Phil Cormie
Phil Cormie is head gardener at Newby Hall in North Yorkshire. He studied at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh and moved to Newby Hall last year. He is married to Gabrielle and they have a young son, Luke.
What’s your first Yorkshire memory? I’m a Geordie and my boyhood memories – all very happy ones – are of the entire family, my two younger sisters, mum and dad, grandma and grandpa and my uncle as well, all packing into two or three cars (as well as my dad’s split-screen VW camper van), and driving down the A1 or the A19, to a farmhouse that we stayed at for our holidays. It was a working farm and truly idyllic.
What’s your favourite part of the county – and why? Nidderdale. The little villages, the pastureland, the incredible views and, of course, all those dry stone walls. I have always been full of genuine admiration for the monks and their workers who built them, and for all the people since who have kept them safe, rebuilt them when necessary and who still make them today. Those walls are like a tapestry in their own right.
What’s your idea of a perfect day, or a perfect weekend, out in Yorkshire? Not surprisingly there would be a lot of gardens involved, starting with a stroll around Harlow Carr, near Harrogate, and then a really good breakfast in Bettys. There would be a visit to the Walled
Garden at Scampston, which is truly one of the wonders of Yorkshire, and time (I hope) to check out the glorious Brodsworth Hall, near Doncaster, where the grounds have been restored so lovingly. It would all be rounded off by a fish and chip supper, or a pizza, nearer to home in Ripon.
Do you have a favourite walk, or view? I love that area around Masham and Lofthouse with all the steep banks, where you can stop for a while and just drink in the fresh air, and watch the kites wheeling around overhead. The Nidderdale Caves are just across the way.
Which Yorkshire sportsman, past or present, would you like to take for lunch? Leeds-born Sir Ian McGeechan, the Rugby Union fly-half and outside centre. He started his senior career at Headingley and managed to play for the Scottish, British and Irish Lions teams. He then went into coaching and became an important cog in the union game. Just to listen to his stories and dressing rooms yarns would be an honour.
Which Yorkshire stage or screen star, past or present, would you like to take for dinner? Sean Bean, and for two reasons. The first is that my grandpa and I used to watch Sharpe together when I was a lad, and the second is that my wife Gabrielle now watches it with me online.
If you had to name your Yorkshire ‘hidden gem’, what would it be? Gordale Scar in Malhamdale, that glorious limestone ravine with the cliffs are just breathtaking.
If you could choose somewhere, or some object, from or in Yorkshire to own for a day, what would it be? It wouldn’t be something to hold, but something to do – I would love to be the Hornblower in Ripon for just one evening, setting the watch in the square there at 9pm. I really would cherish that moment.
What do you think gives Yorkshire its unique identity? Its diversity – national parks, landscapes, seascapes and cityscapes, it’s such an incredible range. But, above all that, it’s the dialect, and the many accents that make it up. Someone speaking in Richmond is completely different to someone talking in Barnsley, but there is that curious bond between them both.
Do you follow sport in the county, and if so, what? I keep a check on what happens to the Leeds Rhinos, and I admire them very much.
Do you have a favourite restaurant, or pub? We love Oliver’s Pantry, in Ripon, which is a great little family-friendly place.