Sat in a deep copper tub, looking out over our idyllic private lake, it feels like we could be in a remote Scandinavian forest retreat, or perhaps a design-led cabin somewhere in the Canadian wilderness. But no, this isn’t a far-flung hideaway. The rural idyll that is home to my husband James and I for the weekend is actually the stunning Kingfisher Cabin, located in Burythorpe, in North Yorkshire.
Situated on the edge of Malton (Yorkshire’s self-proclaimed Food Capital), this is where luxe scandic design and wild seclusion sits just ten minutes away from a bustling market town and seriously good foodie independents. Total tranquillity and access to great local food and drink within minutes? For a long-overdue couples escape, it’s a pretty irresistible combination.
Fair warning however: once you’ve had your own copper-tub-under-the-stars moment at Kingfisher Cabin, any “normal” weekend breaks are going to feel (very) ordinary indeed.
A secret cabin at the water’s edge
Kingfisher Cabin is part of Kingfisher & Yew, a pair of adults-only rural retreats created by Gemma Boak and her farming family. Their ethos is all about slow, luxurious getaways for two. These are places made for “quiet moments, wild skies and reconnecting with nature” and Kingfisher Cabin is the woodland, lakeside expression of that dream.
You leave the village behind, follow a farm track and (just as you start to wonder if you’ve taken a wrong turn) the trees close in and the lane opens onto a private clearing. There, tucked between the water and the woods, is the cabin: a beautifully crafted timber hideaway with its own boardwalk, big picture windows running all the way across the front of the cabin and not another building in sight. No neighbouring hot tubs, no rows of identical lodges; it’s just the cabin, the lake and a cinematic sense of peace.
Inside the cabin: luxurious, thoughtful details
Open the door and the first thing you notice isn’t actually how it looks (although it is truly gorgeous); it’s how it feels. Underfloor heating runs throughout the cabin so even in the depths of a Yorkshire winter you can walk around barefoot on its toasty wooden floors. The space itself is open-plan and airy, with huge windows framing the lake and woods beyond.
The king-size bed is dressed in hotel-grade linens and in the main open plan kitchen/living area there is a stylish but squishy sofa facing a projector screen for movie nights. The kitchen is compact but extremely well-equipped. The essentials include an induction hob, oven, fridge freezer and all the crockery, cutlery and accessories you need too, all of the highest quality.
In the fridge we find a chilled bottle of fizz, milk, butter and a few thoughtful provisions so we don’t have to think about shopping straight away. On the table, a handwritten welcome note and a (frankly beautiful!) leather bound welcome book, filled with personal notes and humour – as well as the must-know details like how to work the private sauna, make the place feel something truly loved and passed over to guests with thoughtfulness and care for safekeeping for the weekend.
The bathroom is stunning and is more spa than shower room. It’s sleek and is a wet-room style space with a huge rainfall shower, fluffy towels and underfloor heating.
It’s clear every element about how guests are going to use the space has been carefully considered and that they have done everything they can to make it feel effortless.
Private spa energy: your own tub and sauna under the stars
As breathtaking as the interior is, the real magic of Kingfisher Cabin is outside. A huge deck wraps around the lakeside edge, furnished with loungers, chairs and a beautiful deep hand-hammered copper bathtub made for two. It’s positioned so you can walk straight out of the clear sliding doors that front the bedroom section (dressed in the robes provided) and into the tub, which looks out across the water and up into the trees and sky beyond.
Literally a few steps away, housed in its own timber cabin, is the Swedish-style sauna. It’s rounded in shape, made of warm wood, soft lighting and a little window that frames the woodland outside. We develop our own little wellness circuit for the weekend (certainly relaxing if not sophisticated!) from sauna, to cold-water bucket dunk – yes there is one of those too(!) – to copper tub… and repeat. It’s a bit like having your own private woodland spa, but with the truly lovely element of not needing to talk to anyone except each other.
A path from the deck leads into the trees to a secluded firepit clearing where seating and logs await us. On our second night we wrap up and toast marshmallows while owls call somewhere out in the dark. Magical!
You’ll find all the details at https://kingfisherandyew.uk/kingfisher/.
