PICKERING
Pickering is a busy market town that borders the southern edge of the North York Moors. It has Pickering Castle, Beck Isle Museum of Rural Life and is the start of the North York Moors Steam Railway, which runs for 18 glorious miles through spectacular countryside stopping at flower bedecked stations and deserted halts.
But first take a stroll around Pickering. It’s market day on Monday and farmers’ market on the first Thursday of the month. Mulberries on Bridge Street is a useful coffee stop and they open as a bistro on Friday and Saturday nights. Take lunch or dinner at the White Swan. where you can eat exceptionally well in bar or dining room from a menu lifting with regional produce.
Notably, the White Swan’s meat comes from farmer Tim Wilson (01751 460242) at nearby Levisham who owns the well-known London butcher, Ginger Pig, but happily supplies the kitchen’s of the White Swan exclusively with this wonderful meat. They’ve now combined to open Ginger Pig in the Market Place, with meat from the farm and prepared dishes from the Swan’s kitchen, wines, cheeses and lots more. Tutti’s (01751 470121),another White Swan enterprise, is a family friendly pizza and pasta restaurant in the Market Place.
Just out of town near the railway station is Moorland Trout Farm (01751 473101) where you can buy brown and rainbow trout. Cropton Brewery will sell you Yorkshire Moors ale to go with it, one of nine different ales in production at this microbrewery. Join a tour or sample them all at their pub, the New Inn, Cropton.
Superb organic vegetables are grown by Mike and Pam Sellers nearby at Standford Hall Farm which they sell from their Organic Farm Shop on Westgate Carr Road. Other passionate organic farmers are Howard and Rosemary Wass at Newfield Farm. Fadmoor. They sell at the farmers’ market and direct from the farm and run regular farm tours. Also out of town but well worth the detour is The Schoolhouse Inn, Low Marishes a beautifully restored inn with a menu to match: try loin of cod with bubble and squeak and brown shrimps or Yorkshire Dales lamb with parsnip puree and redcurrant sauce.
A Short detour on the A170 to Thorntondale will bring you to the new Cedar Barn Farm Shop and Cafe (01751 475614) where you can stock up on local produce, pick your own or perhaps a have a cup of coffee and a cake before heading for the coast.
SLEIGHTS & RUSWARP
The road from Pickering to Sleights takes in the rugged beauty of the North York Moors with steam trains chuffing through the valley below, the huge natural amphitheatre of the Hole of Horcum, and the giant spectral block of RAF Fylingdales, the ‘Star Wars’ early warning. In August the heather blooms spectacularly, a purple carpet stretching as far as the eye can see. Bend your patience and back for the tiny little blue/black berries in among the heather that will repay you with a bilberry pie and the taste of a rare fruit that is now all but forgotten.
As Whitby Abbey and the North Sea appear on the skyline, drop down into Sleights. This village alone will give you all the provisions needed for a dream picnic. Radford’s 01947 810229 is a butchers brimming with superlative home-cured ham, locally reared meat, home-cooked pies and pastries, and indulgent deli items. A few doors away is Botham’s, a family baker with branches in Whitby for bread and cakes but best of all for lovely Yorkshire Brack and gingerbread. In Ruswarp, the next village, A.P. Jackson 01947 820085 is another quality butcher.
WHITBY
Whitby, created and split by the river Esk as it cut its way through the land to form two cliffs, is linked today by the swing bridge, that opens periodically for river traffic to pass through into Whitby’s inner harbour. The old town on the east has picturesque and cobbled Church Street, the famous 199 steps that lead to Whitby Abbey and the lovably eccentric St Mary’s Church. The newer part on west cliff has a whale bone arch, a statue of Whitby’s most famous son, Captain Cook who was apprenticed here, and a beach that stretches almost uninterrupted for two miles to the sweet little village of Sandsend.
Begin on the west where there are two branches of Botham’s in Skinner Street and Baxtergate for old fashioned cream cakes, coconut pyramids, jam tarts, blousy meringues or their sweet and sticky tea bread, Yorkshire Brack. The trendier Courtyard Creperie, (closed winter) 01947 820828 hidden away beneath the Stonehouse Emporium on Skinner Street, serves distinctive crepes in a tasteful basement café.
