Benchmark Cottage

22/10/2026

*** EXCITING NEWS ***
🍻 Glaisdale’s local pub under ambitious new management! 🥂

I am so excited for our guests! 👏👏👏

The Arncliffe Arms village pub was always a pretty little walk away, but now I can personally vouch for a lovely warm welcome from new manager Lee and his team (including Dad, Pete).

Lee’s friendly and flexible approach to hospitality means that all our guests have to do is pop across any day between 12pm - 8pm for a meal, snack or cosy cottage takeaway 🥰

Or just enjoy a good b**r/coffee and a chat with visiting coast-to-coast walkers and village locals 🎉🥳

Lee is already hosting darts teams, the local Women’s Institute, Young Farmers and local cricket teams on a regular basis. Quiz, cocktail and theme nights are on the menu too.

With a good welcome and exciting times as the pub gets its facelift, here’s another good reason to choose Glaisdale for a relaxing break away 🥰

Cheers! 🍷

(Sunday Roast takeaway, anyone?)
🏡🌲🍻 Arncliffe Arms, Glaisdale

New landlord, new plans and a fresh start for popular village pub near Whitby! ❤️🍺

After a difficult few years that saw its former landlord call time on a 50-year career in the pub trade, a much-loved North Yorkshire village pub is getting a new lease of life!

The Arncliffe Arms in Glaisdale, nestled in the beautiful Esk Valley near Whitby, has welcomed a new landlord who is determined to put the traditional village pub back at the heart of the community.

Earlier this year, former landlord Tony Waddington, 68, revealed he was leaving the pub after four and a half years, citing soaring running costs, falling takings and the increasing pressures facing Britain’s hospitality industry.

Tony, who spent an incredible 50 years pulling pints, said takings in the first three months of 2026 were £14,000 below normal, forcing him and his wife to cut staff and take on more work themselves.

But now the Arncliffe Arms has a new chapter!

Lee Calden, 39, who previously ran the Red Lion in Cloughton, took over in September and has ambitious plans to restore the pub to its former glory.

The makeover includes new carpets, refurbished guest bedrooms, restored wooden beams, and improved toilets.

And there’s plenty planned for the food and entertainment too!

🍽️ A revamped lunch menu and Sunday roasts, including lamb shank and vegetarian options.
🍕 Takeaway pizzas, salt and pepper chicken sharing boxes and Sunday roast takeaways.
🍺 Quiz nights, curry nights, cocktail evenings and a renewed focus on good b**r and a welcoming atmosphere.

The Arncliffe Arms is particularly popular with walkers tackling Wainwright’s famous Coast to Coast route, which passes through the picturesque village.

Lee says his ambition is simple: to make the Arncliffe a proper village pub once again, somewhere locals and visitors alike can enjoy good food, good b**r and great company.

At a time when traditional country pubs across Britain face enormous challenges, it’s wonderful to see someone willing to invest their time and enthusiasm in keeping one alive.

We wish Lee and everyone at the Arncliffe Arms the very best of luck with this exciting new chapter. ❤️

📍 Arncliffe Arms, Glaisdale, near Whitby

19/10/2026

It’s easy to imagine that moorland fades to grey in early winter once the heather has gone ….

But purple blooms give way to fiery reds across the hillscapes, as bilberry bushes take on a winter-changing glow 🥰

The colour won’t last long, mind.
Not that Scout cares.

But it’s another reminder to make the most of walking days in and around the village.

(And another to get better organised next year to gather these gorgeous wild blueberries in August before the sheep get them 🫐🐏🤦‍♀️)

Never a dull season on the North York Moors 🩶💜❤️
🏡🌲🫐 North York Moors National Park
🐾

14/10/2026

What’s my (other) most favourite job running the cottage? …

Shopping at Botham’s in Whitby for lovely cakes and treats to put in our guest welcome hampers! 🎁💝

I won’t give my selections away, as that would ruin the surprise. Suffice to say, I pick some based on seasonality….a bit of warming ginger for winter? Lemon bakes for Summer?

Plus I always take into account what our guests say they love, and make a note for their return visit 🥰

So every hamper is personal.

Established in 1865, Elizabeth Botham began selling her baking to the people of Whitby.

Today, I’d strongly recommend a trip to this ultimate Botham’s tea room where family-produced breads, bakes and cakes can be purchased and enjoyed with a delightful range of hot and cold drinks ☕️🍰

Any wonder today’s task counts as one of my own cottage favourites? 😁

🏡🌲🎁
Botham's of Whitby

08/10/2026

It’s amazing what guests will get up to on the cottage kitchen table!

