Pickering

For the town of Pickering in Canada, see Pickering (Ontario).

Pickering is a market and agricultural town in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, with the North York Moors rising behind. The town slumped from 1965 when it lost its railway, but this helped preserve its historic centre. It revived from 1973 when the line was restored as a heritage steam railway and tourism developed, and in 2011 it had a population of 6830.

The town is probably named for an Anglo-Saxon called Picer, so his family and dependents would be called Pickerings. The Domesday Book of 1086 counted 30 villagers organised into 9 plough-teams, and the whole lot was worth £1 and tuppence.

Get in

By train

The nearest mainline railway station is Malton. This has hourly trains from Liverpool Lime Street via Manchester Victoria, Leeds and York to Malton and Scarborough. From London and the south, change at York. At Malton change for Coastliner Bus 840; the bus and railway stations are adjacent.

Pickering is the south terminus of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. It's a heritage standard-gauge line running from Whitby, often steam-hauled, and seasonal, see below. In summer there are four trains a day so it's a realistic transport option.

1 Pickering Railway Station is on Park Street north side of town centre.

By bus

Pickering Castle

Coastliner 840 bus operates between Leeds (2 hr 22 min), Tadcaster (1 hr 54 min), York (1 hr 9 min), Malton (25 min) and Pickering, then continues on to Thornton le Dale (6 min). This service runs approximately every hour until early evening on Mondays to Saturdays. There are five Sunday buses most of these only run to/from Malton where a connection to York and Leeds is provided. Four buses per day (2 Sunday) continue past Thornton le Dale across the North York Moors to Goathland (38 min) and Whitby (1 hr 6 min). It is a modern fleet of buses with comfortable seats. The top deck offers great views, particularly on the trip over the moors, and has been nationally-recognised as Britain's most scenic bus route.

The main stop is Eastgate.

East Yorkshire Bus 128 runs from Scarborough via Seamer, Brompton and Thornton-le-Dale to Pickering (one hour), Kirkbymoorside and Helmsley (40 minutes). There are eight services a day, running every two hours Monday to Saturday. A Sunday service runs between Pickering and Scarborough with four buses in each direction. During Summer this improves to six buses which run through from Scarborough to Helmsley.

In Apr-Sep on Friday and Saturday, the Moors Bus runs twice from Malton to Pickering, Kirkbymoorside and Danby. The morning and evening buses are from and to York. On Sunday Apr-Sep they also run once from Darlington, Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough and twice from Guisborough via Danby and Kirbymoorside to Pickering.

By road

From the south take A64 east past York to Malton then A169 north; this road winds on across the moors from Pickering to Whitby.

A170 crosses the moors from Thirsk: caravans and heavy vehicles must not attempt Sutton Bank, where the road climbs the western scarp of the moors. A170 continues east via Helmsley and Kirkbymoorside to Pickering, and on through Brompton to Scarborough.

There are car parks on Eastgate (near the roundabout), The Ropery and Vivis Lane. Whilst The Ropery is short stay, Vivis Lane and Eastgate are long stay. All three car parks are operated by Ryedale District Council.

All approach roads and car parks get very congested on summer weekends.

Get around

Walk - everything in town is close by. But you'll need wheels to get out into the moors.

See

• The attractive old town is centred on Market Place.
• St Peter and St Paul's Church on Hall Garth is an Anglican church with remarkable wall paintings from circa 1450. They were plastered over in the Reformation and forgotten until 1852 when the plaster crumbled: the affronted vicar had them whitewashed over. His successor 25 years later had them restored.

What the vicar saw

• St Joseph's RC Church on Potter Hill dates from 1911.
• 1 Beck Isle Museum of Rural Life, Bridge St, Pickering YO18 8DU, ☏ +44 1751 473653. Apr–Oct: daily 10AM-5PM. Local history museum: the early 19th C building was for many years a medical practice. Exhibits major on the Victorian era. Adult £7, child £4 (under 5 free), conc £6, family £18. (updated Jun 2020)
• 2 Pickering Castle, Castlegate YO18 7AX, ☏ +44 1751 474989. Daily 10AM-5PM. Norman castle, built in stone in the 12th century replacing a timber fort. It's well preserved as it took little part in later conflicts such as the Wars of the Roses or Civil War. Adult £6.50, child £3.90, conc £5.90. (updated Jun 2020)
• The town park is just north of the castle.
• Pickering Railway Station, Park Street YO18 7AJ. Daily 9AM-6PM. You can stroll around the station and watch the steam trains free without buying a ticket. The station tea room serves meals and snacks and there's a souvenir shop. The line is 24 miles of standard gauge from Pickering via Levisham, Newtondale, Goathland and Grosmont to Whitby - moorland walks branch off from the intermediate halts. Trains run Apr-Oct with four or more per day at the height of summer. (updated Jun 2020)
• 3 Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton-le-Hole YO62 6UA (5 miles northwest of town), ☏ +44 1751 417367. Daily to Sep: 10AM-5PM, Oct - mid-Nov: 10AM-4PM. Small museum of local life on the moors. A small gallery has rotating art exhibitions. Adult £8.75, child & conc £7. (updated Jul 2020)
• See North York Moors for Dalby Forest.
• See Helmsley for Nunnington Hall and Rievaulx Abbey.
• See Malton for Castle Howard.

