The White Swan Inn

About The White Swan Inn

The White Swan has stood on Pickering's market place since the sixteenth century and has been in the same family's hands for decades, which shows in the level of care. Twenty-one rooms are split between the old inn, where the Vintage rooms have antique beds and sloping floors, and the converted stables behind, where the Hideaway rooms are larger and quieter.

Food and wine are taken seriously: the kitchen buys game and beef locally, the fish comes off the Whitby boats, and the cellar has an unusually deep list of St Emilion, a legacy of the owners' long relationship with one particular estate. The bar has flagged floors and a proper fire, and it is open to non-residents.

Pickering is the most practical base in the southern moors. The North Yorkshire Moors Railway terminus is a two-minute walk, Pickering Castle sits above the town, Dalby Forest is ten minutes away and Whitby around forty. Thornton-le-Dale and the Hole of Horcum are both close. Dogs are welcome by arrangement, and there is parking on site.