Pub Bainbridge North Yorkshire

From the Yorkshire Dales in the west of the county, where daffodil-fringed streams meander their way through green, sheep-flecked hills, to the rugged beauty of the North Yorkshire Moors – where traditional, crooked drystone walls are often the only sign of human influence on the land – this swathe of northern England is the place to come for long walks, leisurely picnics and, of course, cosy country pubs. And that's just inland. The North Yorkshire coast, home to the gothic, Dracula-obsessed town of Whitby and traditional seaside resorts such as Scarborough and Filey, is as ruggedly beautiful as seashores come.

When to go

There’s never a bad time to come to North Yorkshire – the weather is equally unpredictable all year round. Summer sees the biggest influx of tourists, when the narrower country roads can get a little clogged, but the region is plenty big enough to accommodate everyone. Spring and autumn can be romantically wild and windy, while winter offers the sort of snowfalls rarely seen outside Narnia.