Built in the early 17th-century and once home to the diarist Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, historic red-brick Middlethorpe Hall is one of three hotels in the UK owned by the National Trust. It’s surrounded by 20 acres of glorious gardens and parkland, which includes a white garden, rose garden, a kitchen garden with a restored Dovecote turned wine cellar, and an arboretum which leads to the lake. Traditional country house style rooms are divided between the main hall and an adjacent restored courtyard, decorated with antique furniture, chintzy floral curtains and cosy textiles. There are also connecting rooms for families (children over age six are welcome) and garden and cottage suites for those wanting more privacy. Sit down for a candlelit supper in the pair of oak-panelled dining rooms or, in the summer, on the south-facing terrace: choose from the gourmet tasting menu or three-course menu, which might include Yorkshire duck say, followed by bakewell tart. Don’t miss the secluded spa either, which has its own garden, indoor pool, steam room and sauna.
Three miles from Ripon, grade II-listed Mallard Grange sits at the heart of its namesake working cattle-and-crop farm, which has been owned by the Johnson family since 1933. Run by Maggie, the bed and breakfast has four rooms: two in the farmhouse reached by a winding staircase, the others in a converted blacksmith forge nearby. During a stay, guests might glimpse geese and ducks on the pond, see birds such as red kites and kestrels soaring overhead or rabbits and hares hopping among the hedgerows. As you’d hope being on a farm, the aga-cooked Yorkshire breakfast is an ingredients driven feast, featuring everything from pressed apple juice and homemade marmalade to Kirby Butchers bacon and eggs from the chickens that roam the courtyard outside (there’s also a flock of sheep, cats, dogs and Doris the horse who makes friends with anyone who feeds her polos). Gather round the dining room table with your fellow guests and fuel up for the day.
With its cricket pitch, wooden water wheel, 19th-century church and duck pond, the rural village of North Stainley combines all the character of the past with the needs of a modern-day community. In recent years, it has been rejuvenated by the owners of the North Stainley Estate, who are also behind the refurbished Staveley Arms pub and The Old Coach House, which stands in the grounds of North Stainley Hall overlooking a lake. The latter is a contemporary bed and breakfast with eight rooms. Each one has a bold feature wall (in shades such as plum, sage green or navy), animal print artworks and views of the pretty courtyard garden; those on the first floor also come with exposed beams and vaulted ceilings. Breakfast is served at farmhouse-style pine tables in the light, airy dining room and there are benches and tables for making the most of the gardens when the sun shines. The Unesco World Heritage Fountain’s Abbey ruins and Newby Hall, are both nearby.
