Would you like to stay in this romantic ruin in North Yorkshire?

THE Georgians loved a party, and The Ruin was a mini banqueting house where the aristocracy and well-heeled fashionistas dressed up in their frothy finery to have fun. Today, the little pavilion perched above a steep, wooded gorge in the 18th Century fantasy Hackfall garden, is rented out by building preservation charity The Landmark Trust. It was restored close to how it would have looked 260 years ago after being rescued from “terminal decay”.

The Ruin near Grewelthorpe sleeps two and is one of 51 characterful holiday digs to feature in Extraordinary Escapes: Unique and Wild Getaways Across the UK – a companion book to the television show in which Sandi Toksvig travels to unique locations with celebrity friends.

Built in 1762 in the gothic style of the era, the tripled-domed, Janus-faced (two-faced) pavilion is smooth on the public side and leads to a rugged ruin, mimicking motifs from ancient Rome. It was during The Landmark Trust’s 15-year restoration that a remarkable discovery was made.

The Ruin by Jill Tate

“Work was well underway when our building archaeologist noticed a striking similarity between The Ruin’s Romanesque elevation and a watercolour, Design for a Roman Ruin, by Robert Adam – a discovery that was entirely consistent with Hackfall’s pedigree,” the trust says. “It offers an unusual example of the work of this greatest of 18th Century British architects, better known for his more formally classical houses and interiors.

“The three rooms inside never originally communicated with each other, and we have kept them so. Inside, a richly decorated sitting-room is flanked by a bedroom and bathroom. Flitting between the two wings across a moonlit terrace is a truly Gothic experience.”

Analysis of paint traces on the walls informed the colours used to decorate the interiors – a fresh green-blue pigment in the central room packs a punch and some original details are intact, including the external terrace doors and a fanlight. Exact copies have made of others, such as cornicing. The three rooms were separate (now the bedroom, bathroom and living/kitchen areas), so guests must flit across the terrace to move between them.

From the richly decorated sitting-room and the terrace you can view one of the finest views in Yorkshire. The garden, triumphantly restored by the Hackfall Trust, was conceived and created by William Aislabie, whose father John created the landscape gardens at nearby Studley Royal. Hackfall was Studley’s antithesis: a ‘natural’ Gothic landscape with follies, waterfalls and built structures.

The Ruin by Jill Tate

It was on the tourist trail in Yorkshire in the 18th and 19th centuries – for 130 years Hackfall was a mandatory stop on any tour of northern gardens by those with money, carriages and time to spare. In 1772 the artist Turner went there to sketch Mowbray Castle, a mock ruin in the gardens, and William Wordsworth recommended it in one of his travel guides. Scenes from Hackfall were depicted on Russian empress Catherine the Great’s Frog Dinner Service and a century ago The Ruin was considered the most spectacular tea shop in the country as day trippers arrived from Harrogate by charabanc to savour the views of Sutton Bank.

The folly and other garden buildings were abandoned in 1932, when many large houses and country estates were in decline and Hackfall was sold to a timber merchant. In 1984 the gardens were given a grade I listing by English Heritage and three years later, when the area was threatened with commercial development, the Hackfall Trust was set up by concerned locals to save it.

The Ruin by Jill Tate

In 1989 the Woodland Trust acquired Hackfall and The Landmark Trust was asked to take on The Ruin. The public have free access to the landscape for woodland walks amongst the follies, grottoes and waterfalls.

The book Extraordinary Escapes, written by travel journalist Gemma Bowes, aims to evoke memories of childhood holidays and reinforce the benefits of slow living, glorious natural surroundings and mindful travel, inspiring you to look closer to home for that truly special escape.

In the foreword, Sandi Toksvig says that during the pandemic she began travelling in the UK with female buddies (Sarah Millican, Sara Pascoe, Sue Johnston, Philippa Perry and others) and saw the country in a new and wonderful light, discovering astonishing places to stay. She also hails the great historic women travellers, who have too often been forgotten.

Extraordinary Escapes: Unique and Wild Getaways Across the UK is published by Quadrille in hardback at £20.

landmarktrust.org.uk

hackfall.org.uk/Visiting