THINGS TO DO IN PICKERING & NORTH YORKSHIRE
“Intimate and small scale, and at the same time packed to bursting with incident and interest”
Bill Bryson – Notes from a Small Island
🍴 EAT & DRINK
Our favourite places for breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, cake, and a good Yorkshire pint.
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👨👩👧 Family Friendly ·
♿ Accessibility ·
🌱 Vegetarian / Vegan ·
🐕 Dog Friendly ·
🫖 Drinks ·
🥐 Breakfasts ·
🥪 Lunches ·
🍴 Dinners ·
🍰 Cakes / Sweet Treats ·
🥡 Takeaway ·
🚶 Walkable from the Cottage
Disclaimer: Restaurants, attractions and other venues can change their opening times, availability or services. We do our best to keep our recommendations accurate and up to date, but details can change, sometimes at short notice. It is always worth checking directly with the venue before making a special journey.
Ivy’s Tea Rooms
Market Place · Tea Room
👨👩👧 · 🐕 · 🍰 · 🥪 · 🌱 ·🚶· ♿ (1 small step in entrance)
A lovely traditional tea room right in the heart of Pickering, serving homemade food, cakes, and drinks.
⭐ Why we like it
Excellent homemade food and drink served with genuine care and kindness. A lovely independent local business.
📍 From The Swiss Cottage
About a 2 minute walk – right on the Market Place near the White Swan.
The White Swan Inn
Market Place . Gastro Pub
🐕 · 🥪 · 🍽️ · 🌱 · 🚶♂️ · 🍷
An 18th century characterful Pickering favourite, serving excellent food in the heart of town.
⭐ Why we like it
Delicious lunches and evening meals, with a lovely atmosphere and friendly service. A warm and cosy location both for dining, and a few drinks with friends and family.
📍 From The Swiss Cottage
About a 2 minute walk – right on the Market Place.
Namaste Bengal
Market Place . Indian Restaurant and Takeaway
🍽️ · 🌱 · 🚶♂️ · 🍷 · ♿️ · 🥡
A welcoming Indian restaurant serving flavour-packed curries, tandoori dishes, biryanis and plenty of vegetarian choices.
⭐ Why we like it
Delicious, freshly prepared food with lovely friendly service. A great choice for an easy evening meal — whether you fancy eating in or taking something back to the cottage. And believe them when they say they can make it flavoursome and spicy 🌶️
📍 From The Swiss Cottage
About a 2 minute walk – right on the Market Place opposite the Bay Horse.
Capplemans Fish & Chips
Market Place · Fish & Chips · Eat In or Takeaway
👨👩👧 · 🐟 · 🥡 · 🌱 · ♿️
Proper Yorkshire fish and chips, cooked fresh, with the choice to eat in or take them away. Gluten-free options are also available.
⭐ Why we like it
Crisp batter, good fish and generous chips — exactly what you want from a traditional chippy. Handy too when you want an easy supper without having to cook. Eat in or take-away. You can also pre-order online!
📍 From The Swiss Cottage
Just a few minutes’ walk away at 11 Market Place.
Spice4U, Pickering
Hungate · Indian Cuisine · Eat In or Takeaway
👨👩👧 · 🐟 · 🥡 · 🌱 · 🌶️
Pickering’s Institution – Spice4U feels like it has been there forever, in a great way. Traditional Indian dishes, with high quality ingredients. The staff are very attentive and knowledgable.
⭐ Why we like it
Fresh, quality ingredients ensure you can indulge a bit, but still feel good about it. The vibe in the restaurant is always bustling, no matter what day, proving time and time again that the standard has remained high. 🌶️ If they say hot, they mean it too!
📍 From The Swiss Cottage
About 3-5 minutes walk back towards the Forest & Vale Roundabout and turn right. Or, stop for an aperitif at The Black Swan, and pop through their garden straight there.
🏰 SEE & DO
Historic places, attractions and some of our favourite things to discover in and around Pickering.
North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR)
Pickering Station · Heritage Railway
👨👩👧👦 · 🐕 · 🚂 · 🌳 · 🚶 · ♿️ – limited specific space, but the staff do work extremely hard on accessibility. Call ahead for peace of mind.
