For my birthday recently, we escaped to Bolton Percy for a few nights in its beautiful 15th-century gatehouse. A tiny Yorkshire village, an incredible historic building and a graveyard practically in the back garden… that all sounds like a perfect celebration to me.
The gatehouse itself was stunning. Not far from York and tucked away next to the beautiful All Saints’ Church, it was a pretty special place to call home for a few days. The village was beautiful and sleepy, the weather was absolutely glorious, and we had the whole place to ourselves. Having a delicious selection of gravestones on our doorstep was, obviously, a particular highlight for me (just a shame that the pub next door is currently permanently closed!).
As if the gatehouse wasn’t already perfect enough, the first night gave us a little something extra.
I woke up in the middle of the night and heard what sounded very clearly like someone brushing their teeth downstairs. Before I had much time to work out what was happening, I then heard footsteps coming up the stairs towards the living and sleeping area. There is a very specific kind of fear that comes from hearing somebody walking towards you when you are absolutely certain there is nobody else in the building. I was genuinely quite terrified.
The next morning we were left trying to work out exactly what I had heard. Old buildings make strange noises, and maybe there are plenty of perfectly sensible explanations for footsteps in a 500-year-old gatehouse. But when you are sleeping in a historic building like this, it is very easy to let your imagination take over. I suppose, if there was a ghost, at least it seemed to have excellent dental hygiene.
Over the next couple of days, we explored the village, enjoyed the church, and walked the local countryside before settling back into the gatehouse for wine and delicious meals. Bolton Percy is wonderfully quiet and feels completely removed from everything, which made it such a lovely place to escape to for a few days.
I honestly can’t recommend the gatehouse enough. If you like ancient buildings, history, sleepy villages and, naturally, the possibility of a ghost or two, it is pretty much the perfect place to stay. We felt very lucky to spend a weekend there, and I already can’t wait to go back.
