Beyond Nature

Turn on the tap and the water that comes out is likely to have first fallen as rainwater on some of the highest, most remote and beautiful land in Yorkshire.

Beyond Nature is a Yorkshire Water land strategy initiative focused on supporting farmers who look after this land and helping them get the most out of it.

Angram Reservoir

Why is this important?

Yorkshire Water are one of the largest landowners in the county and our land strategy focuses on:

‘Delivering exceptional land for Yorkshire, forever.’

To achieve this, the Beyond Nature initiative helps farmers use their land for raising livestock, providing a home for nature, creating spaces for recreation, storing thousands of tonnes of carbon, natural flood management and much more!

What we're doing

Our farms

We currently have 29 Beyond Nature farms across the region:

Our future

Yorkshire Water has made a long-term commitment to bringing all our 22,000 hectares of farmland into Beyond Nature management. This is part of our aim to protect the Yorkshire landscape for future generations, play a key role in tackling climate change and support sustainable farming.

Become a tenant

Are you interested in finding out more about a Beyond Nature tenancy? Find out more about what’s involved.

Trees

Work with us

Whether you want to become one of our sponsors, volunteer or collaborate with us, we'd love to hear from you!

Get in touch

Squirrel

Next Generation Farming

The programme was established early in 2021, with the letting of one of our farms in the Washburn Valley, Scow Hall Farm near Harrogate – an 84 hectare Yorkshire Water owned holding.

Robert McAneney took on the tenancy of Scow Hall in February 2021, following an open application process with more than 50 applicants.

We are providing Robert with a mentor, training and business advice along with a short-term five-year tenancy.

We will then look for a new farmer to take on Scow Hall Farm for a 5-year tenancy, creating a cycle of opportunity for the next generation of farmers.

Read more about Robert and his plans

Keep up to date

Check out our news section for all our latest updates. We've got lots more exciting projects to tell you about, so make sure you check back to see what we're up to.

Beyond Nature news

Cup of tea