Everything You Need to Know About Richmond
This pretty market town sits at the gateway to the Yorkshire Dales
Eat
Tearooms, cafés, delis and pubs line Richmond’s cobbled streets. Just a two-minute walk from Market Place is The Little Drummer Boy Tearoom which serves up hearty specials as well as light bites. Chocoholics should browse the luxury chocolate boxes at award-winning Mocha, then take a seat to enjoy a sweet treat and a hot chocolate. If you prefer tapas head to Number 29, for a classic fish and chips and for an endless choice of chicken dishes try Elixir Ristorante, or indulge in traditional French cuisine in Parisian-style surroundings at Rustique Restaurant.
Sleep
An obvious choice when looking for somewhere to stay near here is Middleton Lodge Estate. Just a few miles outside Richmond, the 200-acre estate is home to one of the best hotels in the North, as well as two award-winning restaurants and a new Forest Spa. Choose from their timeless rooms or shepherd’s huts in the hotel’s meadow. If self-catering is more your style head to Flowery Dell Lodges, many of which boast a hot tub and welcome pets, or the pretty Garden Cottage (also dog-friendly) with its views over Richmond Castle and Billy Banks Woods from the south-facing walled garden.
Browse
When it comes to shopping, The Station is a great place to start with its gallery championing local art, cinema and The Angel Share’s Bakery where breads, patisserie and local specialities fill counters. Find your favourite cheese and the perfect wine to pair with it at The Cheese Press then head to Finkle Street where you can stock up on sausage rolls, sweet treats as well as wines and cheeses at Wilfred Deli & Pantry, and pop into Lucy Pittaway’s gallery to shop her popular collection of original art and gifts. Just outside the town in Aske, browse Kiss The Moon’s sleep-inducing aromatherapy products.
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Don’t Miss
Richmond is proud of its history (unsurprisingly, as it dates back to 1071), and there are plenty of places to discover its fascinating past. Learn more about the Green Howard infantry regiment of the British Army at The Green Howards Museum (which hosts various exhibitions throughout the year) then explore Richmond Castle, one of Britain’s greatest Norman fortresses, originally built to subdue the unruly North of England. Just on the outskirts, Easby Abbey is a ruined Premonstratensian abbey which has been a popular subject for artists, including JMW Turner.
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Around the corner...
A favourite pitstop of ours, just off the A66, is Mainsgill Farm Shop where you’ll find an award-winning butchers, a food hall packed with local produce, gifts, a tearoom and resident llamas, camels, pigs, donkeys and deer. Historic Kiplin Hall (a beautiful Jacobean house and gardens) is also well worth visiting, where a long list of events and activities will keep everyone happy.
