I LOVE the towns and villages of North Yorkshire – seriously, I do. Richmond, with its stately castle and wide, cobbledmarket place, Settle (more cobbles), the bustling port of Whitby and lively markets of Masham and Leyburn, to name but a few. So I looked on a visit to Skipton as a real treat. But maybe not on this particular day.

Today, the rain is driving a blinder down the main street and the wind is blasting brollies inside out and grabbing at market stall tarpaulins.

One stallholder is shooing away a few bedraggled pigeons as they peck at the bags of wild bird food.

Can’t really blame him for failing to see the irony.

We take a quick detour into a nearby cafe, but the relief is only temporary as we head back out into the raging storm. “Shall we give up?” asks my husband.

“Good idea,” I reply, as this is only a stopover on our way to an overnight stay at the Traddock Hotel, at Austwick, near Settle. The brochure promises us “the best the Yorkshire Dales has to offer – top quality produce and cooking, warm welcoming hospitality and a relaxing and homely place to rest and recharge”, which sounds pretty perfect in our chilled and bedraggled state.

It’s an interesting name, derived from a combination of “trading” and “paddock”, as records show it was built on a field used by farmers in the 1600s to sell horses and cattle. The original Georgian country house, built around the 1740s on the site has been greatly extended as a hotel and since 2002 has been in the capable hands of the Reynolds family.

Today, Paul Reynolds greets us and we feel at home immediately.

There’s a fire crackling in a welcoming lounge, an array of books and magazines, sink-in-able chairs and squashy sofas and a cosy restaurant lined with William Morris wallpaper and art prints.

The reception sports a huge array of awards – the latest being The Good Hotel Guide’s Country Hotel of the Year 2013, a much-deserved accolade, as we are to discover.

There are many nooks and crannies in this quirky building, so we shouldn’t be surprised that we walk through what would be a sunny guest area on a better day and straight into our suite.

Time, then, for a nice, long relax with the help of Molton Brown bath goodies, soft towelling robes and a selection of teas and coffee with fruit and home-made biscuits.

Typical of the care and attention to detail are bottles of Dales water, which is filtered on site.

We are looking forward to dinner, as head chef John Pratt has a name for sourcing and preparing the best local, seasonal and organic ingredients and it is obvious from the menu that we are in for treat.

After much deliberation over drinks and nibbles in yet another comfortable lounge, I choose Whitby crab pot – brandied parfait and white meat rillette served with lime and chilli chutney and rosemary focaccia toasts, followed by seared breast of Creedy carver duck and confit duck leg spring roll with juniper and blood orange syrup. My husband opts for North Yorkshire moorland pheasant terrine in rosehip, redcurrant and thyme jelly with scotched quail’s egg, and the Traddock’s surf and turf, West Coast lobster Newburg and Lune Valley Angus fillet mignon with New Orleans-style Bordelaise butter sauce.

The restaurant is comfortably busy and the staff unhurried, but efficient and friendly. They persuade us to dip in to the dessert menu, so I try the day’s special of glazed lemon tart and he does severe damage to a wide selection of local cheeses.

The meal is nicely rounded off with coffee and chocolates – hand-made, of course.

Other guests are chatting about their plans, hoping that the rain will ease off by tomorrow so they can take advantage of the walking country hereabouts. Watching the rain lashing the windows, it doesn’t seem very likely, but sure enough, after a relaxing night’s sleep, we wake to bright sunshine.

We find space for a breakfast of organic fruits, homemade muesli and juices followed by local eggs, bacon and mushrooms before making our farewells and heading out.

It is tempting to wander around the hotel’s lovely garden, but we have to be sensible: it is still pretty chilly and the rain has left the ground squelchy. So how to spend the rest of our visit?

“Another go at Skipton?” ventures my husband.

Absolutely – and what a difference a day makes.

The town is busy with locals and tourists and the market stalls and shops have plenty of top-quality produce of the standard that we have seen at the Traddock. So it’s time to stock up before a crosscountry drive home to Durham, via the Bolton Abbey estate, where we stop at a cafe for cake and coffee, followed by postcard-pretty Grassington and Leyburn.

By lunchtime, the storm clouds are gathering and floods are making the going hazardous, but well worth negotiating to take in a slice of North Yorkshire’s dramatic scenery, although we are feeling guilty for failing to take any worthwhile exercise after all that fine dining.

Travel facts

  • The Traddock is set in the Yorkshire Dales National Park offering spectacular scenery and walks from its doorstep. It is perfectly positioned for the Three Peaks of Whernside, Pen-y-ghent and Ingleborough, and some of the most stunning limestone scenery in Europe, including Ingleborough Cave, with its stalactites and stalagmites. At Gaping Gill, the most dramatic of North Yorkshire's potholes, water hurtles down in a single jet over 365ft to the floor.
  • Nearby is Malham Cove, once a waterfall and now a cliff topped by an extensive area of limestone pavement, and a short drive away is the market town of Kirkby Lonsdale and the Settle to Carlisle Railway, passing through some of the most spectacular Dales and Lakeland landscapes, including the Ribblehead Viaduct.
  • The 12-bedroom Traddock offers wedding packages and can also cater for other special events and celebrations. Well-behaved dogs are welcome. For details and offers, call 015242-51796 or visit thetraddock.co.uk