Pretty in a solid, understated way, this market town has a busy town centre with lots of enticing independent shops, pubs and cafes; great schools, including a leading independent; a sports centre; a beautiful park just a stone’s throw from the town centre; a charming canal, and a thriving arts centre.
It even has an extremely active rugby club, and, for those of you with your sights on the skies, a gliding club. Keep an eye out for references to abolitionist William Wilberforce, one of the town’s most famous sons, and once a pupil at Pocklington School. And just to add to this remarkable mix, there’s a Buddhist meditation centre just up the road, too.
The highly regarded Pocklington Arts Centre is a not-for-profit arts & entertainment venue with a diverse programme of music, comedy, theatre productions and cinema in an intimate 200 seat auditorium.
The thriving Pocklington Arts Centre. Image: Tony Bartholomew All within a lovingly restored Grade II listed building with a fascinating history. Dating from 1690 as a residential dwelling for a local doctor, to the 20th Century glamour of The Ritz Cinema and the intriguing Penny Arcadia Museum before being rescued from disrepair by Pocklington Town Council and a committed group of volunteers towards the end of the 1990s.
This year’s programme includes National Theatre Live performances, music from the likes of Andy Fairweather Low, Kathryn Tickell, Brighouse & Rastrick Band and Mark Radcliffe and David Boardman. There’s comedy, kids’ theatre as well as writing and drawing workshops. Pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk
You can do the ‘mooch and afternoon tea’ version of Pocklington – or be energetic with a Wolds walk and cycle kind of adventure. Pocklington has a mix of high-end boutiques and good-old fashioned shops of the kind that every town needs. Among the latter, Arkwright’s Allsorts, a proper general store. More glamorous are home stores Furnish & Fettle, Grandad’s Shed and Dilly Dally. Layered back from the Market Place are two flagstoned alleys, Clarke’s Lane and Waterloo Lane, where you’ll find I Love Zero, a zero-waste eco shop, Brown’s the Greengrocers, where the produce is arranged like a jewel box. And do visit Laverack’s butchery and deli, famous for its local beef, dry-aged on the premises
For sweet treats, Swirlz Gelato offers some delicious and unusual flavours of ice cream and the town has a clutch of good-looking pubs and bars, including Judson’s’ wine bar and The Station Hotel.
Put a date in your diary to visit to the beautiful Burnby Hall Gardens in summer – not only does this delightful park contain the fascinating Stewart Museum, it’s also home to one of just two National Collections of water lilies. If you love tulips, there’s dazzling Tulip Festival too April-May and February is snowdrop time of course.
Close to Pocklington, find your calm at Madhyamaka Kadampa Meditation Centre set within 42 acres of parkland and woodland. You can explore historic Kilnwick Percy Hall, visit the World Peace Cafe and Temple, or browse the gift shop. Stay over at The Wolds Retreat B&B.
Madhyamaka KMC was founded by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso and has been located at Kilnwick Percy Hall since 1986. Now an internationally-renowned centre, thousands of people attend courses, meditation classes and events throughout the year, as well as visit the beautiful lake, walled gardens, woodlands and parkland. All are welcome to enjoy the peaceful and relaxing grounds and building, See the beautiful meditation rooms or relax in the Georgian sitting room with a good book.
It’s fair to say that Pocklington is a popular choice when it comes to house-hunting. The popularity of the market town with its proximity to York and Leeds alongside the expanse of the Yorkshire Wolds on the doorstep makes it a sought-after and desirable place to live.
House styles vary from executive new build developments to period cottages in the historic town centre. On the outskirts are impressive and substantial detached homes with land.
House prices in Pocklington have an overall average of £285,347 over the last year.
The majority of properties sold in Pocklington during the last year were detached properties, selling for an average price of £372,725. Semi-detached properties sold for an average of £230,076, with terraced properties fetching £215,476.
Overall, the historical sold prices in Pocklington over the last year were 6% down on the previous year and 6% up on the 2020 peak of £270,058.
Jo Barnes moved from York to her husband’s family farm in Pocklington in 1997 where operates as The Mile which is home to a campsite, events barn, shop, cafe and dog park.
The deli on their site sells plenty of produce from very local suppliers – from honey to Wold Top beer.
She says, ‘Pocklington is in a beautiful part of the world – the Yorkshire Wolds – which is unspoilt and lesser known but full of history. From our site you can walk into the town or head out on walking or cycling routes.
‘We love to take horses to the beach – my daughter rides. The beaches at Fraisthorpe and Wilsthorpe and perfect and about half an hour’s drive from Pocklington. My mum and dad came to live here from York and they find the place so friendly.
‘With visitors we’d walk to Pocklington Woods and a circular route taking in the historic Madhyamaka Kadampa Meditation Centre at Kilnwick Percy Hall and its lovely grounds, then we’d stop off at Millington and The Gait pub.’
themilepocklington.co.uk
