Britain's largest National Park, The Yorkshire Dales, offers an atmospheric Postman Pat landscape of deep green valleys, windswept uplands, limestone pavements, huddled villages, shaggy sheep and stone walls. Loop up Arkengarthdale (stop at the Tan Hill pass for coffee at Britain's highest inn), snake down to Thwaite and Muker (hearty lunch at the Farmers Arms), then hike up a deep curve of the Swale valley for tea at Keld, before driving home - perhaps to Stow House in Wensleydale.
For foodies, there's no shortage of charming towns with weekly markets and appetising delis. Choose from Hawes, Ripon, Northallerton, Leyburn and Richmond, depending on the day; reception at Yorebridge can give you a list of which takes place when. Other gastro destinations include Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes (restaurant, cheese shop and viewing gallery) - Wallace's favourite cheese has been made here since 1150.
Soak up some history with a visit to some of Yorkshire’s most impressive ancient monuments. Bolton Abbey, Bolton Castle (confusingly, nowhere near each other!), Middleham Castle and romantic 12th-century Jervaulx are amoong our favourites.
A pretty but not too prettified Georgian castle town, Richmond is well worth a day's lazy exploration. Cobbled lanes lined with unfamiliar independent shops radiate from a huge, handsome, bus-busy square. Above them rises the brooding tower of the part ruined Norman castle (admission fee), whose crumbling perimeter wall encloses lawned grounds with plunging views over the Swale. Down below, the dark waters of the Swale tumble over some impressive falls; you can paddle in summer. Try to catch a performance at the Theatre Royal: opened in 1788 and recently restored, it’s Britain’s most complete Georgian playhouse and makes a cosy setting for everything from music and comedy to drama and dance. It's only a short hop from Middleton Lodge.