For lunch that day we re-live a previous visit to Dogh café in Welburn. Their doorstep sandwiches are so good, I dream about them when I’m not there. We return to Pocket Cottage to enjoy plump hot cross buns from Dogh’s bakery and a pot of Yorkshire tea in the cottage’s light-filled garden room that’s filled with the scent of hibiscus. Beyond the garden room doors is a festoon light-framed courtyard which triggers fantasies of a summer return armed with BBQ supplies and Pimm’s. Later, the kids tuck into pizza underneath the beams of the cottage’s cleverly designed dining nook, a banquette booth filled with warm LED lighting and with a flower-shaped pendant light at its centre. As they eat, we admire the arty postcards that hang around us, mounted on pretty patterned paper.
The next day, we hop on the bus to York, which lies 10 miles south of Stillington. The city heaves with spirited weekenders hopping between the city’s craft breweries, wine bars and indie shops. We make a beeline for the newly transformed National Railway Museum to see its vast collection of heritage locomotives. We also take the children to The Jorvik Centre whose reconstructed Viking village and skeleton displays enthral them, while evoking my memories of bygone school trips.
Matt Hillier Photographer
Matt Hillier Photographer
A cosy night in the cottage with a glass of prosecco is just the tonic after a busy day. We light the wood burner, installed within the original inglenook fireplace. And as I prepare dinner, I pretend for one last time that the ever-so-cute kitchen – with its canary yellow kitchen cabinets and vintage counter skirts – is all mine.
I’m sure it won’t be long before I return to North Yorkshire for my next dose of escapism. The good news is we’ll always have this joyful little property in our back pocket whenever we need it.
