North Yorkshire, with its windswept heaths and sea-battered cliffs, is the brooding landscape that inspired Emily Brontë’s ‘wild and windy moors’ in Wuthering Heights. While its romantic pull remains, the days of staying in dated guesthouses and crumbling country houses are over.
Right now, there’s a crop of new openings shaking off the chintz offering a fresh kind of countryside chic.
Bordered by Cumbria and County Durham to the north, and stretching from the Pennines in the west to the North Sea coast in the east, North Yorkshire is England’s largest county — and arguably its most cinematic.
From the honey-stone market towns of the Dales to the windswept drama of the North York Moors and the gothic coastline around Whitby, the region has long been a magnet for walkers, writers and those in search of a bit more space to breathe.
Plus, with direct train links from London to York in under two hours, it’s drawing a new crowd of creative, outdoorsy types who are after something a little less manicured than Soho Farmhouse, and without the pomp of Devon and Cornwall.
From a recently revived seaside hotel to local pubs championing Yorkshire-made produce, and picture book villages worth day-tripping to, here’s our pick of the best things to do in North Yorkshire for the ultimate weekend away.
Where to sleep
Saltmoore
Best for: Boujie and boutique vibes
Tucked behind the dunes just outside Sandsend, Saltmoore is North Yorkshire’s most polished new arrival.
Owned by former Love Island contestant Montana Brown and her fiancé, Mark O’Connor, the once Raithwaite Hall has been reborn as a sleek, Scandi-influenced retreat where wellness and wind-down take top billing.
What it may lack in views, it sure makes up for in style, courtesy of Sapin Studio who’ve made the entire place a total Insta-worthy paradise.
The 72 rooms are calm and quietly luxurious, dressed in oak, linen and muted coastal tones, with stone-tiled bathrooms, plush beds and deep roll-top baths you’ll want to soak in after a bracing morning dip at the beach, which is an easy five-minute stroll away.
Downstairs, there’s a spa with a cryotherapy chamber and Brass Monkey Ice Bath, while Wildsmith Skin spa treatments (the massages are outstanding) will keep you feeling totally zen.
Dining is helmed by Michelin-starred Tommy Banks alongside chef Adam Maddock. Expect seasonally-driven menus and a relaxed brasserie vibe. Think Whitby crab with tomato consomme, monkfish tail with chimichurri and pork fat fries.
It’s worth booking a beach picnic where the team will load you up with a hamper, beach umbrella and blanket for a sea-salty afternoon.
Farndale Cottages
Best for: A self-catered stay
The drive from Whitby to Farndale might just be one of the most spectacular routes in England — the North York Moors National Park roll away as you approach the valley that gives it its name, which is peppered with dry stone walls, postcard pretty villages and soundtracked by bleating sheep, mooing cows and scurrying bunnies. This is the British countryside putting on its very best show.
Farndale is known for its scene-stealing blanket of daffodils come springtime, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a prettier spot to stay right in the heart of the moors at any time of year.
It’s home to 11 slickly restored cottages — from a one-bed converted old school house to the sprawling six-bed Old Vicarage.
My family and I stayed in East Steading, a two-bedroom barn conversion with exposed beams, soaring ceilings and a log-burning stove made for fireside red wine and board games. While the south-facing outdoor space was ideal for a lazy lunch after a moorland stomp.
The estate has its own pub, The Feversham Arms, on the doorstep with a terrific pub garden. While the nearby farm shop is stocked to the rafters with estate-reared produce including Aberdeen Angus beef and Farndale heather honey, soaps made from the milk of estate’s Toggenburg goats and crafts by local artist Sally Parkin.
West Cawthorne
Best for: A cosy couple’s stay
Perched on a peaceful hillside at the edge of the North York Moors, West Cawthorne is a romantic hideaway made for those craving a retreat from the madding crowds.
With just two cabins, and two barns (more on those later), you’ll feel fully immersed in nature. The A-frame cabins are small but perfectly formed — super-minimal in design, with warm plywood walls, rush matting underfoot, and crisp black accents. Walls are adorned in abstract pieces by local landscape artist Kingmaker Studio.
Read our full review of West Cawthorne Cabins
Floor-to-ceiling glass fronts open out to sweeping views and syrupy sunsets, while clever built-in decks come with sunken bathtubs and fire pits for starlit soaks and late-night marshmallow toasts.
