North Yorkshire Home Base: Dales & Moors with Car Rental

We really enjoyed Saltburn by the Sea. Great hiking near by, including the Cleveland Way, Short drives to other Yorkshire locations. Our timing was such that we hit the moors in blooms...incredible!
Enjoy!

Thirsk of course an excellent base for James Herrtiot fans and just a short drive from York. His house and practice are now a museum and you can also visit St Mary’s Church where the real James married Helen...

Thirsk is in the Vale of York so is surrounded by flat agricultural scenery. It is however ideally placed for visiting both the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales. Basing yourself in somewhere like Saltburn gives easy access to the North York Moors but would mean a two hour plus drive just to get to the Yorkshire Dales. (Be warned a 2 hour drive anywhere in rural England is likely to be very different to a two hour drive in the States. A round trip of 4+ hours also takes out a big chunk of the day that could be better used for other things!)

You will find plenty of walking opportunities throughout the Moors and Dales. Other places to consider if you decide not to stop in Tbnirsk, could be Askrigg, Carperby (where James and Helen went on honeymoon), or Hawes for the Dales. For the Moors think about places like Pickering or Helmsley. All of these are small towns with a lot of character and good walking in the surrounding area.

I think Hensley might be a good choice. It’s big enough to have a good amount of lodging, restaurants and cafés, but small enough to still have that charming town appeal. There are castle ruins right on the edge of town, and you are a five minute drive from Rieuvaulx Abbey, which is incredible.

It’s also only 30 minutes from Thirsk, and close to many of the other beautiful small villages in North Yorkshire. I really liked Helmsley a lot and if I went back, would consider staying there.

Here are a couple more suggestions:

Grassington -- This is where the current All Creatures Great & Small is filmed, at least the two scenes. It's a lovely small town with good hiking right from the town. I know you will have a car, which is ideal, but sometimes it is nice to take a rest from driving.

Richmond -- This is a little bigger town, also very attractive with good hiking right from the town.

I can't tell you these are better than Thirsk because I've never been there, but I loved both of them.

I love Grassington, with lots of walks available and a beautiful countryside. I don't know the others you are talking about. I love the Yorkshire Dales though.

Hi EarthGalRee -

While a visit to Thirsk would be in order for a Herriot fan, basing yourself there in my view would be a bit ‘meh’ or as my grandad used to say ‘neither nowt nor summat’. And he would know, having been born in Topcliffe, a few miles away.

I think Mardee was referring to Helmsley and she is correct about that being a better base than Thirsk. It has surrounding attractions - the castle and Rievaulx to name two and is a smaller, more attractive in my view, town than Thirsk. It’s also the start point for the Cleveland Way and a popular place with day trippers or people en route to the moors so can sometimes be busy. However it only makes sense as a base for the North Yorkshire Moors. For the Dales proper you’d have to get across the Vale of Mowbray (or York to give it its common name) to the hills of the Dales. Which is why Grassington, Malham, even Ingleton, or Hawes make more sense as a Dales base. Dent is a grand little village (if a bit tight to drive through!) and here you also have access to the Howgill hills. You have even closer access to the Howgills in Sedbergh, plus the Dales, and the Lake District come to that, are not a massive drive away.

If you are determined to stay somewhere between the Dales and the North Yorks. Moors then consider Masham, another small market town unusually well supplied with breweries or maybe Leyburn which sits on the eastern edge of the Dales, which makes cutting across to the North Yorkshire Moors not too big an issue.

While you might enjoy winding roads, I’d avoid the road from Dent to Thornton in Lonsdale via Kingsdale on a first visit. You might think driving two hours is nothing but this single track road is terrifyingly steep on the Dent side, the asphalt runs out runs out mid way for a section and when you are back on terra firma there are several gates to open and close which otherwise bar progress! Save for another time when you might be more confident!

Hope you have a great trip. Fingers crossed for half decent weather. Give me a shout if there is anything you think I might be able to help you with.

Ian