell in love with the house and the area and have lived at Bulmer Farm since August 1996. John had worked abroad previously for several years as an engineer, followed by a short time working on drilling riggs. He then started his own business in Malton in Horticultural Engineering. Over the years John has had many interest. In the 60's he started Malton Karate club with a friend. Many of the top Japanese experts instructed at the club. His interests in motoring resulted in building a Lotus 7 followed by several Caterham 7's. John later developed a keen interest in aviation and decided to build a Renegade Spirit Biplane, which he flew for many years. This was the same kit plane that Gene Kranz constructed when he retired from NASA.

Barbara has worked as a Primary school teacher at a local village of Amotherby for thirty four years, with interests in music, cooking, gardening and travelling. 

They have two daughters, Fiona and Sam. Fiona, also a teacher, lives in Zurich with her husband, Rob and their two daughters. Sam is a Beauty Therapist who lives in Melbourne, Australia with her partner, Richard and their daughter.

The Lodge Park Development

On the land adjacent to the family home was an established sawmill, but during the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001 the sawmill ceased trading. John and Barbara took the opportunity to purchase the land, deciding to apply for planning permission for a “lodge park” and Bulmer Farm Park Lodges was born.

Their idea was to design a lodge park development in keeping with the local environment rather than a traditional lodge park of tarmac and concrete with no private space. With the idea of a wildlife haven at the forefront of their mind they set about creating a luxury eco-friendly environment for lodge owners to enjoy for years to come. A BIG vote of confidence was given by Professor David Bellamy, international botanist and environmental campaigner. John and Barbara incorporated his design suggestions and planting scheme to attract the wildlife. In addition they put their slant on the landscape. John planted a variety of blossom trees and thousands of daffodils around the park and now every Spring they have their own celebration in appreciating the natural beauty of their surroundings, similar to the Japanese tradition of Hanami.(The Japanese custom of enjoying the transient beauty of flowers.)

The story doesn’t stop there. After the success of the original phase of the lodge park, a new development of park homes has been released for sale with views over an ornamental pond which is designed as you would expect: to encourage wildlife onto the park. A selection of lodges will have views across the beautiful, open countryside. This exclusive lodge development is going from strength to strength with the idea of working towards David Bellamy’s Gold Award in the very near future.