Swallow Barn

As I understand it, the Minx first came across La Rosa a few years ago when its owner ran a tea room at the Glastonbury festival. She'd wanted to stay at the La Rosa hotel in Whitby since then, which we did in December 2013.

We've said a number of times since that we'd like to go back and a few months ago, the Minx booked us in. It's possible - actually, quite likely - that I wasn't paying close enough attention because I assumed we'd be going back to the hotel. Not so!

Having arrived somewhere within about five miles of Whitby, late this afternoon, and following the Maps app on the Minx's 'phone, we turned off what was already a pretty small road onto a tiny, rough lane. There was, it has to be said, some swearing as the Minx navigated her car around the ruts and humps, although the feat of traversing those paled against the descent that followed.

Eventually though we reached the campsite at the bottom and introduced ourselves, only to find that our accommodation, Swallow Barn, was just a little way back up the track, amongst some farm buildings we'd passed. We made our way back up - thankfully a relatively smooth part of the track - and pulled into the courtyard.

Swallow Barn itself has been done up beautifully. The walls are bare stone, although great gatherings of heavy red material concealed most of the roof and dropped down to form a room of sorts around the bed in the corner. The various bits of furniture - no two items obviously belonging to the same period or style - looked great together, and the walls were adorned with old posters and bric-a-brac. (There's another photo here.)

Back in the courtyard there was an outhouse containing a bath and a few more bits of furniture, and there was a partitioned area for the loo with a view. And finally, there was a decked area, which over looked a valley. It didn't take us long discover that a steam railway ran along the far side, the evocative flanged chug of the old trains echoing off the hills.

At dusk, we lit the woodstove and the Minx deployed tealights all around the barn, which lent the old building a magical quality. I wrote, the Minx drew, we had wine, and a large plate of meats and cheese that the Minx prepared. Staying somewhere like this - somewhere so different - immediately takes you away from all your quotidian worries and concerns: I was so relaxed, this evening, I felt like I'd already been on holiday for a week.