North York Moors Villages

North York Moors Village Attractions

Within and on the edge of the North York 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 ‘Heartbeat village’ Goathland.

Hutton-le-Hole Village

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 Ryedale 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, Hutton-le-Hole has a great local pub and lots of peace and quiet with roaming sheep providing a free lawn cropping service to the attractive village green. Hutton Beck stream runs through the village adding to its character.

The Ryedale Folk Museum in Hutton-le-Hole

The award winning Ryedale Folk Museum is spread over five acres and digs deep into the history of Ryedale and the North Yorkshire Moors as far back as the Iron Age right up to the 1950s. 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. A free entry gallery with the best of local art, crafts and heritage is also on-site.

Rosedale Abbey Village

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 in 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. A great place to stay, Rosedale Abbey is packed with fine country inns, scrumptious takeaways, tearooms and restaurants all with a strong focus on locally produced and sourced food.

Thornton-le-Dale Walking and Cycling

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 gentle 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 waymarked trails – the Dalby Beck Walks – push out from the visitor centre. Picturesque Thornton-le-Dale with rolling beck and historic market cross, stocks and village green is perfect as a peaceful Moorland base. Within the village alongside the stream sits the picture postcard Thatched Beck Isle Cottage.

Goathland Village

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. Goathland is a particularly popular Moors village with both daytripers and holiday makers. The village has a station stop along the North Yorkshire Moors Railway making it the perfect base from which to tour the park by scenic steam railway.