Runswick

Runswick is a 3-star hotel in Pickering, North Yorkshire, a sensible choice for sightseeing around Clifford's Tower, York without overspending.

Guests typically choose Pickering for its balance of location and price; Runswick 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

Best time to visit North Yorkshire, month by month

January and early February are the cheapest weeks of the year, with York and Harrogate doubles falling to around £55–£80 and Dales inns quiet or shut for a fortnight's break; the exception is the Jorvik Viking Festival in York around February half-term, when the city fills. March and early April stay soft until Easter, then the Harrogate Spring Flower Show at Newby Hall near Ripon in late April and the April Whitby Goth Weekend both bite locally. May is the sweet spot for the Dales — Swaledale and Wensleydale at their best, the Swaledale Festival, and the Malton Food Lovers Festival over the late May bank holiday, when Ryedale beds tighten. June is steady and the moorland days are long, with Levisham and Goathland busy on North Yorkshire Moors Railway running days.

July brings the Great Yorkshire Show at Harrogate in the second week, which effectively closes cheap rooms within fifteen miles for four nights, plus the Ryedale Festival. August is the peak: Scarborough, Filey and Whitby run at capacity, Whitby Regatta takes the August bank holiday, and York Racecourse's Ebor Festival mid-month pushes city-centre rates past £250. September is the smart month — warm sea, empty moor roads, Masham Sheep Fair at the end of it, and rates back down 20–30%. October fills again at half-term and for the Halloween Whitby Goth Weekend, November is quiet until York's St Nicholas Fair opens mid-month and Castle Howard's Christmas display starts, and December sells weekends only, with Grassington's Dickensian Festival Saturdays a fixture.

Getting around North Yorkshire: car, train and bus

A car is genuinely needed for the Yorkshire Dales and most of the North York Moors, and optional-to-unhelpful in York itself. The A1(M) runs north–south past Bedale, Northallerton and Boroughbridge; the A64 links York to Malton, Scarborough and Filey; the A170 crosses from Thirsk over Sutton Bank — a 1-in-4 climb where caravans are banned — through Helmsley to Pickering; the A171 joins Whitby and Scarborough in about 20 miles; the A65 threads Skipton, Settle and Ingleton; and the A684 runs Northallerton–Bedale–Leyburn–Hawes. Rosedale Chimney Bank on the moors is 1-in-3, so trust a road atlas over a shortcut. Central York hotel parking typically costs £15–£25 a night, which is why Park & Ride from Askham Bar or Grimston Bar is worth using instead.

Rail covers more than people expect. The East Coast Main Line stops at York, Thirsk and Northallerton with London King's Cross to York in about 1 hour 50 minutes; the York–Scarborough line calls at Malton and Seamer in roughly 50 minutes end to end; the Harrogate line links Leeds, Harrogate, Knaresborough and York; the Airedale line reaches Skipton from Leeds in 45 minutes; and the Settle–Carlisle line serves Settle, Horton-in-Ribblesdale, Ribblehead and Garsdale. Whitby has the Esk Valley line from Middlesbrough and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway up from Pickering and Grosmont. For buses, the Coastliner 840 and 843 run Leeds–York–Malton–Pickering to Whitby and Scarborough, and DalesBus services cover Grassington and Wharfedale mainly at weekends. Distances are short but slow: York to Whitby is 45 miles and takes about 1 hour 20 minutes, Harrogate to Skipton 22 miles on the A59, Leyburn to Hawes 16 miles.

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.

Questions, answered