When I popped over this week to greet Paula and Nick on their first visit, little did I expect to catch them right in the act … of a timed jigsaw challenge! 😳🧩

One sorts the pieces, the other puts them together. The clock was stopped, once they heard the knock on the door… ⏱️

Their record for a 500-piece puzzle? Just over 2 hours.

But I’m now delighted to report that Benchmark Cottage serves as the prestigious venue for their record-beating 1 hour 49 minutes! 🏆

Fancy a challenge?
Well, both have kindly left the puzzle at the cottage for other guests to complete ❤️

All to prove that time really does stand still here in Glaisdale! 😁
🏡🌲🥰

03/10/2026

It’s been lovely welcoming our returning guests, Dale and Lucie, back to the cottage.

Life gets very busy for everyone - and so when our guests find their way back to us to recharge and re-familiarise themselves with our lovely coast and moors, it makes us extra happy😊

We’ve also been taking a few days out for some welcome R&R … so we know what it takes to walk in our guests shoes (so to speak) and make the commitment to return.

So thank you 🙏
🏡🌳❤️

26/09/2026

Gone midnight? Who cares! 🕛🌙

I’ll do all the cottage changeovers myself wherever possible (99.9% of the time) ….whatever the time of day (or night) 🕛

I love the calm, peace and quiet that comes with making the cottage a cosy hideaway for guests; somewhere they can drop their bags, forget about the outside world and sink themselves into the intimate warmth and cleanliness of their adoptive home for the coming days.

Because time is precious and I know how I’d want to feel on those special days away.

Maybe that’s why I love doing what I do: creating a space I’d want for myself.

And imagining how travel-worn guests would want to feel when they walk in the door: relieved, assured and at home.
🏡🌳🥰

(I may have the social media posting algorithm all wrong. But that’s fine by me. I’m just sitting in the cottage at 12.20am enjoying the moment 🥰)

🏡🌳🥰

21/09/2026

🏡🌲Benchmark Cottage: October Availability! 🌲🏡

Looking for a cosy solo or couple’s pre-Winter retreat in the beautiful North York Moors?

We still have some October availability, but these dates won’t be around for long (min. 3-night stay):

✨ 12-16th October
✨ 19-25th October

Fresh air, dark skies, brisk country walks and a warm AGA welcome await ☺️

So why not book with us today and take advantage of the perfect spot to relax and unwind - before these dates get snapped up! 📞✉️

See comments for bookings 👇
🏡🦉🌲

17/09/2026

Around 2,000 years ago in Yorkshire, a large group of Iron Age people gathered valuable possessions — including feasting vessels, vehicles, weapons and a mirror — before breaking, burning and burying them.

But why? 🏺

Many of our guests make the most of their stay at Benchmark Cottage by spending a day in the atmospheric city of York — one of the main trading settlements of the Viking Age.

And if you’re visiting, a little detour to the Yorkshire Museum is well worth making to explore this fascinating mystery.

Their brand-new exhibition, Chariots, Treasure and Power: Secrets of the Melsonby Hoard, tells the story of the largest hoard of Iron Age metalwork ever discovered in Britain.

Discovered by a metal detectorist in 2021, the remarkable finds are now helping researchers piece together what happened all those centuries ago — and perhaps, eventually, why these precious objects were deliberately destroyed.

And the setting is rather special too — the Yorkshire Museum sits within the beautiful Museum Gardens, right in the heart of York. 🌿

A perfect autumnal activity — and just one of the many fascinating places our guests can discover during a stay with us. 💚
The Yorkshire Museum

14/09/2026

🎃 Autumn at the cottage - a time I love to add touches of seasonal decor. Not too much, just enough 🍁🍂

Cosy corners, warm colours and that unmistakable feeling that the seasons are changing 🧡

(Though Agatha (the AGA) will have to wait for her moment to shine - it’s still too warm too switch her on! 😳)

🏡🌲🍁

11/09/2026

Remember postcards?! 📩

For a bit of fun, we’ve gone a little retro at the cottage.

We’re helping our guests prolong that summer holiday feeling by providing free, good old fashioned postcards to send to friends and family.

And whilst writing them may have taken that extra bit of time and effort, receiving them always felt so thoughtful and personal, don’t you agree?

So get the Bovril on, grab a Bourbon biscuit, blow the dust off your biro and rediscover the lost art of hand-writing …

That’s if the finger cramps allow!😳


🏡📨✍️ Yorkshire Treasures