Step aboard one of Yorkshire’s great heritage railways and travel through the beautiful North York Moors by steam or diesel train. The 24-mile route runs from Pickering towards the coast, with stops including Goathland and Grosmont and services through to Whitby.
⭐ Why we like it
It feels like an adventure from the moment you walk into Pickering’s wonderful old station. Beautiful scenery, historic trains and a genuinely lovely day out for children and adults alike. With frequent visiting heritage trains, special events throughout the year, onboard dining, and standard passenger travel, these trains are a vital asset in supporting our local community.
📍 From The Swiss Cottage
Only a few minutes’ walk away — Pickering Station is right in the heart of town, so you can leave the car behind and begin your day on foot.
Pickering Castle
Castlegate · English Heritage
👨👩👧👦 · 🐕 · 🏰 · 🌳 · 🚶
A remarkably peaceful Norman castle sitting just above the town. Explore its surviving stone towers, climb the motte for lovely views across Pickering, and discover how the original timber fortress gradually developed into the castle you see today.
⭐ Why we like it
It’s one of those places that feels slightly hidden despite being right in Pickering. There’s plenty for children to explore, space to wander, and enough history to make a short visit genuinely interesting without it becoming an all-day expedition.
📍 From The Swiss Cottage
An easy walk along Burgate onto Castlegate.
Beck Isle Museum
Beck Isle, Pickering · Historic Walking Tours
👨👩👧👦 · 🚶
A special collection of heritage artefacts and local tales through time. Including areas which feel like you are in the ancients streets of Pickering. It’s not huge, but has a great deal packed in, with indoor and outdoor areas to explore. Expect to spend a minimum of 2 hours here if reading steadily.
⭐ Why we like it
If local history interests you, and you want to really get to know an area that you are visiting, then Beck Isle Museum certainly spins a yarn. It’s cosy, but doesn’t feel stuffy at all.
📍 From The Swiss Cottage
An easy walk down Burgate and down Market Place.
Community Park
Parkland and Community Access · Children’s Secure Playground · Grassland and Wooded Areas · Adult Outdoor Gym Equipments · Skateboard and Scooter Pump Track · Clean Toilet Facilities · Parking
👨👩👧👦 · 🚶· ♿️ · 🚾 · 🌳 · 🛝 · 🐕
Accessible by foot through the woods, and by wheelchair and pram via the paths, with car parking facilities, picnic areas, an enclosed children’s play area, pump track and more… the Pickering Community Park has something for everyone.
⭐ Why we like it
A welcoming location which is accessible across all ages. Enough space to allow peace and quite, while small children play. Toilet facilities!
Every Sunday morning the community hosts a Junior Park Run! And other town events are marketed throughout the year.
📍 From The Swiss Cottage
10 – 15 Mins Walk · The woodland route is not advisable for wheelchair users or prams 🚫 ♿️
🌳 WALKS & NATURE ADVENTURES
From easy local walks to the North Yorkshire Moors, forests and the great Yorkshire Coast.
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👨👩👧 Family Friendly ·
♿ Accessibility ·
🐕 Dog Friendly ·
🫖 Light Refreshments En-Route ·
🥪 Lunches En-Route ·
⚠️ Caution Required ·
🌊 Watch Tide Times
Disclaimer: These walks and recommendations are based on our own experiences and are intended as personal suggestions only. Anyone choosing to follow a route does so at their own risk and remains responsible for their own safety, judgement, equipment and suitability for the conditions. We cannot accept responsibility for accidents, injuries or other incidents that may occur.
Robin Hood’s Bay to Boggle Hole Circular
Approx: 5k · Beach and Clifftop Walk · Fossil Hunting
🐕 · 🫖 · 🥪 · 🦖 · 🌊 · ⚠️
Visiting Robin Hood’s Bay is highly recommended, but due to the nature of the town, it is not easily accessible to all. The higgledy-piggledy streets, and steep road leading down to the beach can feel challenging.
With it’s history for smugglers and pirates, and being a fossil rich cliff line, it makes for a very atmospheric day out – even without much of a walk.
