The story so far……………
At the time you are reading this we have come to the end of a metamorphosing process. Yep we’ve changed!
Since we purchased the Carlton Lodge in 1989, we have seen a number of changes in Helmsley, the North Yorkshire Moors National Park and indeed here at the Carlton Lodge.
Over the years, our customer profile has changed, Helmsley has become more cosmopolitan (horrible word) and the National Park has become more focused on recreation and sustainable tourism. So we decided to change as well. We are no longer a 2 star hotel. We are now a self assessed 4 star bed and breakfast. We offer traditional B&B in an area of superb surroundings where every season and sometimes every month brings a different view of this wonderful area.
We have disposed of our function room and the rear bedrooms as well as most of the car park for affordable housing (much needed in Helmsley). We no longer offer a dinner service, mainly because we’re getting older now it gets more, well you know…, and there is a very good selection of local eateries in the immediate area. Our bar facility no longer exists.
We are continuously examining our methods of running our B&B and are leaning more towards the ‘sustainable’ aspect of tourism, so much so that we have adopted a Sustainable Tourism Commitment, devised by our North York Moors National Park. We are sourcing more or our bed and breakfast products locally, for example, our dry cured bacon is from Dalton near Thirsk, our farm eggs are from Allerston and our award winning sausages are from Masham.
Food miles are for us a big issue and not only because of greenhouse gases. We also recycle more and purchase some of our energy requirement from sustainable resources. All in all we have become more conscious of our footprint on the planet and are trying to minimise its effect. We hope however to gain some new friends with our new business ‘ethos’ and retain most of our old ones as well!
Finally no ‘About Us’ page would be complete without a word (and photo) about our family.
Emma’s special day (after 3 years of partying!)
Emma now 34 has a Travel and Tourism Management Degree and has sampled bed and breakfasts all over the world. She has travelled around South America, New Zealand and Australia but has now settled down (we think) in a regular job in Leeds working for a cycling organisation, her other great love. Recently we caught her looking at an atlas so it may be another trip is in the offing. Lookout China! I wonder what you get for breakfast in a Chinese bed and breakfast?
Daniel now 30 announced for his ‘gap year’ He was planning to play bass guitar in a band prior to going on to Uni. We smiled and a little reluctantly agreed; well you can’t do a gap year for one and not the other can you? In the following whirlwind the band, One Night Only was signed by Mercury Records, produced a CD which went ‘gold’, had two records in the top ten and more recently produced a promotional song for Coca Cola, with whom they have travelled to every continent (excluding Antarctica) in getting the ‘Coke’ message out. The musical career is now over (we think) and he now works for a restaurant in York.
We are constantly amazed by our Children.
We hope you will visit our B&B, the Carlton Lodge and we really do hope you enjoy your stay when you come. We are happy to help you make any arrangements you feel you need when you do come to see us. From flowers and chocolates to long stay car parking whilst you walk the Cleveland Way there won’t be many requests we have never heard. All our rooms are bookable online in real time as are any extras like champagne, flowers, pet visits etc, look out for the supplement list when you book.
We look forward to sharing Helmsley and our bed and breakfast when you stay.
Thanks
Chris & Margaret Parkin