YORKSHIRE TOURING
Pickering is the perfect base for a tour of the county.
IT’S always been a place at the heart of things.
Stand by the busy roundabout in the centre of Pickering and you’ll see it’s an all points of the compass centrepiece.
Head east and you’re on the road to seaside favourite Scarborough, west and you’re en route to the Dales.
Take the north and you’ll swing by Whitby and south you’ll find the road to York.
That’s what makes this Yorkshire market town the perfect place for exploration – and, as we discovered, a lovely little spot in its own right.
Despite having just 7,000 inhabitants it’s a real cultural hub with three theatres, world-famous wall paintings in 12th Century St Peter’s and St Paul’s church, Beck Isle Museum and, of course, the dominant Pickering Castle.
We spent a lovely day just wandering round them all.
We were staying just a couple of miles away at the New Inn in the pretty village of Cropton, a pub with rooms and, happily, its own brewery out the back.
Pickering’s steep main street is where you’ll find the market every Monday and it’s also the best place to grab a bite to eat.
The Black Swan and, funnily enough, the White Swan are within a stone’s throw of one another.
The Black Swan (blackswan-pickering.co.uk) is an 17th Century coaching inn which new-ish owners Jill and Phil are sympathetically restoring bit by bit, adding modern touches while not losing any of the character. The food is super-tasty and beautifully presented.
We tried the White version (white-swan.co.uk) another night and, while equally cosy and characterful, it also boasts an impressive two AA rosettes.
Having had the sirloin steak and the caramelised chocolate mousse in the very traditional dining room at the back, we could certainly see why.
Pickering is the base for the North York Moors Railway, made famous not just by being used in the Harry Potter films and TV’s Heartbeat but also a recent Channel 5 behind-the-scenes documentary. It showed the hard work that goes into keeping this heritage line puffing along merrily.
Some £4 million is needed in the next few years for vital bridge and other work. But, as a passenger, it’s a sit-back-and-savour-the-steam delight.
Levisham, Goathland and Grosmont are the stops on the way up over the gorgeous Moors to Whitby.
There you’ll find old favourites such as the magnificent Abbey but there’s also the 33m-long replica of Captain Cook’s HM Bark Endeavour which has had the best part of £2 million lavished on it.
Clambering aboard, we
could only wonder at how the 95 crew lived on top of one another for the pioneering three-year voyage of discovery.
You really shouldn’t miss this new attraction.
Scarborough is another coastal must-do.
It has ancient wonders, too, like the brilliant Castle (english-heritage.org.uk) where you can not only explore 3,000 years of history but drink in the best views of the town and coast.
A real family favourite is the Sea Life Sanctuary (visitsealife.com/ scarborough).
We especially loved wandering through the penguin enclosure.
We then jumped on the North Bay Railway (nbr.org.uk) at the famous Peasholm Park.
One of the oldest miniature railways in the country, it was a fun way to rattle along the back of the Bay.
Jeremy’s was the perfect place to refuel at the end of a day.
Close by, the Open Air Theatre and beach, it’s a classy restaurant run by husband and wife team Jeremy and Anne Hollingsworth who learned their craft in London and Asia before returning to their home town.
And the best thing was that home-from-home Pickering was just a short drive away.