⚠️ EXTREME CAUTION OF ERODING CLIFFS & HIGH TIDES ⚠️
⭐ Our favourite walk
· Starting at the slipway on RHB beach, follow the beach southward for approximately 2km. An inlet with a small stream enters the sea at a point called Boggle Hole.
· The YHA is frequently open for tea and coffee, and can provide lunches.
· From the YHA you can hike up to the cliff top back in the direction of Robin Hood’s Bay. Follow a further 2km back to RHB.
📍 From The Swiss Cottage
Approx 45 Minutes Drive – Public transport is possible but takes approx 2 hours.
May Beck, Falling Foss, Little Beck
Approx: 5k · Loop Section and There and Back · Nature · Waterfall
🐕 · 🫖 · 🥪 · ⚠️
Walking along the banks of two steams, May Beck and Little Beck. The flora changing with the seasons. Falling Foss Tea Rooms is open in good weather in high season. Check their website if you want to rely on them, or take a packed lunch / snack.
⚠️ IT IS NOT ADVISABLE TO WALK DOWN TO THE WATERFALL BASE ⚠️
⭐ Our favourite walk
· Starting at the May Beck Car Park, follow the trail with the stream on your left hand side.
· After about 1.5km you will reach the Falling Foss Tea Rooms and waterfall.
· Continue approximately a further 1km and The Hermitage rock is standing on your right hand side. There are even two arm chairs carved on the top of The Hermitage. Return along Little Beck, or simply retrace your steps the same way.
📍 From The Swiss Cottage
Approx 55 Minutes Drive
Pickering and Newtondale Loop
Approx: 10k · Loop · Stiles and Steep Forest Sections · Nature
🐕 · 🫖 · 🥪 · ⚠️
Straight from the door of the cottage, this hike takes in some of the beautiful landscape around Pickering.
Newtondale spreads out along Pickering Beck with the NYMR track heading out towards the moors through the base of the valley.
⚠️ NOT ACCESSIBLE FOR WHEELCHAIR USERS ⚠️
⭐ Our favourite walk
· Starting at the Cottage, turn right towards the Castle and head to the Community Park.
· Across the fields for around 2km and through the gate into the Newtondale Woods..
· Drop down into the valley, cross the stream and watch out for passing trains as you cross the track!
· Follow the track direction Pickering and over the final fields with the beck, to arrive back at the NYMR station.
📍 Other Information
There are toilets at the Community Park – at the top end. Apart from that, no facilities along the route.
♿ SPECIAL SHOUT OUT FOR ACCESSIBILITY
We know first hand the importance of access, and the value that wheelchair and pram accessibility can make to many people’s well-being. Here are a few notable places which we feel worked hard to tick the box of Excellent Accessibility.
The Yorkshire Arboretum
Castle Howards · Specialist Tree Park · Tea Room · Red Squirrel Enclosure
🐕 · ♿️ · 🌳 · 🐿️ · ☕ · 🍰 · 🥪
A beautiful and welcoming place to enjoy stunning parkland, excellent food, and a visit to the much-loved red squirrel enclosure. The Yorkshire Arboretum also offers electric mobility scooters free of charge when booked in advance, helping visitors of all abilities explore and enjoy the grounds.
⭐ What stood out to us
A wonderfully inclusive place to visit. The free pre-bookable mobility scooters make the arboretum far more accessible, and the staff are caring, empathetic, and knowledgeable. The food on site is excellent too, making it an easy and enjoyable day out.
📍 From The Swiss Cottage
Approx: 26 Minutes by car.
Electric mobility scooters are available free of charge when booked in advance, but a small donation is appreciated for their upkeep. The scooters can be available spontaneously, so always ask if you forgot to reserve in advance.
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway
Pickering · Heritage Railway · On Board Meals and Seasonal Events
🐕 · ♿️ · 🐿️ · ☕ · 🍰 · 🥪
Technically already aforementioned. but the care for the individuals that the volunteers give here is outstanding. They do everything they can to ensure their trains are as accessible as possible. Limited by the age and design of the carriages, they have always gone out of their way to help.
⭐ What you need to know
· The ramp to get in and out is steep, but the staff are there to help.
· Remember to mention your needs on booking.
· Allow extra time for comfort and ease of boarding.
