Yorkshire – its continuing brilliance – and here’s why.
In this blog I make suggestions for your Yorkshire holiday from the knowledge of a Yorkshire ‘Born and Bred’ lass.
When our guests come and stay at our holiday cottages www.dalesendcottages.co.uk – they find an information folder in their cottage with suggestions of places to go see and do, that we think our guests will find brilliant. I imagine we are recommending places most of our fellow accommodation providers are show casing too. In this blog, I share places that tourists may not always head for. Hackfall woods gets the first mention because we used to go walking there when we were newly weds and our children hadn’t arrived. We think this is one of the most romantic places in the whole of Yorkshire.
Hackfall Woods. www.hackfall.org.uk
Hackfall is an 18 century wood landscape that is a beautiful wood that has been described as a natural wilderness. Today it has been restored with the help of the Woodland Trust so that you can enjoy walks around the landscape, a setting that Wordsworth mentioned in one of his tourist guides. The main folly has been restored along with the fountain and as you walk, you come across other follies, like the one in the picture. The woods were designed by the architect of the gardens of Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal, so you could visit all three places if you fall in love with Hackfall. For walking and gardening enthusiasts, a visit here would be a brilliant Yorkshire holiday idea. You will feel you are stepping back in time.
Grewelthorpe Nr Masham
Swing through trees at Aerial Extreme – www.camphill.co.uk
This is great fun and what’s not to love about bouncing about in trees on high wires? Shake off any sofa cobwebs, get active, and create an appetite for their good café food. Go on, enjoy the challenge. We are all kids at heart!
Bedale North Yorkshire
Penn Hill – http://bit.ly/1SRWDcb
WE think you should walk up magnificent Penn Hill to the Beacon, whilst you are staying here. You could have a picnic at the top (you will have earned it after the leg-stretching climb) -weather permitting! You can marvel at the incredible views of Coverdale and Wensleydale including Bolton Castle. The descent will seem oh-so-easy. Once back down in the dale, head to Berrys Farm Shop in Swinnithwaite to stock up on delicious Yorkshire-sourced food as an easy cooking treat to take back to your cottage in the evening.
West Witton, Leyburn.
Tennants Auctioneers Leyburn – www.tennants.co.uk
We are 6 miles from this major Yorkshire Auction house and tt is now hard to believe that once the business was run from a ramshackled barn in Middleham. Auctions are held almost every other weekend, see their website for the programme, and find a sale you may be interested in. They range from country house clearance, to more specialised items like musical instruments, cars and military memorabilia etc
Auction view days are advertised – if there is one on your arrival day of a Friday, get to Yorkshire early enough to view the sale, have lunch or tea in the café before heading for us. On Saturday, wake up and go there to bid!
Leyburn.
Other notable auction houses we like are Thomas Watsons Darlington and Addison Auctioneers in Barnard Castle. These two auction houses are not technically in ‘Yorkshire’ – but are close enough to visit whilst you are here.
Wensleydale Railway – www.wensleydalerail.com
The armchair way to view the dales – routes head north west up the dale and finish at Redmire and pass through Leyburn. Look out for the special trains they run during major holiday periods. During off-peak tourist times, the trains are very quiet – you may even get a whole carriage to yourselves.
We are available as concierge helpers – for our cottages dalesendcottages.co.uk if you want further recommendations. You can be sure we know the area, we’re Yorkshire born and bred.