A rare opportunity to acquire 50 sheep gaits on Great Whernside, Kettlewell, Skipton. Great Whernside extends to 443.75 hectares (1,096.5 acres) and comprises moorland grazing above Kettlewell in Upper Wharfedale. There are 960 sheep gaits on Great Whernside in total, held by a number of gait owners.

BASIC PAYMENT SCHEME

Great Whernside is registered with the Rural Payments Agency for the Basic Payment Scheme and is designated as Moorland Severely Disadvantaged. The 50 sheep gaits have an allocation of 23.01 hectares of BPS Entitlements which attracted a BPS payment of £1,471.48 for the 2020 scheme year. The BPS Entitlements will be made available to the purchaser of the sheep gaits at market value.

STEWARDSHIP

Great Whernside was in Uplands Entry Level Stewardship. This agreement expired on 30/07/2017. No replacement scheme has been attained and therefore Great Whernside is free of restriction. Entry to any replacement scheme would require mutual agreement from the gait holders.

ACCESS

There is a public bridleway from Kettlewell village to the sheep pens at Hag Dyke as shown coloured green on the attached plan.

EASEMENTS & RIGHTS OF WAY

The sheep gaits are sold subject to and with the benefit of all easements, wayleaves and rights of way, both public and private, whether mentioned in these particulars or not.

TENURE & OCCUPATION

Great Whernside is not a common, but an area of shared grazing. The land is occupied by the sheep gait owners, some of whom are active graziers and some of whom are inactive.

SHEEP PENS

There is a substantial set of sheep handling pens serving Great Whernside which are situated next to Hag Dyke. These are maintained by the sheep gait holders with costs apportioned according to the number of rights held. The facilities were rebuilt in 2015 and are in a good state of repair.

SHOOTING RIGHTS

We understand that it is custom that the holder of sheep gaits is entitled to shoot over Great Whernside with one gun.

There is no organised shoot, and no individual gait holder has exclusive access at any one time meaning that formation of an organised shoot would require the cooperation of all gait holders.

VIEWING

Great Whernside is defined as public access land under the Countryside & Rights of Way Act, and may be viewed at will.

METHOD OF SALE

The sheep gaits are offered for sale by Informal Tender and interested parties should complete and return the attached form to WBW Surveyors Ltd no later than 12 noon on 19th November 2021.

ENQUIRIES

All enquiries should be made to Simon Smith or John Akrigg at WBW Surveyors Ltd.

LEGAL DEFINITIONS

In historic legal documentation the sheep gaits on Great Whernside have been defined as conveying the following rights; “XX sheep gaits or grazing and herbage for XX fully grown sheep to go graze feed lie down and depasture in upon and throughout the enclosed and stinted pasture called Whernside near Kettlewell aforesaid together with all apportioned commonable sporting and other rights usually enjoyed or incidental to the ownership of the said sheep gaits on the said stinted common called Whernside and the ground and soil of such common in proportion to the numbers of the said sheep gaits”.