HIDDEN away about a mile off the A170, just past Helmsley, lies the small and picturesque village of Pockley.

Its slightly isolated location and minimal amenities mean it gets few casual visitors just passing by.

Yet people from all over the world have stayed in Pockley, where they can sample quiet countryside life in idyllic surroundings.

Valerie Lack, who runs a guest house in the village, has had visitors from America, Japan, Scandinavia, eastern Europe, Australia and even Peru.

"They are absolutely enchanted when they come. They can't believe it," said Valerie, whose house is a beautiful 17th century thatched cottage - one of several houses in the village with thatched roofs.

She adds: "As there are no street lights in Pockley, it's amazing the number of visitors who comment on how well they can see the stars at night."

It's nearly seven years since she moved here from Pickering and, in her words, "fell in love with the place".

"It's so handy living in the village, as it's a little bit off the beaten track, but it's only two miles away from Helmsley."

Peace and quiet in the countryside are not the only things which attract people to Pockley from far afield.

Lady Clarissa Collin, whose family own the estate in the village, opens up her eight-acre Wytherstone Gardens to the public during the summer.

A self-confessed "mad-keen gardener", Lady Clarissa developed her gardens from scratch when she moved into what used to be the vicarage, next to the church, in 1965.

The number of different species of plants and trees there now, from abeliophyllum to zelkova serrata, runs into at least four figures.

She employs a small number of people to work on the gardens - head gardener is Gazette & Herald columnist Jonathan Parkinson - but she is very "hands-on" and will spend a minimum of two hours a day gardening herself.

"I never sit down. I love the outdoors and the fresh air. I'm a very active person," said Lady Clarissa, who is a distant cousin of Lord Feversham, of Duncombe Park.

She is involved in a number of charities. Money from her open garden days was donated to St John Ambulance and the National Gardens Scheme, while she is a trustee of the York and North Yorkshire Community Foundation, which funds local initiatives.

Lady Clarissa, who is a deputy Lord Lieutenant and used to be a magistrate, also helped raise funds for the church in Pockley - known as the Church of St John the Baptist - and village hall, providing teas at her house.

She said: "Pockley is a tremendous village for community spirit. Everyone will help anyone if they're in trouble."

Pockley resident John Ashworth, an engineer by trade, has plans to restore the old heating system in the church. Built in 1870, the church used to be heated by a hot-air boiler underneath the church.

A small tunnel - about 25 feet in length - exists with railway track to enable coal to be moved to and from the boiler in a rope-pulled container.

Checks still need to be made to test the viability of reintroducing the system, but John hopes to get it up and running again for the winter.

When the slab over the chimney is taken off, it is also hoped that the church bell can be restored.

"There is quite a bit of enthusiasm within the village to get it going again," said John, who is chairman of the Ryedale Conservative Association and moved to Pockley from Farndale three years ago.

"It will help make the church breathe again."

Designed by Sir Gilbert Scott, or his son, the church is unique in that it doesn't have a graveyard next to it. This is because, like much of the village, it lies above solid rock, so the graveyard is situated about 500 yards down the road.

The church and village hall are the only communal buildings left in Pockley.

Oliver Dowkes, a resident since 1946, remembers a time when there used to be a butcher's, a blacksmith's, a chapel (closed around 1967) and a school. There also used to be a post office and shop, run by Kath Palmer.

But times have changed, especially where agriculture is concerned.

Oliver's father, Thomas, recalled there being five farms and 26 smallholdings when he left school at the age of 12, back in 1893, to work at High Farm (he later returned to take charge there). Now, there is only one operating farm in the village.

The Dowkes family is one of the longest-residing in Pockley. Oliver's house is on the site where his grandad's pony paddock used to be.

His grandparents, parents, he and his wife, and his daughter all got married in the village church.

Despite being 76 years old, Oliver still works four, and sometimes five, days a week at Thirsk Livestock Centre, where he has been employed for 26 years.

Another family which goes back a long way in Pockley is the Sharp family.

Dennis Sharp, like his father, was born in Ivy Cottage, and has lived in the village all his life. Though he says the days when "once-upon-a-time, you knew everybody in the village" are gone, the fact that he has never moved away is an indication of his affection for the place.

After working for a dairy distribution company for many years, Dennis is now enjoying his retirement with his wife, Eva, who used to live at Pockley Gate.

He is a member of the Nawton shoot and supports his grandson, Ben, who is carrying on the family tradition of involvement in motorcycle sport.

Having gone to Pockley School before it closed shortly after the Second World War, Dennis's first job was working on a farm in the village run by the Barker family.

The Barkers, Simeon and Judy, live at the bottom of the village and enjoy a great view across the countryside. Simeon is chairman of the parish council. His grandfather, George Bumby, was a former editor at the Malton Messenger, while his uncle Arthur was a reporter on the Malton Gazette.

Like other long-term residents, they agree that the village has changed a lot, but that this is the way of the world.

Judy remembers a time when there used to be a village cricket team, which played at Manor Farm.

Yet she believes the village, which only has about 70 residents on the electoral roll, is undergoing something of a resurgence as a community.

Besides the renovation of the church, the village hall is in the process of being restored.

A village barbecue was held recently and the village bonfire has also been resurrected. A quiz night is also being planned.

It may not be the thriving agricultural village it once was, but Pockley remains a tight-knit, friendly community.

Updated: 11:09 Wednesday, September 01, 2004