It was the scale that struck me first. Running late for lunch in pre-smartphone days, I was simultaneously willing a habitation into existence, so I might locate myself on a map, and awed by the heather-clad moorland, stretching into the distance on either side of the empty road, interspersed only by pockets of dry-stone-walled fields of sheep.
My parents had moved to the Yorkshire Dales from Dorset, and it felt like a whole new world, with the ravines and ruined abbeys – victims of Henry VIII’s Reformation – emphasising the gothic grandeur of a land layered with artistic and literary association. Twenty years on, it still holds me in its thrall – and continues to bring new surprises.
The county of North Yorkshire extends from the mighty Pennine peaks (which are nonetheless eminently ascendable: I have climbed even the highest, Whernside, with an eight year old) across the Dales and the Yorkshire Moors to the North Sea. There, rugged cliffs are punctuated by villages and towns that have ranging histories. The ever-popular Whitby is where Bram Stoker set his 1897 novel Dracula. He was inspired by the windswept headland crowned with haunting remains of a Benedictine monastery and the jet that still washes up on the surrounding shores, ensuring – to my children’s delight – a glut of shops devoted to this semi-precious stone.
Staithes
Ten miles north is the fishing village of Staithes. At the turn of the 20th century, Harold and Laura Knight were among the artists who rented rooms on the steep, winding streets that lead down to its harbour, and painted both the people and the place.
Sandsend & Runswick Bay
Between lie fossil-rich, bucket-and-spade beaches of wholesomely picturesque appeal: Sandsend and the more secluded Runswick Bay. A 10-minute stroll from the former, a new hotel, Saltmoore, promises a sophisticated alternative to guest houses and holiday cottages, with a spa and several restaurants. The room schemes reference both sea and moor, for it is only a short skip into the heather.
Rosedale Valley
Venture further inland, to the Rosedale Valley, and you will find a recently inaugurated attraction of a different type. Commissioned by the Ross Foundation and created by Andy Goldsworthy, Hanging Stones is an immersive six-mile walk studded with his wonder-provoking installations that are informed by geology, land use and love of the Yorkshire Moors.
