Yorkshire


<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-vibe">THE VIBE</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2048" height="1365" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-116.jpg" alt="White Swan Pickering" class="wp-image-8518" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-116.jpg 2048w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-116-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-116-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-116-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-116-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /></figure>



<p>The White Swan has been part of the pretty town of Pickering for centuries and was a welcome and picturesque sight as I trudged up the road from the Coastliner bus. The brief walk was like stepping back in time, past pretty painted shops and dinky alleyways. An old coaching inn, the White Swan also has all these heritage hallmarks and I was made to feel immediately welcome on arrival, despite rocking up in Crocs.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-scoff-quaff">SCOFF/QUAFF</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2048" height="1152" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-188.jpg" alt="White Swan, Pickering" class="wp-image-8519" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-188.jpg 2048w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-188-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-188-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-188-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-188-1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /></figure>



<p>The heritage vibe continued through to dinner time, with Glen Miller on the radio, impeccably polite waiting staff and a nice secluded table for me to indulge my <em>Goodnight Sweetheart</em> fantasies. The dining room is cosy and warm, with wine labels plastered on the ceiling and artfully placed books and artefacts. <br><br>Even my food choices were hearty and old-fashioned (in a good way), with a warming cauliflower and cheese soup to start and an elderflower panna cotta and Yorkshire strawberries for pudding. These bookended a lovely blue cheese risotto (yes I eat too much cheese, no I don’t care) and went down nicely with a glass of fizz. I could have happily had the seabass with garlic and rosemary potatoes or lamb rump with fondant potato. Breakfast was a treat, with a selection of pastries, fruits, yoghurts and juices, plenty of toast and a choice of the full breakfast or smoked kippers (continuing my vintage expedition). Thank goodness for the long Coastliner journey home.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pillow-talk">PILLOW TALK</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2048" height="1152" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-245.jpg" alt="White Swan, Pickering " class="wp-image-8520" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-245.jpg 2048w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-245-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-245-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-245-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-245-1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /></figure>



<p>The main inn’s rooms are on the first and second floors, with “Hideaway” rooms in the converted outbuildings, a few seconds’ walk across the carpark. This walk is enough to make you feel like you’re in a secluded setting. My room/bothy had lovely views across the town at the back and a satisfying low-level desk in a good people-watching spot at the front. My bed was one of those beds you fantasise about after a long flight. Enormous and just the right balance between hard and soft, I sank into it and into a deep, deep sleep. I particularly enjoyed the guest instructions (whoever wrote these is a genius, by the way) to hang a “please haunt my room” hanger on the door for extra excitement in the night. The bathroom was luxurious with gorgeously scented Bramley toiletries and a giant bath.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-accessibility">ACCESSIBILITY</h3>



<p>The Hideaway rooms are all on the level and designed with wheelchair access in mind.&nbsp;The restaurant has a ramp but the bar area can be tricky to navigate.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-family-friendly">FAMILY FRIENDLY</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2048" height="1365" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-253.jpg" alt="White Swan, Pickering " class="wp-image-8521" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-253.jpg 2048w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-253-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-253-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-253-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/yorkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2026/06/TWSJuly2023-253-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /></figure>



<p>All the accommodation here is family friendly and children under 2 stay free of charge. There’s a separate children’s menu but the chef is happy to make smaller portions for kids and you can request an early supper for little ones too. Dogs are also welcome with open arms and the Hideaway rooms have practical stone flooring (with underfloor heating) and a porch area for wellies and drying off. Beds are provided on request and woofers get a bag of treats on arrival.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-out-amp-about">OUT &amp; ABOUT</h3>



<p>Wandering down Pickering’s main street I felt dressed for the wrong century in a T-shirt and Crocs (yeah I did, shhh). Cursing myself for forgetting to do my victory rolls, I spent a lovely hour or so gazing in old-fashioned shop windows, chatting to an extremely friendly charity shop worker and soaking up the fantastic medieval murals in the church. It&#8217;s a lovely town with some sweet shops and a great market but if you’re travelling by car there’s plenty to see and do nearby, including the North York Moor Railway, Pickering Castle, Castle Howard, Eden Camp and the whole of the North York Moors. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-damage">THE DAMAGE</h3>



<p>Rooms start at £135 up to £275 with dinner, bed and breakfast.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-muddy-verdict">MUDDY VERDICT</h3>



<p>This is a gorgeous, classy bolthole of a hotel, perfect for a peaceful stay but ideal if you have restless legs and need a wander into a town centre or can’t cope with a hotel in the middle of nowhere. Bonus points for it being easy to get to (not quite as easy to leave once you’ve filled up with kippers though).&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong><a href="https://www.white-swan.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The White Swan Inn, Pickering</a>,  </strong>Market Place, Pickering, North Yorkshire, YO18 7AA</p>


Review: White Swan Inn, Pickering

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