Malton – Yorkshire’s Food Capital – is on your doorstep
Kingfisher Cabin is all about retreating into nature, but one huge bonus is that Malton is on your doorstep for when you want to resurface and head out for excellent things to eat and drink! The town has a long history as a market centre and has reinvented itself over the last decade as “Yorkshire’s Food Capital”, with artisan producers, indie spots and regular food festivals drawing in hungry visitors all year round.
From the cabin it’s around a ten-minute drive into town. We dedicate a full day to exploring Talbot Yard and the surrounding streets, turning our visit into a wonderful self-guided food and drink tour.
Talbot Yard and its resident artisans
Talbot Yard Food Court sits just behind The Talbot Hotel, a former coaching yard transformed into a courtyard of artisan producers. It’s compact but pretty and absolutely packed with temptation. You’ll discover coffee, gin, gelato, bakeries and patisserie all within a few steps of each other.
I am an absolute advocate for independents and believe that one of the best bit of exploring any new area is seeking out the local gems and owner-run spots. Talbot Yard is basically that idea wrapped up in one beautiful courtyard.
Full details are at https://www.visitmalton.com/talbot-yard-food-court.
Here are some of the places we visited within Talbot Yard that I would highly recommend:
Roost Espresso Bar
We started at Roost Espresso Bar, a speciality coffee shop and roastery in a Grade II listed carriage house. It’s a cool and quirky looking place with exposed brick, industrial lighting and deep sofas. Roost roast their beans on a 100% electric, solar-powered roasting kit at their nearby roastery, focusing on ethically sourced small-batch coffee.
Roost is very much a family story: it was founded in 2015 by David and Ruth Elkington, who left previous careers (and a successful first café in Helmsley) to pursue their dream of running their own roastery and coffee business in North Yorkshire. That love of coffee shows in every detail, from the way staff talk about the beans to the in-house roasting notes chalked up behind the bar. The flat whites we have there are spot on and since this trip, thanks to their expert advice, and directly because of their gorgeous coffee, I have now changed my ‘regular’ coffee order from a basic latte to a flat white… The more you know…
Take a look here: https://www.roostcoffee.co.uk/.
Bluebird Bakery
Next up is Bluebird Bakery. Bluebird bake everything overnight in their Malton bakery, filling their own shops in Malton, York and Leeds with loaves and pastries that look like they’ve come straight from Pinterest!
The staff at Bluebird fill us in on how they began life quite literally on a kitchen table in York, as a small home-baking project that snowballed into a proper artisan bakery rooted in slow fermentation and “real bread” values. Today, husband-and-wife founders Al and Nicky Kippax still steer the ship, and the focus is firmly on long-fermented sourdoughs made with organic flour and no weird additives, plus small-batch pastries.
We leave with a sourdough loaf for breakfast back at the cabin (the idea of having the still-warm loaf when back at the lakeside deck is too good to resist!).
You’ll find them at https://bluebirdbakery.co.uk/.
Florian Poirot, Master Patissier
Florian Poirot’s patisserie is a little jewel box packed with immaculate tarts, éclairs and chocolates. You may have seen his York shop on The Shambles but this place is where it all began!
Originally from Nancy in north-eastern France, Florian spent his childhood in his grandfather’s bakery before going on to study at culinary school and ultimately achieving a master’s qualification in pastry and confectionery. He later moved to the UK, became UK Pastry Champion and represented the country at the World Pastry Cup in Lyon before opening his pristine little shop in Talbot Yard.
His Malton patisserie has welcomed everyone from The King and Queen to TV food royalty – how special! Of course we had to pick up a box of delicious macarons with that background. They look almost too pretty to eat… almost!
Rare Bird Gin Distillery
A few steps away, Rare Bird Distillery is part working distillery, part bar and part gin school. Their signature London Dry gin is made on site with a line-up of botanicals that includes green pepper, rosemary and hibiscus and they also produce flavoured gins and liqueurs. Rare Bird is the brainchild of husband-and-wife team Matt and Elizabeth Stewart.
We met Matt in person who explained how after years in the fire service, he retrained and started experimenting with gin recipes in his garage, eventually opening Malton’s first distillery with Elizabeth. He leads the 5-star-rated gin school sessions and is still regularly crafting new batches!
