A rare and fine bird is The Black Swan
EMILY HEWARD heads to her home county for a weekend of great food and stunning scenery
BEING a born and bred Yorkshire woman, I don’t need any convincing that my homeland is God’s own country.
But if anyone were in any doubt, they’d only need to drive up Sutton Bank into the North York Moors and take in the glorious view from the top to be persuaded they were in paradise.
This is the stunning route my partner and I take from Manchester for a weekend away in Helmsley, just a two hour drive away.
Not only has this corner of the country got some of the most spectacular scenery to be found on these isles (I’m biased, I know...) but it’s also firmly on the foodie map.
With acres and acres of fertile farmland where some of the nation’s best produce is grown, it’s no surprise that the county has more Michelin stars than anywhere outside London, plus countless AA rosettes.
Three of the latter belong to the Gallery Restaurant at The Black Swan in Helmsley, which we’re calling home for the weekend.
With new head chef Patrick Bardoulet at the helm, it is fast becoming one of the region’s hottest dining destinations – a reputation we are to discover is well-deserved.
Situated on the picturesque town’s market square, the historic former coaching inn is a higgeldy-piggedly jumble of Tudor, Georgian and Elizabethan buildings, with the earliest parts dating back to over 500 years ago.
Inside, it has the same kind of topsy-turvy charm. Our room is all wonky floors and sloping ceilings but the decor is plush and modern, with lots of luxe little touches like an iPod docking station, Molton Brown toiletries in the huge en-suite and a cuddly teddy tucked up in the huge king-size bed.
Ditching our bags, we head back downstairs to enjoy a pint of Black Sheep, made in the Yorkshire Dales town of Masham, in the inn’s Cygnet Bar.
The sun is shining so we take our drinks outside to sup while we plan our day.
There’s plenty to explore in Helmsley itself, from the medieval castle that towers over the town to the tranquil walled garden that sits beneath the imposing ruins.
The town is also home to Duncombe Park, where the North York Moors’ only stately home lies surrounded by landscaped gardens and sprawling parkland.
The house itself isn’t open to the public but the grounds are, and we spend a leisurely afternoon exploring them.
The estate is also home to the International Centre for Birds of Prey, where visitors can meet falcons, hawks, buzzards, eagles and owls and watch them flying free in daily demonstrations.
After a stroll around, we head back down into the town where we stumble across Helmsley Brewing Company, a microbrewery and tap room where we enjoy a couple of pints of its hoppy H!PA India pale ale.
Another thing to love about Yorkshire – we’re friendly folk, and it isn’t long before the regulars are chatting away to us like old pals. By the time we leave, we have a makeshift map in our hands, scrawled on the back of a napkin, full of everyone’s suggestions for places to go the next day.
After supping up, it’s time to head back to the Black Swan and get ready for dinner.
Eager to get the full experience, we graze our way through the sixcourse tasting menu, which the kitchen happily adapts for my dairy-free dietary requirements.
We start with a delicately-dressed white and green asparagus salad with Yorkshire curd (for him), onion seeds and olive oil, followed by Arbroath smoked salmon with Jersey potato gribiche sauce and lemon-whisky jelly.
Then there’s ham hock with mushroom consommé jelly-pickle and fig, followed by Gressingham duck breast with sweet potato, beetroot, apple peanut brioche and plum sauce.
Each course looks as exquisite as it tastes and the meal is as much of a pleasure to look at as the works of art on the walls – by day The Gallery is literally that, showcasing one of the largest and most varied commercial art in the north as one half of Helmsley Galleries (the other half is housed at the neighbouring Feversham Arms and Verbena Spa hotel).
After a good night’s sleep, we order a full English breakfast to our room before heading out to explore the town, where we indulge our inner gluttons some more.
Dotted around the market square we discover the Hunters of Helmsley deli and ice cream parlour and independent wine merchant Helmsley Wines, where we pick up a few treats to take home.
Around the corner we also spy fish and chip shop Scott’s, which came highly recommended by the regulars at the brewery tap, and make a note to return next time.
Later we return to the Black Swan for an afternoon tea in its pretty gardens.
It’s hard to imagine a more perfect setting for this quintessentially English indulgence as we’re presented with a platter of delicate finger sandwiches, cakes and scones at our table on the lawns.
Tucked away at the back of the hotel, it’s quite the sun trap and we’re reluctant to leave as we drain the last drops from our teacups.
The Black Swan is the kind of place you could happily come back to time and again as the perfect base to discover more of the North York Moors.
The dramatic ruins of Rievaulx Abbey are within easy reach, a little further afield lies Dalby Forest and the picturesque port of Whitby is also less than an hour’s drive away, to name but a few of the ways to spend a weekend here.
For us though, it’s grudgingly back to Manchester we go – until next time.