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Pickering · North Yorkshire
Dark Skies Cottage
Dark Skies Cottage
Dark Skies Cottage
Dark Skies Cottage
Dark Skies Cottage +1 photos

Dark Skies Cottage

22 Hill Cottages, Pickering, United Kingdom

Dark Skies Cottage is an economical option in Pickering, North Yorkshire, handy for travellers focused on central Pickering and the main sights.

Guests typically choose Pickering for its balance of location and price; Dark Skies Cottage is a good fit if you want to be near the action in North Yorkshire.

Because pricing is set live by the hotel and its suppliers, the figure shown here is a recent snapshot; check the current rate for your exact dates before booking.

Key facts

Area
Pickering
Address
22 Hill Cottages, Pickering, United Kingdom

What’s included

Cleaning Family rooms First aid Garden Area Internet access Laundry Service Non smoking rooms Parking Pets allowed Safe Terrace Wifi

How many nights in North Yorkshire, and a first-timer's route

Three nights is the workable minimum and gets you one base; five to seven nights lets you split between the city, the coast and one national park without spending every afternoon driving. A common mistake is trying to do York, Whitby, the Dales and Richmond from a single hotel — Skipton to Whitby is 90 miles across the county and takes well over two hours each way. Two bases beat one for anything longer than four nights, and three bases suit a full week. Sunday to Thursday arrivals are cheaper and quieter almost everywhere except Harrogate in a conference week.

A sound first week: two nights in York for the Minster, the walls, Jorvik and an afternoon at Castle Howard, 15 miles out past Malton; then two nights on the coast at Whitby or Scarborough, using the North Yorkshire Moors Railway or the A169 over the moor via the Hole of Horcum; then two or three nights in the Dales at Skipton, Grassington, Leyburn or Hawes for Bolton Abbey, Aysgarth Falls, Middleham Castle and the Wensleydale Creamery. If castles and abbeys are the point, swap the coast leg for Helmsley or Thirsk and take in Rievaulx, Byland, Mount Grace Priory and Fountains Abbey, then finish at Richmond with its Norman keep above the Swale. Add a night if you want the Yorkshire Three Peaks or the 24 arches of Ribblehead Viaduct, since Ingleton and Horton-in-Ribblesdale are a long way from anywhere else on the list.

What hotels actually cost in North Yorkshire

Budget rooms — simple pub rooms, small guesthouses, 2-star hotels in Selby, Northallerton, Bedale, Thirsk or the Scarborough side streets — run about £55–£85 a night for two, usually with a cooked breakfast included and often without parking. Mid-range 3- and 4-star doubles sit around £95–£150 across most of the county, rising to £110–£180 inside York's walls and in central Harrogate. The top end — country-house hotels around Ripon and Wensleydale, sea-view rooms on Scarborough's Esplanade, the better York townhouse hotels — generally runs £180–£350, with suites above that. Village inns in Grassington, Hawes, Masham and Robin Hood's Bay cluster at £100–£140 and have very few rooms each, which is why they vanish first.

Spikes are predictable rather than random. York Racecourse holds around 15 fixtures between May and October, and a Saturday meeting or the August Ebor Festival can double central York rates overnight; York's St Nicholas Fair weekends from mid-November do something similar. Harrogate jumps for the Great Yorkshire Show in the second week of July and for large Convention Centre events, when even Knaresborough and Ripon fill. On the coast, July and August Saturdays in Whitby, Filey and Robin Hood's Bay often carry a two-night minimum, and both Whitby Goth Weekends in April and around Halloween sell the town out. Mid-week in late January, March or November is where the real savings are — the same room that costs £160 in August is often £70.

The North Yorkshire booking traps worth knowing before you pay

Read the address, not the town name. Plenty of hotels advertised as "York" are actually 5–10 miles out at Escrick, Copmanthorpe, Bilbrough Top or on the A19 towards Selby, which is fine if you are driving and awkward if you assumed you could walk back from the Shambles after dinner. The same applies on the coast, where a "Whitby" address can mean Sleights or Ruswarp, and in the Dales, where a "Skipton" hotel may sit out on the A59 towards Bolton Abbey. Check parking separately: Whitby's West Cliff streets are permit-controlled, Robin Hood's Bay bans visitor cars from the bank down to the Dock, so you leave the car in the pay-and-display at the top and walk a steep half-mile, and central York hotels frequently charge £15–£25 a night on top of the room.

