The White Swan Inn, Pickering, North Yorkshire

Holding court over the marketplace of Pickering, the inn is plum in the centre of this busy, friendly town on the edge of the North York Moors, and has a ringside seat for its weekly market. The edge of the town sits on the main road that skirts the moors between Thirsk and Scarborough, with the A1 around 45 minutes. The starting point for the North York Moors restored steam railway, which runs to Whitby, is around the corner, as is Pickering Castle, plus the town's independent shops are within strolling distance.

By car: Pickering is 240 miles from London (4 hours 30 minute drive) and 100 miles from Manchester (just over 2 hours drive). Free parking is available on site.

By train: York City station has direct links to London Kings Cross and is 26 miles away (50-minute drive). Book trains to York.

Interiors are all you'd expect of a 17th and 18th-century former coaching inn with stripped-wood and flagged floors, low-beamed rooms and real fires, while upstairs are creaky corridors and little staircases. Converted outbuildings, by contrast, have a lighter and fresher, more contemporary feel.

The small bar and snug can be busy but residents also have use of the 'bothy', a large converted outbuilding with open rafters, wood floor and big sofas. For warmer months, there's also a small patio. Maps, secure cycle storage and a drying room mean active types are well catered for, while the local staff are friendly and hard-working.

• Restaurant
• Bar
• Garden
• Cycle storage
• Dog-friendly
• Family-friendly
• Parking
• Free Wi-Fi

Rooms are split between cosier, more traditional rooms in the main building - dark-wood furniture, creamy walls, pretty wallpapers, baths with showers - and larger, more contemporary affairs in the converted outbuildings at the rear. The latter are airy and fresh with flagged floors, light colours and separate baths and walk-in showers.

Room types: Vintage, Four poster, Hideaway, Hideaway Treat

Key amenities: ensuite bathroom with luxurious Bramley toiletries, TV, tea and coffee-making facilities, fluffy bathrobe, Wi-Fi

Here you'll find good Yorkshire cooking done with confidence but without fancy flourishes, and with proud Yorkshire sourcing: perhaps twice-baked Yorkshire blue cheese soufflé to start followed by a roast rump of Yorkshire lamb with haggis bon-bons. The well-edited wine list includes a good selection of vintage St Emilion.

The White Swan Inn resturant: cosy, AA Rosette award-winning food, local produce. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Mains from £15.

The White Swan Inn bar: country pub environment. Dogs and kids welcome.