Helmsley is the Knightsbridge of Yorkshire Market towns, not least because it’s home to two of Yorkshire’s finest luxury boutique hotels – The Feversham Arms and The Black Swan. Both of which I’ve had the pleasure of an overnight sojourn.
25 miles north of York, Helmsley is a picture-postcard place made up of chocolate-box antique shops, boutiques, tea rooms, sweetshops, a wonderful butcher, cheesemonger, bakeries, bookshops and a of course a fair few decent boozers.
I purchased some lamb chops and a selection of cheeses from the butcher – the lamb, local of course, was delicious, and the cheeses – a Skipton Blue and a Brie, were both delightful.
A charming little beck lined with thousands of daffodils in the spring month flows under a pretty humpback bridge and up through the town towards a very well kept, and rather imposing church. A scene that regularly frequents Yorkshire promotional material, and rightly so.
The town also has its very own castle and a brewery, and the Indian restaurant on the market square with pillar box red shutters and the most incredible flower-filled baskets when the weather will allow, is most definitely the most striking curry house you will ever cast your eyes on.
When you plan your trip to Hemlsley, make sure your route takes you up Sutton Bank – if Yorkshire had a Grand Prix circuit, this would be the highlight – a steep hill with crazy hairpin bends and a 25% gradient. Caravans are banned from Sutton bank so leave yours at home.
Those crazy Tour de Yorkshire cyclists climbed the bank back in 2016 – the burn on their posteriors must have been nothing short of excruciating.
Once you reach the top, park up in the Sutton Bank National Park Centre car park and head over the road to the viewing platform.
When the weather behaves itself, the views from here across Roulston Scar, Hood Hill, Gormire Lake and beyond are nothing short of abso-fucking-lutely breathtakingly jaw dropping. Magnificent with a capital M. Especially if you time it right and get there just as the sun is setting just like it did for me in my shot below…
There’s loads of hiking and biking trails around the area too if that’s what takes your fancy.
If you’ve been to Hemsley and have a recommendation that I have missed, please slap it in the comments below for all to see.
I do hope you enjoyed this post.
Lyndsey x
If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the following posts:
My review of The Feversham Arms in Helmsey
My review of Black Swan Hotel in Helmsley
Guest Post – Afternoon tea at The Black Swan by Ellie
All the photos are my own.
