Luxury Country Hotel & Spa in York
Samantha Laurie escapes the real world on a mid-week break at the National Trust’s Middlethorpe Hall in York...
After months of lockdown, the thought of a couple of nights away is as exciting as the first evening at the pub after a sober January.
It has to be somewhere pretty special, definitely. But comfortable too. For the one thing we all need is a little respite from the anxiety and strangeness of the past few months.
Welcome to York’s finest (and only) country hotel, Middlethorpe Hall.
Owned by the National Trust – it’s one of three Historic House Hotels donated to the charity twelve years ago in the largest single gift in its history – this 17th-century country hotel oozes Downton Abbey charm with an easy, casual Lord-and-Lady-have-left-for-the-weekend décor.
Nothing here is too shiny and new, or obviously ‘vintage’. In fact, the house is still much as it was in 1698 when it was the family home of Sheffield vintners and steelmakers, the Barlow family.
Over the years, it’s seen many different incarnations as a girls’ school, flats, even an upmarket nightclub in the 1970s. Today there’s a lived-in family estate vibe, with giant aristocratic portraits (not the Barlows, sadly those have long since been dispersed), sloping doorways (the weight of the chimneys has caused the house to cleave to the middle) and plush soft furnishings.
There’s a small spa in the converted woodmen’s cottages across the road, and acres of greenery – in fact, 22 acres of award-winning gardens with sweeping lawns, wildflower walks, rose gardens and terraces.
For my pandemic-jangled nerves, it’s exactly the right note of soothing calm.
The hotel reopened mid-July, so by the time we arrive in early August the staff are well versed in the ‘new ways’.
First up is the hands-free temperature check at the entrance. No one has been turned away yet, but it will be interesting to see how the charming concierge handles a hottie.
Each guest is given his or her own PPE kit and toiletries, and the staff wear masks at all times. There’s also a one-way system, which makes perfect sense during the day, if less so after a well-lubricated dinner.
There are 29 rooms, including a number of dog-friendly cottages set around a courtyard, but only 19 are operational at the moment. We’re delighted to be shown to one of two grand, four-poster bedrooms with views across the south lawn and parkland. Rooms are serviced only on request to protect guests and there is no room service at present.
Although its mid-week, the majority of the available rooms are booked and judging by our chat with other pre-dinner drinkers (all spaced carefully apart) most are pre-COVID regulars back to treat themselves to what is undoubtedly the hotel’s number one selling point – the two AA Rosette-starred restaurant run by head chef, Ashley Binder.
The 34-year-old has been at the helm for four years (11 years in the kitchen in total) and the trimmed back menu (four starters, four mains, four desserts; three courses for £45, two for £39) is full of his signature twists on traditional dishes.
My salmon starter is served with carrot, dressed crab and a fantastic punchy red curry sauce; sea bream comes with prawn dumpling, wakame and a delicious citrus butter sauce; and the lamb rump is matched with lamb fat mash and goats cheese.
There’s a strong local accent – the fish comes from Hartlepool’s Hodgsons and the salt-aged fillet of Waterford beef – the stand-out dish of the evening, served with barbecued celeriac, oxtail bonbon and a fabulously flavour-enhancing cepe powder – is sourced from R&J family butchers near Ripon.
It's hard to avoid the strangeness of dining out in today's world – with tables only laid out with when guests sit down you lose the wow factor of entering a beautifully set dining room. But the masked waiters do their best and the food more than compensates.
It’s a delicious modern take on classic fare. Every dish impresses.
For pudding, we choose strawberry tart with elderflower, white chocolate and mint and apricot delice with vanilla, champagne and chamomile, both full of fresh-from-the-garden flavour. There’s no fancy presentation or sharing plates, just quality provenance and good cooking. Even the bread pulls a few surprises. A wonderful warm and light selection of Guinness and black treacle rolls and tomato and parmesan brioche comes with two slabs of butter – regular and ‘beef’.
There’s another chance to sample Ashley’s baking prowess the following day. With the kitchen still not yet fully staffed, lunch service has been replaced by afternoon tea, and the three-tiered £29.50 a head selection of freshly-baked cakes, pastries and savouries is a popular option.
The hall is abuzz with groups of friends and families sipping tea and exclaiming over the patisserie (my favourite – the scones, but listen carefully when the waiter explains that one of the fancy jars of condiments is brown sauce for the sausage rolls, NOT jam. We didn’t!)
It’s hard to imagine a more apposite setting than the elegant ballroom with its dramatically high ceilings and delicate plasterwork, a room straight out of a Jane Austen world of county balls and tea dances.
You can also take tea on the lawn – if you find the low growl of the A64 which abuts the main garden off-putting, take a wander through the beautiful walled gardens and terraces to the left of the house.
Originally the gardens were designed to mimic those Thomas Barlow had seen ornamenting the villas of Rome, with terraced walks and statues of eagles atop the gates. Over the years they’ve changed with the fashion, for a while under the guidance of one of the first female gardening pioneers, Fanny Wilkinson (1855-1951) whose father married into the Barlow family and inherited the hall. This summer the hall unveils a blue plaque to her pioneering talents.
Restored in the 1980s to some of their original formality, they are a joy to wander around and the walled garden, replanted with fruit trees, herbaceous plants and herbs, is a perfect place to sip a gin and tonic as the sun goes down.
But before we do, we need to work off some of those pastries.
One of the hotel’s most attractive features is how accessible it is for York – it’s an easy 40-minute walk along the river and through the racecourse to the centre. (If you’re visiting for the races, the grandstand is barely a stone’s throw from the hotel entrance.)
Shopping in the narrow alleys of the Shambles might be everyone’s cup of tea at the moment, but York's fascinating historic centre is abuzz with life, its pavement cafes and restaurants are full of visitors.
It’s the perfect contrast to the calm and quiet of the hall. If you want to take a little peek at the real world, before retreating back to the 17th century, I can’t think of anywhere better.
In 2008, Historic House Hotels Ltd and all its interest in the three Historic House Hotels (Hartwell House, Bodysgallen Hall and Middlethorpe Hall), became the property of the National Trust, by donation, with all profits benefiting the houses and the charity. The three hotels are helping to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the National Trust with a special Anniversary Break 2020 – from £125 per person dinner bed and breakfast, including free access to the spa facilities. See historichousehotels.com.