You’re on the cusp of an International Dark Sky Reserve here, so when night falls, it’s all about cosmic wonder. Each cabin comes with binoculars, but bring a telescope if you’ve got one — billions of twinkly stars and the odd planet are yours for the spotting.
If you’re bringing the kids or some friends, the converted stone barns nearby are just as serene, offering more space and their own hot tubs but the same design-forward simplicity. A place for slow mornings, bracing walks and evenings nattering around the fire.
Where to eat
Yorkshire is now firmly on the culinary map for far more than just hearty fare (though Yorkshire puddings, we will always love you). It’s home to a growing clutch of Michelin stars and chefs championing hyper-local produce. In fact, there were eight restaurants featured in the 2025 Michelin Guide within Yorkshire.
In this neck of the woods, Tommy Banks anchors North Yorkshire’s food scene with the Michelin-starred Black Swan in Oldstead serving up venison with beetroot or birch sap custard. The Abbey Inn is his latest venture, where you’ll find elevated pub fare like curried celeriac pie, just a stroll from Byland Abbey.
Near the coast, Sandsend’s Fish Cottage (it’s super close to Saltmoore) is a total gem, where a hole-in-the-wall offers the most delicious fish tacos. Think deep fried fish or prawns with fresh chilis and a punchy mayo, alongside moules marinière and oysters. The terrace at the front is a real sun-trap too, if you fancy lingering.
Whitby itself serves up old-school fish and chips at Fascos Royal Fisheries. This is the place the local born and bred go for their haddock and cod, with generous portions and the friendliest service. Just across the road is Botham’s of Whitby, a local institution since 1865, where you’ll find an array of traditional sweet goods like sticky ginger parkin and their famously fluffy lemon buns for very reasonable prices.
Over near Richmond, Forge at Middleton Lodge recently earned its first Michelin star and a Green Star for sustainability. Chef Jake Jones serves up elegant estate-to-plate tasting menus in a converted blacksmith’s forge, with ingredients foraged, grown or reared on the estate itself. It offers a six or 10-course tasting menu feast. If you like the idea of dry aged hogget with mint pickle and miso caramel tart then it’s well worth the trip.
What to do
If all you want is to relax, North Yorkshire makes that easy — but when the mood strikes, you aren’t short of options for exploration.
Kick things off in Malton, a bustling hub for food lovers. It's packed with artisan producers, such as Florian Poirot, owned by a Frenchman who’s lived in North Yorkshire long enough to call it home. Stock up on the macarons or the rum babas which you can buy in glass jars to take home. Or make a beeline to the Rare Bird Distillery for handcrafted gin.
On a sunny day, make your way to Hutton-le-Hole, a charming village where children can paddle in the clear, shallow beck that winds through the green. After some outdoor fun, tuck into some homemade cake at The Old School House, a gem of a café with a counter piled high with treats (there’s plenty of savoury too).
Train aficionados will want to hop on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway for a scenic steam journey through the national park. Start at Whitby and jump off at Goathland which famously appeared in many a Heartbeat backdrop — you might also recognise it from the first Harry Potter film.
Another town worth visiting is Helmsley. It looks as if it’s been plucked straight from the image on a box of fudge, all 18th century higgledy-piggledy honeyed stone and windows laden with baked goods and hanging baskets spilling over with blooms.
There are some brilliant galleries here including Helmsley Arts Centre featuring an eclectic mix of pieces from local creatives. On Fridays, the market square comes alive with stalls selling everything from handmade jewellery and crafts to fresh loaves and jars of homemade chutney. Just a short stroll from the centre, you'll also find the ruins of Helmsley Castle, a dramatic medieval fortress with over 900 years of history. It’s well worth a wander for a dose of heritage and sweeping views.
History buffs will want to soak up Nunnington Hall, a National Trust manor with Tudor origins (c.1580) and elegant 17th-century interiors. Kids will love the ‘Lion’s Den’ while adults can unwind in the riverside gardens.
Or perhaps the haunting ruins of Byland Abbey (founded 1155) are beckoning, once one of the great Cistercian monasteries, with its iconic rose window and atmospheric medieval remains.
