About Us and About Others!
About the Barnhouse
The door to The Barn House guest house is always open so you are welcome to come straight in as soon as you arrive.
The owner Niki likes to take the personal approach with guests and will always aim to be available to greet guests on arrival and show you around. When she is not available her friendly and helpful staff are around to welcome you in.
We also like to make the time to advise on restaurants and other places to eat or drink, arrange taxi's and recommend activities or places to see in the area or alternatively you can view our recommendations page below and make your own choices or arrangements for dining etc. We can also organise a bottle of wine, beer or champagne with complimentary nibbles or if you already have plans then we simply leave you to get ready or use the Wi-Fi, grounds or lounge areas.
Where possible, we source local ingredients, which not only allows you experience what Yorkshire has to offer but reduces our environmental footprint. We also use as many biodegradable and environmentally friendly cleaning products as are viable and in our bathrooms, we provide you with luxury toiletry products called Miessence®, all of which are 100% certified organic products.
The onsite treatment room, The Garden Retreat, offers a variety of treatments to help you relax and recuperate, certainly the view of our idyllic gardens from the room starts the relaxation process. For treatments and pamper days click here.
In line with our philosophy, we aim that any printed documents or leaflets we produce are sourced from printers who use sustainable printing materials. However, where possible we aim to reduce our printing and consequently publicise all the information available about our services on this website, many of which are available as downloads.
History of The Barn House
Originally a small farm, consisting of a farm house, barn, pigeon loft and cow shed, the Clappison's have captured the full potential of this idyllic little place, transforming it into a stunning home-from-home luxury residence for all to enjoy.
The journey began in 1999, when Joyce (Mum) purchased the site and set about restoring the farm house as her own home now known as "The White House".
The next project for Joyce and her son Anthony was to renovate The Barn House into a four-bedroomed home which she later decided to change into a Guest House.
Aspiring to keep everything original and sympathetic, the main timbers and wooden features in The Barn House roof have, wherever possible, been maintained from the original barn, and the apple wood set into the walls is from an old apple tree in the garden. When designing the bedrooms, Joyce decided each one should have a theme which she based on the places she had visited over the years and so rooms called The Raj Experience, Chambre de Provence, Scottish Highlands and Out of Africa were created.
The wall paintings throughout The Barn House have been done by a local Beverley artist. In the dining room, the picture of the Folly on the wall is a representation of the Folly at Risby Park, our old family home. You will also see paintings of the lake and fishing ponds from Risby Park. The Labrador painted near the entrance is our old chocolate Labrador "Cass".
The family were keen expand the possibilities The Barn House had to offer, both to leisure customers and to local businesses, so in 2005, Joyce and Anthony went on to convert The Pigeon Loft (so named still) to another three-bedroomed property with a kitchen, dining room and living room. In 2006 The Pigeon Loft was nominated for a prestigious Chairman's award in the category of most improved small dwelling and was runner up amongst strong competition.
During 2005, they also converted The Barn House garage into a boardroom for conferences and meetings and built a one storey room to connect the garage to The Barn House, which is now a lovely breakfast room and cafe. When these were completed in October 2005, Niki became involved with the luxury 5 star guest house and now runs it.
Niki spent 15 years working as a supermarket buyer before re-training as a holistic therapist in 1999. Now fully qualified in many therapies such as nutrition, homeopathy, astrology, massage and too many more to mention, Niki classifies herself as a Health and Wellbeing Practitioner. Her knowledge and philosophy is echoed throughout The Barn House with healthy lunch options, organic toiletries, care for the environment and the on-site therapy room, The Garden Retreat.
As you can see, The Barn House is a truly unique and "healthy" place to stay with much more to offer than just charming accommodation. We look forward to welcoming you as our guest within our beautiful home.
About others
`From personal experience and conversations with our guests we have now a list of recommendations for dining and drinking.
You can either book directly but do please call us if you would rather us book somewhere for you
In the Village
The Ferguson and Fawcett Arms, Walkington - tel. 01482 882665
Local pub does a carvery and a typical pub food menu
The Barrel Inn, Walkington
Great village pub, very friendly, often do live music, disco's and quiz nights, have sky TV so you can also enjoy all the up to date footie and sporting action
In Beverley
The Westwood Bar and Grill - www.thewestwood.co.uk
4 New Walk, Beverley, HU17 7AE - tel. 01482 881 999
Great restaurant only 3 miles away, check our their website for menu's
Whites Restaurant and Patisserie - www.whitesrestuarant.co.uk
12a North Bar Without, Beverley, East Yorkshire HU17 7AB - tel. 01482 866121
Lovely food well presented, not great for those with a large appetite.
The Siam Lion Thai Restaurant
4 North Bar Without, Beverley, HU17 7AA - tel. 01482 679797
Fantastic Thai food, beautifully presented. Great of Sunday and Monday
nights when most of the other are closed.
Cerruti 2 Beverley
Station Square, Beverley, HU17 0AS - tel: 01482 866700
Fantastic fish simply the best! Have not been for ages don't know why I stayed away for so long!
Outside Beverley - 10 to 20 minute drive away
The Pipe and Glass Inn - www.pipeandglass.co.uk
West End, South Dalton, HU17 7PN - tel. 01430 810246
Michelin star, food with lots of imagination well worth the extra miles
The Hotham Arms
20 Main Street, Hotham, YO43 4UD - tel. 01430 422939
Again great English food, love the fishcakes! The landlord is a real character!
Our Awards
5 Star Rating
Since opening in 2002, The Barn House and The Pigeon Loft have continuously maintained a 5 star rating - the only one near Beverley!
Awards for Excellence - Silver
Awards for excellence are given by Quality in Tourism. Once a year they carry out a secret visit to assess whether we are have maintained the standards of rating we have been awarded - The Barn House and The Pigeon Loft are both 5 star!
Additionally, when they mark each category, they also assess them on a scale of one to five. For instance, how you answer the phone, your greeting on arrival, the time you spend with your guests, the quality of toiletries in the room, the standard of breakfast and your check-out procedure. To be awarded a silver or gold accolade you must score four or five in every category.
We are very pleased to announce that The Barn House has achieved the SILVER award for excellence! We do not intend to sit on our laurels though, we still strive to improve our service and our offer as we move forward - another great reason to visit us!
Chairman's Award 2008
The Barn House has won the category for enhancing the BUILT HERITAGE of the East Riding of Yorkshire (Single New Dwellings, Conversions and Minor Works Category).
The Chairman's Awards are presented annually by East Riding Council to individuals, companies and organisations within the East Riding of Yorkshire in recognition of their achievements towards enhancing the area in which they work and live.
