Explore

Yorkshire, one good place at a time.

Everything here is chosen, written up and kept honest. No sponsored slots, no filler.

Eat & DrinkStayWalksThings to DoTowns & Villages

Heritage & landscape · Yorkshire Dales

Bolton Abbey

Priory ruins, stepping stones and riverside paths for every pace.

Landscape · Harrogate & Nidderdale

Brimham Rocks

Gritstone stacks balanced like something left behind on purpose.

Historic house · York

Castle Howard

Baroque theatre in the Howardian Hills, with grounds to match.

Heritage & landscape · Harrogate & Nidderdale

Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal

The grandest monastic ruin in the country, in a designed water garden.

Walk & landscape · Leeds & West Yorkshire

Ilkley Moor

The moor of the song, twenty minutes above a spa town.

Market town · Harrogate & Nidderdale

Knaresborough

A gorge town with a viaduct, a castle and rowing boats below.

Walk & landscape · Yorkshire Dales

Malham Cove

A curved limestone wall 80 metres high, with pavement on the top.

Heritage railway · North York Moors

North Yorkshire Moors Railway

Steam across the moors from Pickering to the coast.

Village & coast · Whitby & the Coast

Robin Hood's Bay

A smugglers' village poured down a cliff into the sea.

Arts & heritage · Leeds & West Yorkshire

Salts Mill

A Victorian mill turned gallery, bookshop and very good lunch.

Country house hotel · Yorkshire Dales

The Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa

The comfortable end of the Dales, a field away from Bolton Abbey.

Eat & drink · Whitby & the Coast

The Magpie Café

Whitby's best-known plate of fish and chips, harbour side.

Street · York

The Shambles

A medieval butchers' row that leans in over your head.

Village inn · North York Moors

The Star Inn at Harome

A thatched Moors inn that put this corner of Yorkshire on the food map.

Heritage · Whitby & the Coast

Whitby Abbey

A ruin on a headland doing exactly what a ruin on a headland should.

Heritage · York

York Minster

The one building in Yorkshire everybody should stand under once.

Arts & landscape · Wakefield & Calderdale

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Five hundred acres of parkland with world-class sculpture in it.

Nature · helmsley-ryedale

Birch Wood Nature Reserve

A secluded woodland reserve north of Helmsley with veteran trees, seasonal flowers and wildlife.

Hotel · grassington-upper-wharfedale

Black Horse Hotel

A 17th-century coaching inn close to the square with en-suite rooms, a bar and restaurant.

Bakery & tearoom · Whitby & the Coast

Botham's of Whitby

Fifth-generation bakers and a tearoom that has not chased fashion.

Heritage · helmsley-ryedale

Duncombe Park

An historic estate close to Helmsley with landscape terraces, parkland and the National Centre for Birds of Prey within its grounds.

Hotel · helmsley-ryedale

Feversham Arms Hotel & Verbena Spa

A hotel and spa in central Helmsley with rooms, restaurant, outdoor pool and Verbena Spa.

Town · grassington-upper-wharfedale

Grassington

Town in Grassington.

Museum · grassington-upper-wharfedale

Grassington Folk Museum

A small local museum on the village square covering Upper Wharfedale life, lead mining, farming, crafts, domestic history and the former Yorkshire Dales Railway.

Hotel · grassington-upper-wharfedale

Grassington House

A Georgian house on the village square combining individually designed rooms with a restaurant, bar and terrace.

Town · helmsley-ryedale

Helmsley

A compact market town with sandstone streets, independent shops, cafés, a castle and direct access to the western North York Moors.

Arts culture · helmsley-ryedale

Helmsley Arts Centre

A community arts venue presenting cinema, theatre, music, exhibitions, talks and workshops in central Helmsley.

Pub · helmsley-ryedale

Helmsley Brewing Company

A small brewery and brew tap in central Helmsley producing its own North York Moors beers.

Heritage · helmsley-ryedale

Helmsley Castle

A castle above the River Rye whose surviving remains trace the site from medieval fortress to Tudor mansion and later ruin.

