Villages & Places
The best villages in the North York Moors
Honey-coloured stone, pantile roofs, becks running past the front doors and a pub at the end of it. Here's what each village is actually like — and which one to base yourself in.
Choosing a base
The park divides neatly. The southern edge — Pickering, Thornton-le-Dale, Allerston — is the practical choice: shops, pubs, the steam railway terminus and Dalby Forest all close together, with the coast about 40 minutes away.
The west, around Helmsley, is gentler and more polished, with the abbeys and the Hambleton Hills. The heart of the moors — Goathland, Levisham — is quieter and more atmospheric, best if you want to step out of the door onto open moorland, but with fewer amenities.
For a first visit with a mix of walking, the railway and days at the coast, the southern villages are hard to beat.
Village guides
Thornton-le-Dale
The famous thatched cottage, a beck through the middle, and Mathewsons of Bangers and Cash.
Pickering
Market town, Norman castle and the southern terminus of the steam railway.
Allerston
A quiet hamlet on the southern edge, minutes from Dalby Forest.
Helmsley
Handsome market square, castle, walled garden and Rievaulx Abbey nearby.
Goathland
Heartbeat's Aidensfield and Harry Potter's Hogsmeade, with sheep on the green.
Levisham
A single wide street, a station in the valley below and moorland straight off the end.