Yorkshire: Places to Explore

Askrigg would be just another typical Wensleydale village were it not for its association with the James Herriot TV series All Creatures Great and Small, which was filmed in and around it in the 1970s and... Read more

A leafy, picturesque village amid the rolling hills of the Yorkshire Dales, Bolton Abbey is a famously attractive town with a stone church and evocative priory ruins. Much of the area is still technically... Read more

A fishing port with an ancient harbor, Bridlington is the lesser of the Yorkshire seaside towns, although it arguably has the best beach of them all—a wide arc of dark sand. Boat trips through the... Read more

The old stone village of Danby nestles in a green valley, just a short walk from the tops of the moors. It's been settled since Viking times—Danby means "village where the Danes lived"—and these... Read more

During the Regency and early-Victorian periods, it became fashionable for the noble and wealthy to retire to a spa to "take the waters" for relaxation. In Yorkshire the trend reached its grandest heights... Read more

The best time to visit the so-called cheesiest town in Yorkshire is on Tuesday, when farmers crowd into town for the weekly market. Crumbly, white Wensleydale cheese has been made in the valley for centuries... Read more

Whatever Haworth might have been in the past, today it is Brontë country. This old stone-built textile village on the edge of the Yorkshire Moors long ago gave up its own personality and allowed itself... Read more

The market town of Helmsley, with its flowering window boxes, stone cottages, arched bridges across streams, and churchyard, is the perfect place to spend a relaxing afternoon. You can while away a few... Read more

Sleepy Hutton-le-Hole is a charming little place based around a wide village green, with fluffy sheep snoozing in the shade of stone cottages. Unfortunately, it can be unbearably crowded in summer. You... Read more

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... Read more

One of the cultural centers of the north, Leeds has successfully transformed itself. Its Victorian buildings have been polished and restored, its old factories and warehouses converted into pricey loft... Read more

Richmond tucks itself into a curve above the foaming River Swale, with a network of narrow Georgian streets and terraces opening onto a large cobbled marketplace. Despite all the Georgian architecture... Read more

Ripon was thriving as early as the 9th century as an important market center. A relatively small church has been designated a cathedral since the mid-19th century, which makes Ripon, with only about 15,000... Read more

This tiny fishing village squeezed into a steep narrow ravine is absolutely adorable, from its name right down to its little red-roof cottages and cobbled roads. The village has no connection to the famous... Read more

There is no Scarborough Fair, and historians are divided on whether there ever was one, but don't let that stop you from heading to this classic English seaside resort, where lemon-hue Victorian houses... Read more

Skipton in Airedale, capital of the limestone district of Craven, is a typical dales market town with as many farmers as visitors milling in the streets. There are markets Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and... Read more

This busy market town on the western edge of the moors was once a thriving stopover on the main east-west route from the dales to the coast. Today it's a busy, affluent farm town. Lovely Georgian houses... Read more

A scenic seaside town with a Gothic edge, Whitby is a busy tourist hub, but it handles that fact so well you might not notice (except at dinnertime, when it's hard to get a seat in a restaurant). Whitby... Read more

For many people, the first stop in Yorkshire is the historic cathedral city of York. Much of the city's medieval and 18th-century architecture has survived, making York a delight to explore. It's one of... Read more