The Southern Terminus of the North Yorkshire
Moors Railway and one of the most pleasant market towns in England.
Market day is Monday.
Pickering is known as the "Gateway to the Moors" and its
position on the crossroads of the Malton to Whitby road and the Helmsley
to Scarborough road amply justifies this title. A thriving market
town, it is the focal point of a large rural area.
Market day is when the town centre is at its busiest, with open air
trading at attractive stalls. At the bottom of the gently sloping
market place is the terminus of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway,
where a 1940's atmosphere is created as Steam Locomotives arrive and
depart only yards from the market stalls.
Market Place
Overlooking the market place
with its wide range of shops, inns and small businesses is the parish
church of St. Peter and St. Paul, whose walls bear a unique gallery
of 15th Century paintings. Discovered in 1851 they were promptly concealed
beneath whitewash, because the vicar thought it would encourage idolatry.
Happily they were rediscovered in 1878. They depict scenes from the
Bible, from history and legend range from St. George slaying the dragon
to the martyrdom of St. Thomas à Becket.
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Church of St. Peter and St. Paul |
The Beck Isle Museum of Rural Life is housed in the building where
Marshall planned England's first agricultural institute. Situated
beside the river in the town centre, it houses a fascinating collections
of artifacts of rural life. These include a cottage kitchen, cobblers
shop, dairy, barbers and a Victorian pub bar.
Almost Opposite is the Beckside
Crafts Centre, an example of the new enterprises which are flourishing
in the town. A few minutes walk away is the Kirk Theatre, formerly
a Methodist chapel but now a venue for concerts and other events,
and along the road passed the railway station is the Moorland Trout
Farm and lake. Open seven days a week from March to November, visitors
can hire everything they need to catch beautiful Trout.
There is also a shop and a small restaurant.
Sitting majestically above the town is Pickering Castle, which probably
dates back to the Conquest. It is claimed that every English king
who reigned between 1100 and 1400 stayed here to hunt nearby in Blansby
Park,
and some parts of the old Royal forest of Pickering still belong to
Her Majesty The Queen.
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Memorial Garden
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Pickering Station
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Manymore
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