Here at North Yorkshire Cycling we have to admit that we probably spend the lion’s share of our riding time in the Yorkshire Dales purely because of convenience and the constraints of work week to week. So when the guys over at Ox Pasture Hall just outside of Scarborough invited us to come and stay a night in their luxury 4 start country house hotel we took it as a chance to do some more exploring over by the coast.
At roughly 3 miles from Scarborough train station and sitting just on the edge of the North Yorks Moors National Park, Ox Pasture Hall stands majestically alone within 17 acres of enchanting gardens although staying here technically means the whole North Yorks Moors are your playground. The town of Scarborough itself is a lively and colourful seaside town that perhaps doesn’t quite match its former glory but still has a lot to offer the tourist or in our case ‘The Cyclist’ – we liked it instantly.
On arrival the first thing you notice at The Hall is that it’s clearly a desirable place to stay, the elegant country hotel affords visitors a super relaxing and picturesque place to stay and in our opinion (at least) has a ‘spa’ feel to it. For us cyclists who usually want somewhere to relax after a hard days riding it seems perfect and with facilities such as secure storage for bike and kit the Hotel really is welcoming the cycling community.
Our room for the stay also couldn’t have been better. In fact it’s fair to say it was more like a country cottage boasting a large bathroom, large living room area and huge bedroom with the sort of bed comfy enough to make you forget you came to ride your bike. On top of that the view is an uninterrupted countryside vista which surely must have inspired many an artist. In fact the only negative point here is that the hotel WIFI didn’t reach our room which could be problematic if we hadn’t already planned our riding in advance. Basically we had no internet access and mobile reception was nearly non-existent although the last point is hardly the fault of the Hall.
Any way aside of the WIFI issues you would struggle to find a room more suited to a cycling stay and on our regular cycling travels we seldom enjoy such luxury.
As part of our stay we were treated to both Afternoon Tea and a full 3 course meal. Both were exceptional and worth paying significant money for (and as a bonus the restaurant has a strong WIFI signal too!!!). Really as we are not food connoisseurs as such there isn’t anything clever or educated to say so just take it from us that the food is superb and if you’re staying there then we’re confident you will struggle to find a local restaurant serving better food. (more info available at www.oxpasturehallhotel.com/
All in all for a short cycling stay we have to say Ox Pasture Hall is just about the best place we’ve stayed and if budgets allow then we’d definitely recommend you give yourself a treat. Excellent facilities (apart from WIFI), great location, luxury rooms, very friendly and helpful staff and all in North Yorkshire – what more could you ask for?
So hopefully we’ve got you interested in the Hotel, but what’s the riding like? Well there are a few things you will always find in the North Yorks Moors – steep hills (in abundance), quite roads and great views (coastal if you’re this far East). With all that in mind it goes without saying really that this part of the UK offers some of the very best riding you will find anywhere.
So with that in mind we absolutely recommend you make the effort to ride in this stunning part of North Yorkshire and the Ox Pasture Hall country hotel is a superb place to base yourself from.
To find out more about the Hotel and area visit http://www.oxpasturehallhotel.com/