Within and on the outskirts of the North Yorkshire Moors National Park you've a stunning choice of accommodation bases. Main centres Helmsley, Pickering and Malton to the south are popular choices as holiday bases but if you're looking for quieter idyllic Moors bases, good choices include Hutton-le-Hole, home to the Ryedale Folk Museum, Thornton-le-Dale, Appleton-le-Moors, Osmotherley, market town Kirkbymoorside with its pretty cobbled streets and fine Georgian houses or renowned Goathland which featured as main base in the tv series Heartbeat.
Get away from it all North York Moors villages such as Hutton Le Hole offer the best aspects of a walking holiday in the North York Moors including stunning quiet village settings and country pubs serving up fine food and real Yorkshire ale.
Hutton-le-Hole is one of the most popular North York Moors villages, so named as the village sits within a hole/hollow. Home to the award winning Rydale Folk Museum, Hutton-le-Hole makes for a superb walking base framed by the limestone headlands of the Tabular Hills with Spaunton Moor to the north.
A charming little village where you can really get away from it all. There's a local pub, a specialist ice cream maker and lots of peace and quiet and roaming sheep providing a free lawn cropping service to the attractive village green. The ultimate quiet Yorkshire Moors base. Hutton Beck stream runs through the village adding even more to its character.
The award winning Ryedale Folk Museum is spread over three acres and digs deep into the history of Ryedale and the North Yorkshire Moors as far back as the Iron Age. On-site attractions include a fascinating reconstructed Iron Age Fort, Victorian Gardens and Victorian Classroom, a Moorland Industries exhibit exploring particularly the 19th century history of mining in the Rosedale area, a Manor House and Crofter's Cottage, a chemist, village shop and metal forge. Checkout the Ryedale Folk Museum's webguide below for full listings of attractions and an interactive map of the site.
Plenty of fun activities for kids like the Maze, Whitches Hovel and Elphi Trail following the story of the Ryedale hob Elphi are also on offer, and the annual programme of events is impressive.
Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton le Hole, York YO62 6UA. Tel. 01751 417 367.
www.ryedalefolkmuseum.co.uk
Rosedale Abbey sits in the heart of the North York Moors to the north of Hutton-le-Hole. This delightful small village has a history and heritage of both glass making and during the 19th century ironstone production. The remains of old mines can still be seen in the area.
Within the village you'll find a glass blowing workshop, a wildflower and herb growing nursery, a 9 hole golf course and many walking trails in and around the area. All that remains of the old Cistercian nunnery is a stone turret.
The village information point sits within the Abbey Stores and Tearoom in the village. Seek out too the studio of Gillies Jones at Rosedale Abbey. Checkout their weblink right for examples of the unique glass pieces produced here.
Thornton-le-Dale just to the south east of Pickering in the Vale of Pickering makes for a superb historic market village base. Its position offers easy access into the North York Moors and nearby Dalby Forest, as well as south into the gentler Yorkshire Wolds.
The village is a popular choice with walkers and off-road cyclists heading to nearby Dalby Forest. The Dalby Forest Visitor Centre sits just off the scenic Dalby Forest drive near Low Dalby. Two stunning forest and dales marked trails - the Dalby Beck Walks push out from the visitor centre. See the Dalby Forest webguide right for more information from the Forestry Commission.
Picturesque Thornton-le-Dale with rolling beck and historic market cross, stocks and village green is perfect as a peaceful Moors base. Within the village alongside the stream sits the picture postcard Thatched Beck Isle Cottage.
Find the village information point in Wardill Bros. shop. Thornton-le-Dale holds its annual agricultural show in early August. See the independent Thornton-le-Dale village webguide for a detailed history.
You might know more about Goathland than you think - that is if you were a fan of the ITV series 'Heartbeat' which was film in and around this stunning North York Moors village. (see the Goathland Village webguide right for details).
Goathland is a particularly popular Moors village with both daytripers and as walking and touring base. The village benefits from having one of the station stops for the North Yorkshire Moors Railway from Pickering to Whitby, making it easy to push from Goathland either to the Yorkshire Coast or down to Pickering for the town's many attractions.