Family attraction · helmsley-ryedale

Helmsley Open Air Swimming Pool

A 25-metre heated outdoor swimming pool run as a charity in the North York Moors National Park.

Garden · helmsley-ryedale

Helmsley Walled Garden

A five-acre historic walled garden below the castle, with borders, glasshouses, orchard, café, plant centre and shop.

Shop · helmsley-ryedale

Hunters of Helmsley

A family-run food shop with a deli counter, pantry, Yorkshire produce, cheeses, meats, pies, sandwiches and drinks.

Self catering · grassington-upper-wharfedale

Long Ashes Park

A holiday park at Threshfield with lodges, glamping options and on-site leisure facilities.

Cafe · helmsley-ryedale

Mannion & Co Helmsley

A Helmsley branch of the Yorkshire bistro-deli-bakery serving baked goods, deli plates, sandwiches and café food.

Family attraction · helmsley-ryedale

National Centre for Birds of Prey

A specialist bird-of-prey centre at Duncombe Park with more than 40 aviaries, flying demonstrations and extensive outdoor space.

Heritage · helmsley-ryedale

Nunnington Hall

A National Trust manor house beside the River Rye with period rooms, exhibitions, an organic garden, tea room and second-hand bookshop.

Garden · grassington-upper-wharfedale

Parcevall Hall Gardens

Hillside gardens above Skyreholme with paths, planting and a tea room in a quiet Dales setting.

Restaurant · helmsley-ryedale

Pignut & The Hare

A restaurant with rooms at the Hare Inn in Scawton, combining the older inn setting with Pignut’s seasonal, locally focused cooking.

Garden · Harrogate & Nidderdale

RHS Garden Harlow Carr

Sixty-odd acres of Yorkshire planting, at its best in bad weather.

Heritage · helmsley-ryedale

Rievaulx Abbey

Extensive Cistercian abbey ruins in the Rye valley with a museum, audio interpretation and café.

Garden · helmsley-ryedale

Rievaulx Terrace

An 18th-century landscape terrace above Rievaulx Abbey with lawns, temples and changing views down to the ruins.

Family attraction · grassington-upper-wharfedale

Stump Cross Caverns

A visitor cave system on the B6265 between Grassington and Pateley Bridge, with self-guided underground exploration and a visitor centre.

Hotel · helmsley-ryedale

The Black Swan

A historic inn on Helmsley’s market place combining pub, restaurant and guest rooms in a group of buildings from different periods.

Hotel · helmsley-ryedale

The Feathers Hotel

A central coaching-inn-style hotel on the market square with rooms, dining and the Pickwick Bar.

Pub · grassington-upper-wharfedale

The Foresters Arms

A traditional village pub, restaurant and B&B serving pub food and local ales in central Grassington.

Pub · grassington-upper-wharfedale

The Fountaine Inn

A village inn in Linton with pub food, a bar and five guest rooms.

Hotel · helmsley-ryedale

The Pheasant Hotel

A country hotel overlooking Harome’s village pond with individually furnished rooms, dining spaces and an indoor pool.

Hotel · helmsley-ryedale

The Royal Oak Hotel

A family-run pub and small hotel on the market place with five en-suite rooms and classic pub food.

Restaurant · helmsley-ryedale

The Star Inn at Harome

A long-established restaurant and inn in Harome with seasonal menus, bar, garden and rooms nearby.

Cafe · grassington-upper-wharfedale

The Stripey Badger

An independent bookshop with a coffee shop and kitchen on Grassington’s square.

Bakery · helmsley-ryedale

Thomas the Baker - Helmsley

The Helmsley home base of a Yorkshire bakery business founded in the town in 1981, producing bread, pastries, cakes and sandwiches.

Shop · grassington-upper-wharfedale

Town End Farm Shop & Tearoom

A family-run farm shop and tearoom in Malhamdale selling local produce, meat, deli goods and food from the farm.

Food & attraction · Yorkshire Dales

Wensleydale Creamery

Cheese made in the dale it is named after, in Hawes.