Yorkshire Dales · England
Swinton Park Hotel & Spa
A family castle at the head of its own twenty-thousand-acre estate
5 photographs · select any to enlarge. Credits are shown with each image.
Swinton Park is the ancestral seat of the Cunliffe-Lister family, who still own it and still live on the estate — a distinction that shows in the way the castle is run. Battlements, a round tower and a sequence of grand panelled rooms give it genuine theatre, but the atmosphere is closer to a well-organised house party than a hotel.
The estate extends to many thousands of acres of moor, parkland and lake, and much of the appeal lies outdoors: falconry, fly fishing, off-road driving and long walks that never leave private land. A cookery school operates year-round, and the spa added in recent years occupies a converted building in the grounds rather than a basement.
Masham sits just below, home to two well-known breweries, and the road north opens quickly into Wensleydale and the higher Dales.
At a glance
What to expect
- Castle accommodation
- Estate spa
- Cookery school
- Falconry and country pursuits
- Fly fishing
- Parkland and lake
- Fine dining
- Private events
Keep exploring
More in England
Grantley Hall
A Georgian estate near Ripon with six restaurants, a Michelin star and a vast wellness wing.
Cliveden House
A National Trust stately home turned hotel, in 376 acres of gardens above the River Thames.
Gravetye Manor
Seventeen rooms and a Michelin-starred kitchen inside one of England's great historic gardens.
Hoar Cross Hall Spa Hotel
A grand Staffordshire hall rebuilt around one of the Midlands' largest destination spa operations.