We perch at the bar for a tasting, trying the classic London Dry served with tonic. It’s bright, aromatic and incredibly drinkable. If you choose to go to Rare Bird’s gin school, they let you design your own botanical blend and distil it into a full 70cl bottle to take home. This experience has gone straight onto our ‘must-do’ list for next time!
All the info is at https://www.rarebirddistillery.co.uk/.
Groovy Moo Gelato
Our next stop is Groovy Moo Gelato. This is a family-run gelateria, combining Italian training with Yorkshire milk and cream to create small-batch flavours.
The Founder Michelle has ice cream in her blood as it has been the family business for decades. Before opening Groovy Moo in Talbot Yard in 2015 (this was the very first unit to open there, she tells us!), she ran a successful ice cream parlour in Bridlington with her husband. Their in-house gelato chef has trained at a specialist gelato school in Bologna, and the cabinet is a rainbow of flavours, many using local fruit and ingredients. The team also pride themselves on catering for everyone with gluten-free options.
https://www.groovy-moo.co.uk/.
Food 2 Remember
Finally we head into Food 2 Remember, the Talbot Yard butcher and deli. This is a family-run business specialising in locally sourced meats, fish, pastries and a strong gluten-free range, with high-welfare produce clearly the priority.
We meet owner and butcher Paul Potts (something of a local legend!) and he’s great – loads of friendly chat and his product knowledge is obvious. The shop focuses on traditional, local and seasonal sourcing like pedigree Hereford beef matured for at least 28 days, hogget lamb and free-range pork and herb-fed chickens. There’s also home-made fishcakes and an impressive selection of gluten-free products, from chicken Kievs to scotch eggs and sausage rolls.
We stock up on one if their famous pies and a chutney to pair with our loaf. We pretty much now have everything we need for our own artisan-made, cosy cabin feast!
Lunch at The Talbot
In the middle of all this grazing we make some time for a sit-down lunch at The Talbot Hotel, the handsome 17th-century coaching inn that overlooks the town and gives Talbot Yard its name.
A large house stood here in the 1600s before it was bought by the local landowning family and turned into an inn for racegoers heading to Malton’s once-famous race meetings. By the mid-18th century it had become the “New Talbot Inn”, later simply The Talbot Hotel, serving stagecoaches bound for York, Scarborough and Whitby. Today it’s owned by the Fitzwilliam Malton Estate and run by The Coaching Inn Group, forming a key part of the estate’s mission to champion Malton as a food town.
The dining room is elegant yet relaxed with super high ceilings, gorgeous big windows and wooden floors. We order the pie of the day (for me) and a sausage-and-mash from the seasonal mains (for James). Yes, it’s ultimate comfort-food territory but it is cold outside, after all.
If you’ve read any if my other reviews, it’s clear I love my pies! But it has to be a ‘proper’ pie, i.e. fully encased in golden pastry (not just on the top). This pie more than passes that test, plus is generous and deeply filled. It is served with mash, seasonal greens and gravy. James’s sausages are huge and tasty and piled on a cloud of mash with sweet caramelised onions and a rich onion gravy. It’s exactly what we needed after a morning wandering around the town.
If you’re doing Kingfisher Cabin as a couples escape, I’d highly recommend building a lunch or dinner at The Talbot into your Malton day: https://talbotmalton.co.uk/.
Wild seclusion and foodie heaven combined
Back at Kingfisher, we lay out our Bluebird Bakery bread and Food 2 Remember chutney on the kitchen counter, pour Rare Bird G&Ts over ice and queue up a film on the projector. This is bliss!
Kingfisher Cabin is so unique due to this combination. You really feel the calm of being away from it all with a private lake, woodland walks, your own outdoor copper tub and sauna, but then you have the delight of a thriving foodie town just a short drive away when you’re in the mood to explore.
For couples who want to reconnect with each other as much as with nature, this is an absolute dream.
Prices and how to book
Kingfisher Cabin has a minimum two-night stay. Prices start from around £538 for a two-night midweek stay, with long weekend stays (Friday–Monday) from around £917, depending on dates and season.
To check availability or book your own lakeside escape, head to https://kingfisherandyew.uk/kingfisher/
Review and images by Victoria Reddington @vic_reddington
Feature image and some other supplied