The other trap is the events calendar, because this county's price surges have almost nothing to do with school holidays. Check York's race fixtures, the Great Yorkshire Show dates in July, both Whitby Goth Weekends and the Harrogate Convention Centre diary before you fix a date, since a midweek trade exhibition can put Harrogate rooms above a summer Saturday. Finally, do not skip the flat market-town belt — Northallerton, Bedale, Easingwold, Thirsk and Tadcaster are 20–40 minutes from York, Ripon and the moors, cost £40–£60 less a night, and Thirsk and Northallerton both sit on the East Coast Main Line. Late September and early October are the underrated weeks: Fountains Abbey, Rievaulx and Bolton Castle are near-empty, the moorland heather has just gone over, and prices have already dropped.

Questions, answered

Where is Dark Skies Cottage located?
Dark Skies Cottage is in Pickering, North Yorkshire (22 Hill Cottages, Pickering, United Kingdom), close to central Pickering.
How much does Dark Skies Cottage cost per night?
Prices are set live by the hotel — check the booking page for a real rate for your dates.
What is the cheapest month to visit North Yorkshire?
January is the cheapest, with late November and early March close behind. Budget rooms in Scarborough, Northallerton and Selby drop to around £55–£70, and mid-range York hotels that cost £160 in August often sit near £80 midweek. The one January–February exception is the Jorvik Viking Festival around York's February half-term, which fills the city for a week. Bear in mind some Dales inns in Hawes and Grassington close for a fortnight after New Year, so check before you drive out.
How many nights do you need in North Yorkshire?
Three nights minimum, five to seven if you want the city, the coast and a national park. One base cannot cover the county — Skipton to Whitby is 90 miles and over two hours by road. A good week is two nights in York, two on the coast at Whitby or Scarborough, and two or three in the Dales at Leyburn, Grassington or Hawes. If castles and abbeys are your reason for coming, replace the coast leg with Helmsley or Thirsk for Rievaulx, Byland and Mount Grace Priory.
How do I get to North Yorkshire from the airport?
Leeds Bradford (LBA) is the closest, about 12 miles from Harrogate and 30 from York, with no station of its own — budget £40–£55 for a taxi to Harrogate, or bus into Leeds and take the train onward. Manchester Airport has direct TransPennine trains to York in roughly two hours, which is often the easiest option from a long-haul flight. Newcastle Airport connects by Metro to Newcastle Central in about 25 minutes, then an hour by train to York or 35 minutes to Northallerton. Teesside International is handy only for Richmond, Northallerton and the northern moors, and car hire is worth taking there.
Do I need a car in North Yorkshire?
Yes for the Yorkshire Dales and most of the North York Moors, no for York itself. Places like Aysgarth Falls, Rievaulx Abbey, Bolton Castle and Sutton Bank have thin or weekend-only bus service, and DalesBus routes around Grassington run mainly at weekends. If you are staying in York, Harrogate, Knaresborough, Skipton, Scarborough or Whitby and travelling by train, you can manage without one — the Coastliner 840 and 843 buses link York, Malton and Pickering to Whitby and Scarborough. Remember that central York hotel parking typically adds £15–£25 a night, so a car you do not use is expensive.
Is North Yorkshire better for families or couples?
Both, but the areas divide fairly cleanly. Families do best on the coast at Scarborough and Filey, where the beaches, Peasholm Park and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway from Pickering to Grosmont fill several days, and where hotels are more likely to have family rooms. Couples tend to prefer Harrogate, Helmsley, Masham or a Wensleydale inn, and many small Dales pubs with rooms have doubles only. Ripon and Knaresborough sit in between and cost around £75–£110, with Fountains Abbey and Mother Shipton's Cave both suiting mixed-age groups.
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