Swinton Park, Masham, Ripon

An exclusive 30-bedroom luxury castle hotel. With 4 Red Stars and 3 Rosettes awarded by the AA for excellent facilities, this is the highest rated hotel in Yorkshire.

Swinton Park is the ancestral home of the Cunliffe-Lister family and is set in 200 acres of parkland, lakes and gardens. The castle is surrounded by the family estate in which guests have access to rivers, reservoirs, moorland, dales and beautiful countryside bordering the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

The recently refurbished spa, is equipped with a sauna, jacuzzi and relaxation zone. The 4 treatment rooms offer a wide range of face, body, beauty and complementary therapies, using the [comfort zone] and Jessica ranges of products. The restored Georgian stables have been recently converted into a state-of-the-art cookery school, run by celebrity chef Rosemary Shrager.

The hotel has a civil licence for weddings and 5 function rooms equipped for meetings, conferences and presentations.

There are a wealth of other attractions and activities within an hour's drive of the hotel for you to explore and enjoy. These include Ripon Cathedral (6 km), the spa town of Harrogate (12 km) and Lightwater Valley theme park (6 km).


Lavishly furnished, this is a unique opportunity to enjoy a stately home experience, combining the traditional warmth of a family home with all the modern creature comforts of a contemporary hotel. Award-winning cuisine is served in the sumptuously furnished dining room, with an emphasis on the seasonal produce sourced from the hotel's 4 acre walled garden and surrounding estate.

The restored Georgian stables have been recently converted into a state-of-the-art cookery school, run by celebrity chef Rosemary Shrager.

The following activities are provided at the hotel and in the grounds: archery, art lessons, cookery school, clay pigeon shooting, coracles, cricket, croquet, boules, estate tours, falconry, fishing, golf (9 hole), kite flying
model boats, mountain bikes, off road driving, racing stable visits, riding, trekking, riding - UK chaser course, livery and hirelings, rifle and spa, shooting, treasure hunts, orienteering, walking.

The bedrooms, on the first and second floors, are individually designed and decorated on the theme of a Yorkshire town, dale, castle, abbey or garden, according to the aspect of the room. For example, the Harrogate room faces south across the lake and deer park whilst the Richmond room faces east overlooking the gatehouse and driveway.

All rooms are equipped with 2 direct dial telephones, CD player, satellite TV, trouser press, drinks tray and coffee and tea making facilities.

5 of the 30 bedrooms are suites and the turret room is on 3 floors with a (steep!) staircase between. A lift serves both the first and second floors. 4 of the en suite bathrooms are equipped for disabled use.