Handsome, unspoilt Beverley is one of the most attractive of Yorkshire towns largely on account of its magnificent minster – a rival to any cathedral in England – and the tangle of streets that lie beneath it, each brimming with exquisite Georgian and Victorian buildings.
Their suburbs are so close that they’ve virtually merged into one sprawling urban conurbation, but Bradford remains far removed from its much more glamorous neighbour, Leeds. Or so they would have you believe in Leeds. But even Bradford is getting a facial: much of the dour city centre is scheduled for a revamp which, according [...]
Its Viking roots still present in the name, the East Riding of Yorkshire (from Old Danish Thriding, or third) was one of three administrative regions of the Danelaw created in the 9th century – west and north ridings are now the slightly less evocative West and North Yorkshire.
The perfect base for south Dales jaunts, Grassington’s handsome Georgian centre teems with walkers and visitors throughout the summer months, soaking up an atmosphere that – despite the odd touch of faux rustication – is as attractive and traditional as you’ll find in these parts. It is 6 miles north of Skipton.
The doyenne of the Victorian spa town, prim, pretty Harrogate has long been associated with a certain kind of old-fashioned Englishness, the kind that seems to be the preserve of retired army chaps and formidable dowagers who, inevitably, will always vote Conservative. They come to Harrogate to enjoy the formidable flower shows and gardens that [...]
Hawes – from the Saxon word haus (mountain pass) – is busy, not especially pretty but very useful: right at the heart of Wensleydale, it’s the best base for exploring the northern Yorkshire Dales. The main street and the narrow lanes off it are lined with old-style shops, some small supermarkets, banks with ATMs, outdoor [...]
It seems that only Shakespeare himself is held in higher esteem and affection than the beloved Brontë sisters Emily, Anne and Charlotte, at least judging from the sheer numbers who trudge up the hill from the station to pay homage to them in the handsome parsonage where a handful of literary classics were born, including [...]
Yorkshire’s funkiest little town is a former mill town that refused to go gently into that good night with the dying of industry’s light; it raged a bit and then turned itself into an attractive little tourist trap with a slightly off-centre reputation. Besides the honest-to-God Yorkshire folk who have lived here for years, the [...]
Beneath the watchful gaze of a sturdy Norman castle, Helmsley is a classic North Yorkshire market town, a handsome old place full of old houses, historic coaching inns and – inevitably – a cobbled square where Friday is market day. Nearby are the dreamlike ruins of Rievaulx Abbey and there are a fistful of decent [...]
Tough, uncompromising Hull is a curmudgeonly English seaport with a proud seafaring tradition and a hard-bitten attitude to all things in life, perhaps the inevitable consequence of growing up amid salt and sweat. But there is life beyond the port, and while you may get the impression that Hull remains determinedly unaffected by the exotic [...]