Knaresborough

At the bottom of a precipitously deep rocky gorge along the River Nidd, the little town of Knaresborough couldn't be more photogenic. It's best seen from a train, crossing the high Victorian viaduct above. In summer you can rent a boat and paddle down the slow-moving river and wander the town's little marketplace, and year-round you can climb to the hilltop ruins of the castle where Richard II was imprisoned in 1399.