Cottingham: History, Market and Walking Routes

If you are considering Cottingham as a destination for a hotel stay, local attractions can shape your visit: historic buildings, a market with a long history, walking routes or golf. The sights and activities offer different focuses. You can weigh up whether you would rather spend your time exploring architectural history, visiting the Market Green on a Thursday, going for a walk or playing golf.

Historic buildings and traces of a castle site

Baynard Castle is a significant example of a magnate’s manor house and has a well-documented history that includes visits by two English kings. The remains of the outer moat can be seen in the front gardens of numbers 274 to 286 Hallgate. The property is privately owned and is not open to the public. Bear this restriction in mind when exploring the history of the castle site.

The buildings in the town also offer different points of reference in time. The present building of the parish church of St Mary the Virgin dates from the 14th century. The Old Manor House is probably a 16th-century timber-framed house with brick infill. Comparing the two shows both a definite date and a cautiously worded attribution: the date assigned to the Old Manor House is considered probable. For visitors interested in architecture, these two buildings add other architectural styles and periods to the history of Baynard Castle.

Another historical connection relates to Thwaite Gardens. They were formerly part of the gardens of Thwaite Hall. The gardens of Thwaite Hall were designated a Grade 2 garden of special historic interest. Here, too, the connection is with garden history and its designation; the former association with Thwaite Hall is the relevant historical context.

Market and walking routes

Cottingham’s market has been held since the 17th century and still takes place every Thursday on the Market Green. If you would like to plan your stay around a particular day of the week, Thursday is the day to bear in mind for this market. This lets you include a market visit as a distinct activity without treating it as the same kind of attraction as the other historic sights.

There are two different starting points for walking. The Cottingham Circular is 9 miles (14 kilometres) long and passes through the centre of Cottingham and parts of Skidby and Willerby. Its length and route help you work out how to fit this walk into your plans. The Historic Cottingham Walk is still available free of charge as a leaflet for a historic circular walk. This puts the emphasis on a historic walk presented in leaflet form, while the length and route are specified for the Cottingham Circular. Both options may appeal to different interests: a walk with a stated distance or a historic circular walk.

Golf and rail travel

Golf is another specific focus. Cottingham Parks Golf & Leisure Club has two golf courses, Cottingham Parks and Skidby Lakes, as well as a driving range. If golf is part of your trip, the two named courses and the driving range offer a clear point of reference when choosing your stay.

The platform access at Cottingham railway station is also relevant when planning your journey. Platform 2 towards Scarborough is accessed at ground level. Platform 1 towards Hull is reached via a footbridge with steps. Crossing the tracks is not suitable for wheelchair users. If you are travelling by wheelchair, take particular account of this limitation when planning your journey. The access arrangements differ by platform and direction, so check which platform is relevant to your trip.

More destinations

Discover more destinations: Skipsea, Market Weighton, Kirkburn, Wold Newton, Ulrome, Coniston, Brough, South Cave

For the main travel overview: East Riding Of Yorkshire.