Boutique Cottages in Yorkshire Dales

Enticingly wild and windswept with moors and craggy outposts, yet with pockets of idyllic farmsteads and villages, the Yorkshire Dales is an extraordinary place to visit for those seeking a taste of the past.

Whether you’re on foot or in a car, you’ll not fail to fall in love with the characterful valleys (or ‘dale’ as they’re known here) – where stone-built villages cluster together amongst well-kept fields lined with drystone walls, sheep dot the heather moorland tops and thundering waterfalls and verdant broadleaf woodland contrast with the remains of rural industries such as former mine workings.

Designated in 1954 as a National Park, the Yorkshire Dales is a living, working environment where the breath-taking beauty of nature works in conjunction with its occupants, straddling the central Pennines in North Yorkshire, Cumbria and a small part of Lancashire. It’s also home to a huge amount of wildlife, including 1,000 species of moth, 100 species of nesting birds, 25 species of butterflies and many species of mammals and plants making it massively important in the world of conservation.

There’s plenty to do in this incredible region, whether it’s climbing the Park’s own ‘three peaks’ (Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent), fell running (one of the oldest sports in the Dales), horse riding, cycling or a spot of wild swimming. The Dales is the top place for caving, so why not discover an incredible world underground? Designated a Dark Sky Reserve, the Dales are also fantastic at night, with large areas free from light pollution – the perfect spot for gazing at the stars, and on rare occasions the aurora borealis (Northern Lights) can be seen.