I can't believe we have never visited Helmsley until now. We decided to stay in this quaint little North Yorkshire town for my husbands birthday, following a trip to Castle Howard with our daughters to see the Christmas displays (also a magical Christmas must). As we loved it so much, we ventured back for 2 nights (which turned into a snowy 3 nights) just after the New Year.
My husband, a true Yorkshireman, loves a good old English pub and so after dropping off our bags in our family room at The Black Swan, we escaped the cold and headed over to The Feathers pub for our traditional family combination of beer, crisps and a game of cards by the roaring fire.
The evening was spent back at The Black Swan where we enjoyed a delicious hearty dinner followed by a cheeseboard and port by the fire. The Black Swan ticks all the boxes for a traditional and wholesome Yorkshire family break; cosy, reasonably priced, welcoming staff, well-positioned, ideal family-sized rooms and a great breakfast!
The next day we took a steam train from Pickering to Whitby, which can be booked through North Yorkshire Moors Railway. This was planned as a treat for my 9 year old Potter obsessed daughter as the train passes through Goathland Station, which is used as Hogsmeade Station in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
For a more sophisticated experience you could book the Pullman Dining Train through the same company, which offers a delightful dining experience in old-ye-world carriages - I've done this before sans children and it was a really sweet experience.
We headed back to The Black Swan for another wonderful meal together before all 4 of us climbed into one bed (there were 2 double beds) and snuggled with a movie. We have eaten at a lovely little Italian in the square before called La Trattoria but we just loved the cosy atmosphere of The Black Swan and it was perfect for a family so we chose to eat here for the entire trip this time.
The next morning we woke to a completely white Helmsley. A foot of snow had fallen overnight - luckily we'd packed the sledge and so off for an afternoon of sledging around Helmsley Castle we went. When we couldn't feel our fingers and toes anymore we ventured to Helmsley Brewing Co to get warm by the fire and toast to the gorgeous news that my husband had booked us into The Black Swan for another night! Snowed in in Helmsley. This place looks like something out of The Holiday in the snow.
Helmsley offers the most picturesque Yorkshire wonder; a darling old bookshop, coffee shops with homemade delicacies (we visited both Mannion & Co and The Feather Trail and both were yummy), butchers and bakers, an old brewery and the most charming old traditional pubs where you can while time away playing cards and chatting with locals. And if you're lucky, Helmsley will even recreate The Holiday magic for you by delivering a flurry of snow right on cue so you can claim to be snowed in to your kids teachers and book an extra night.
Life is short, carpe diem.
