A Walk Around Pickering
From the Tourist Information Centre to Pickering Castle
Our first walk around Pickering highlights three of the most popular visitor attractions in the town. Attractions that help bring to life the wealth of local history which is in abundance around Pickering. They include the ever popular Beck Isle Museum, the famous North Yorkshire Moors Steam Railway and Pickering Castle with all of its Royal connections.
Our starting point is the Tourist Information Office in the street known as: The Ropery.
Beginning at the Tourist Information Office we set off toward the town centre with the TIC on our left and the bridge over the river (Costa Beck) ahead of us - from the bridge you can take in a view of the river toward the Memorial Hall, the four arched bridge and Beck Isle Museum.
Costa Beck is the river that runs through Pickering and is a tributary of the River Rye. The Rye being the title from which the district takes its name: ‘Ryedale’.
Moving on a few metres we come to the junction of Market Place to our right and Bridge Street to our left. 
Staying on the left side of the road, we cross the junction then turn left - heading into Bridge Street. Then only a few metres ahead, we arrive at the four arched bridge, providing a vantage point - that presents us with a wonderful, tranquil view over the river. To the left of the river is the Pickering Museum: Named: Beck Isle Museum of Rural Life.
The Museum is housed in a superb Regency residence adjacent to the Costa Beck, alongside the river that flows under the four arched road bridge. One arch of this bridge (originally much narrower) is reputedly of Medieval origin.
The museum building is where William Marshall planned England's first Agricultural Institute in the early 1800's. It is therefore fitting that today, this property should contain a vast collection of bygones relating largely to the rural crafts and living style of Ryedale.
The museum is owned by the Beck Isle Museum Trust and is staffed by volunteers.
Beck Isle Museum aims to reflect the local life and customs and to trace many of the developments in social and domestic life during the last 200 years. A selection of black and white photographs from the extensive Sidney Smith collection are displayed around the museum.
Sidney Smith was a Pickering born photographer, he is thought of by some, as a successor to Frank Meadow Sutcliffe of Whitby.
On the opposite side of the Bridge is Pickering Memorial Hall, the view shown can be seen by crossing over the bridge and walking a few metres beyond the building, then looking back towards the front doors.
The Memorial Hall was originally a corn mill built in 1867, the building was donated by the Kitching family, in 1922, as a war memorial hall to be used for the benefit of the people of the district. It has also been a museum, public swimming pool, a library, theatre, restaurant and is now used as council offices.
It also incorporates a ground floor hall which is occasionally used by the community for recreational activities. The hall is also sporadically used by commercial organisations and businesses to promote their ventures.
The Memorial Hall houses a mural by Rex Whistler of "the children eating cakes" which was painted by the artist in 1943 at a Christmas Party hosted by the 2nd Battalion of Welsh Guards.
Our next scene can be viewed by walking down to the right of the Memorial Hall, to the edge of the river, then looking back upstream toward the museum. On the day these photos were taken (beginning of June 2010) there had been several weeks of dry weather, leaving the river exceptionally low. Visitors should take note: the river can be very deep, powerful and dangerous, if you are with small children - hand holding and close supervision are an imperative.
From here we head back over the old bridge, then turning left into Park Street where we head into Pickering Railway Station.
Pickering is the starting point of the North Yorkshire Moors Steam Railway - the longest steam railway in the UK.The train journey heads through North York Moors National Park, some of the trains terminate at Grosmont, some head on into Whitby. I would recommend visiting their website for up to date information. The railway and its rolling stock has been used in many movies, TV, Electronic and steam (or - ye olde print) publications. The most famous publications are ‘Harry Potter’ , the TV series ‘Heartbeat’ and is even featured on ‘Pickering Online’... so now it’s made it in terms of popularity, both with visitors and publishers alike. Pickering Railway Station is also the centre of activity for many of the events in the town. The most popular event being the ‘Wartime Weekend’. Which to pacify the PC amongst us - is now often referred to as the 1940’s weekend.... moving on...
From Pickering Railway Station we turn left and arrive at the steep steps joining Park Street with Burgate or Borrowgate..
Burgate is the street leading up to Pickering Castle, along this route we pass the ‘Quaker Meeting House’.
An interesting feature of this property is the ancient ‘Mort’ or stone steps to the front of the house. These steps would have been likely to have two uses, the more obvious of these are for people to board a horse drawn carriage. The other use of the Mort would have been a resting place for coffin bearers. Back in the 12th to 15th century, resting post’s were placed along roadsides for coffin bearers to rest a while, the civil engineers of the period would build them as a step configuration so that the Mort could serve a duel purpose. Coffin bearers of the period would frequently make long and exhausting journeys from collection point to grave yard.
The first image of Pickering Castle is often the first view of the castle to greet its visitors. Much of the stone construction of the castle is still intact, and is now cared for by English Heritage.
An 11th century motte and bailey fortress, built originally of earthwork and timber, founded by King William I (William the Conqueror).
In the late 12th century. King Henry III founded the stone castle and church within its walls, which he then passed on to his youngest son, Edmund Plantagenet, First Earl of Lancaster.
Eventually, it passed to Henry, Duke of Lancaster who later became King Henry IV of England. It has belonged to the monarch ever since. Currently the Lancaster Estate is owned by the Queen.
The castle wall is flanked by a gatehouse and three rectangular towers, one of which incorporates a small postern gate at its base, with its own drawbridge to cross the outer ditch. A postern is a secondary door or gate, particularly in a fortification such as a city wall or castle curtain wall. Posterns were often located in a concealed location, allowing the occupants to come and go inconspicuously. In the event of a siege, a postern could act as a sally port, allowing defenders to make a sortie on the besiegers.
Bargains Galore Each Monday At Pickering Market!