Do

• Trips on the steam railway across the moors to Whitby - see above. Day trips are feasible.
• 1 Northern Ryedale Leisure Centre, Lady Lumley School, 41 Swainsea Lane, Pickering YO18 8NG, ☏ +44 1751 476726. M-F 5-9:30PM, Sa 9:30AM-5:30PM, Su 10:30AM-8:30PM. Gym, climbing wall, sports hall and fitness classes. There isn't a pool. (updated Jun 2020)
• 2 Ryedale Swim and Fitness Centre, Mill Lane, Pickering YO18 8DJ, ☏ +44 1751 473351. M-F 7AM-10PM, Sa Su 8:30AM-4PM. Gym and 25-m swimming pool. (updated Jun 2020)
• Kirk Theatre is unlikely to reopen before 2021.
• 3 Flamingo Land — see Malton for this theme park and zoo.
• See Helmsley for Ryedale Show, held in Kirkbymoorside in July.
• Ryedale Festival is a music festival held in late July. The next event is 12th-28th July 2024 with some events being held in Pickering.

Buy

• Market day is Monday, with Market Place closed to traffic. The Country Market is held Th 9:30-11:30AM in WRVS Hall on Hungate.
• The Hidden Market indoors off Market Place is mostly homeware and clothing. Coop Food is next door.
• Lidl in town centre is the main superstore. It's open M-Sa 8AM-10PM, Su 10AM-4PM.

Eat

• 1 Caffe Stop, 1 Eastgate Square, Pickering YO18 7DP. M-Sa 8AM-4PM, Su 9AM-3PM. Family-run cafe with breakfast, lunch, coffee, drinks and snacks; has tables and outdoor seating. (updated Jun 2020)
• 2 Figaro, 2 Birdgate, Pickering YO18 7AL, ☏ +44 1751 477733. Daily 5-9PM. Cheerful place serves pizza and other Italian staples. (updated Jun 2020)
• 3 Spice 4 U, 41 Hungate, Pickering YO18 7DG, ☏ +44 1751 473334. Daily 5:30-11:30PM. Reliable Indian restaurant serves all the classics. (updated Jun 2020)
• White Swan gets the best ratings in town for food, see Sleep.

Drink

1 Bay Horse, 8 Market Place, Pickering YO18 7AA, ☏ +44 1751 472526. Daily 11:30AM-11:30PM. Friendly central pub has good food. (updated Jun 2020)

Black Swan on Birdgate has its own micro-brewery and serves a fine range of its own beers and larger. See Sleep.

2 Rose Inn, Bridge St, YO18 8DT, ☏ +44 7823 568 956. gets mixed reviews for service and food quality (updated Jan 2021)

3 The Sun, 136 Westgate, YO18 8BB, ☏ +44 1751 473661. M-Th 4-11PM, F Sa noon-midnight, Su noon-11PM. Traditional free house serves Tetleys Cask and five guest ales plus selection of cider. Beer garden, dog-friendly, often has live music. (updated Jun 2020)

Sleep

• 1 Ingledene Beckside Campsite, Mill Lane, Pickering YO18 8DJ, ☏ +44 7508 823785. Friendly well-run camping and caravan site half a mile south of town, open year round. Pitch £20, hook-up £24. (updated Jun 2020)
• White Swan Hotel, Market Place, Pickering YO18 7AA, ☏ +44 1751 472288. Charming small hotel in centuries-old inn. Some street and bar noise. B&B double £190. (updated Jun 2020)
• 2 The Black Swan, 18 Birdgate, Pickering YO18 7AL, ☏ +44 1751 798209, admin@blackswan-pickering.co.uk. 17th-century coaching inn with its own brewery, good food. B&B double £90. (updated Jun 2020)
• 3 Forest and Vale Hotel (Best Western), Malton Rd, Pickering YO18 7DLT, ☏ +44 1751 472722. Well-run friendly franchise hotel in Georgian mansion. B&B double £110. (updated Jun 2020)
• Hungate Cottages, Pickering YO18 7ET, ☏ +44 1751 476382, holidays@hungatecottages.co.uk. 11 self-catering cottages near town centre, the smaller cottages sleep 4, the largest 11. Rentals are by the week from Saturday, shorter breaks available out of season. Dogs welcome in several cottages. From £440 / week. (updated Jun 2020)
• 4 Lastingham Grange, High St, Lastingham YO62 6TH, ☏ +44 1751 417345. Charming little hotel in 17th-century farmhouse with extensive gardens, set in North York Moors. Open mid-Mar to mid-Nov. B&B double from £190. (updated Jun 2020)

Connect

Pickering has a good mobile and 4G signal from all UK carriers. As of Jan 2021, 5G has not reached this area.

Go next

• Whitby has an attractive harbour and ruined abbey. It's where Dracula reached England, perhaps planning to attend the town's Gothic Festival.
• Scarborough is a Victorian seaside resort. Cliffs stretch north through picturesque Robin Hood's Bay to Whitby; south is Filey, Bridlington and Flamborough Head.
• York retains its medieval walls and has a great collection of sights and attractions.