Everyone knows that England is an outstandingly beautiful country, but even within its borders there are degrees of natural beauty. One of the prettiest regions of all, the North Yorkshire Dales National Park, has just been voted the most naturally stunning part of the whole land.
At first site, you might wonder why. Although the Dales, right in the middle of northern England, are certainly pretty, they are not as spectacular as, say, the Lake District, or as quaint as the Cotswolds. But they have about them a certain charm that is easy to fall in love with.
The Dales cover a wide area, but they can be easily explored in car, or even by buying a week's bus ticket. Enthusiastic hikers, of course, will cover the whole area on foot. There are a number of small market towns in the area where you can base yourself. In the south is Skipton: quaint, friendly, and ideally situated for the lovely, grassy, limestone hills of Wharfedale. In the north is Richmond, with its stern medieval fortress, with easy access to the more windswept valleys of Swaledale and Wensleydale and a convenient position on the famous Coast to Coast walk.
One of the things you must do while in the Yorkshire Dales is visit one of the excellent local village pubs. English cuisine doesn't have too great a reputation worldwide, but around here you can eat very well indeed. Look out for small village pubs offering locally reared lamb and beef, as well as a range of more exotic dishes and some fantastic beers. Like most of the UK, the Yorkshire Dales have a relatively outward-looking culture, always ready to pick up ideas from elsewhere, so if you feel like a Chinese or Italian meal you won't have to look very far.
And if you love to hike or mountain bike, this is the place to be. Although it lacks the really high peaks and the jagged ridges of more mountainous regions, there are few places where you can get a better sense of "Englands's green and pleasant land", to use the words of poet William Blake. Pack your boots, buy a good map and guidebook, and the whole area is your playground!
Impressions of the Yorkshire Moors & Dales (Leisure Guides)
Walks in Dales Country: An Illustrated Guide to 30 Scenic Walks in the Yorkshire Dales (Cicerone Guide)
Yorkshire Dales - Northern and Central Areas (OS Explorer Map Active)
Yorkshire Dales - Southern and Western Areas (OS Explorer Map Active)
Insight Compact Guide Yorkshire Dales