On Pier Road down by the harbour you will find Whitby’s newest fish shop the Whitby Catch for the freshest fish straight off the boats that land on the fish quay opposite. Cod, haddock, plaice, turbot, halibut, even langoustine are all landed by Whitby boats. In summer wonderful brown crab and lobster are caught in pots all along this stretch of coast. If your appetite for fish and chips has been stimulated, you are only a stroll away from the famous Magpie Café for a mega plate of haddock and chips served in a pretty bow windowed cottage. Be there at opening time (11.30am) to avoid the legendary queues. Otherwise head for Church Street and a smart little fish and chip shop called Mr Chips. Rather more hip is the Moon and Sixpence with ravishing views across the harbour, a tray of oysters on the bar and champagne by the glass. There are also light meals, fish dishes, coffee and cocktails. For a taste of fresh local produce, head for Green’s, just over the swing bridge, where Rob Green ‘s cooking maximises the local catch with fine dining upstairs and a lively bistro on the ground floor. The dark and moody interior of the White Horse and Griffin, is an atmospheric lunch or dinner option. Almost opposite on Church Street, children will drag you into Chocolate Falls where decadent kebabs of strawberries and marshmallow are dipped into a cascading fountain of melted chocolate. Surrender.
Still in Church Street, the much loved Shepherd’s Purse 01947 820228 spills over with wholefoods, cheeses and coffee beans. At the back Sanders Yard serves soups, snacks and homemade cakes in a rustic setting which includes a lounge of squashy sofas, newspapers and toys, a boon for weary families with fractious kids. Henrietta Street is where the legendary Fortune’s 01947 601659 smoke house can be found. A simple hut, where you buy a pair of oak smoked kippers wrapped in newspaper from the tar blackened smokehouse next door. Work off Whitby’s gourmet treats by climbing the 199 steps to the Abbey and the church. Reward yourself at the newly restored Grade 1-listed youth hostel at Abbey House, where you can enjoy panoramic views with a cup of tea, drinks, cakes and snacks.
SANDSEND
Travelling north along the coast road you reach Sandsend with a generous beach and an engaging collection of tea shops. Choose from the Sandside Café - a classic seaside hut with sandwiches, ice-cream and great views inside and out. They’ll let you take a tray of tea to a bench above the beach. At the entrance to Mulgrave Woods is the Bridge Cottage Café Tea Rooms, a 16 th century white-washed cottage where afternoon tea comes on a tiered stand with sandwiches, scones, cakes - the works. At the far end of the village, next to the council car park, is the quaint Wits End Café for snacks, salads, homemade cakes, Yorkshire ice cream and a licence. Evening meals are available at Estbek House where they serve a fish dominated menu in an attractive Georgian house.
GOLDSBOROUGH
Turn off the Whitby road for the hamlet of Goldsborough and the Fox and Hounds 01947 893372, an exceptional little gastropub. A simple garden is just the place to eat out a sunny day with long coastal views; otherwise squeeze up inside and drool over Jason Davies’s fabulous cooking. Knockout dishes should include a creamy pea and mint risotto; steak and chips laced with a herby garlic butter; and a memorable halibut served with potatoes crushed with flavours of wild mushroom.
STAITHES
It’s hard to imagine that Staithes was once one of the most important fishing villages along this coast with some 80 flat bottomed cobles landing cod by the stone. Only a handful of boats still put out today but they land a valuable catch of mostly crab and lobster. You can buy these and daily fresh fish from the small industrial estate at the top of the hill beyond the council car park (where you must park your car).
Whitby Sea Fish are wholesale merchants who buy daily from Staithes and Whtiby boats. They are happy to serve callers with cod, halibut, turbot, langoustine and whatever else is landed. Next door they cook and dress locally caught crabs; and, next door again, Tim ‘the lobster man’ Turnbull keeps live lobsters in carefully controlled storage tanks. He’ll sell you one at a fraction of the price of a London restaurant, but you will have to kill and cook it yourself.
At the bottom of the hill in the old village is the tiny Sea Drift Café 01947 841345 where you can sit out on the harbourside with a latte, a cappuccino or a hot chocolate topped with cream and marshmallows. Their speciality is coble cake – a spiced sponge filled with apple puree and served warm with cream. At night, enjoy the candlit cosiness of the Endeavour, for a grown up meal of real quality. Fresh fish simply but superbly cooked or Staithes lobster with hazelnut butter is irresistible.
INGLEBY ARNCLIFFE
McCoys at the Tontine is a lovely old stone house, situated incongruously on a traffic island between the A19 and the A172, and it’s a bit of a legend. Launched 30 years ago by the McCoy brothers Eugene, Tom and Peter it’s quirky décor, maverick style and distinctive food made it a famous destination restaurant and hotel. Today, the operation has scaled down but the quirky style remains. Eat in the bistro on satisfying British dishes.
OSMOTHERLEY
The last stop before heading for York, must be a short hop off the A19 to the Golden Lion in the elegant village of Osmotherley. It’s a simple white-washed pub has a simple menu of hearty retro dishes like chicken Kiev and beef strogonoff and packs them in every day at lunch and dinner. Best to book
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