explore

the village

Thornton-le-Dale is regularly voted one of the prettiest villages in England, and once you have walked along the beck past the thatched cottage you will see why. Rorty Crankle sits right in the middle of it all on Maltongate, so almost everything below is a short stroll from the front door.

For breakfast or coffee, Café Bouchère is our top recommendation. Everything is made in-house, from the pastries and filled croissants to mushrooms on toast, and on specified Friday and Saturday evenings they serve wine, beer and charcuterie boards until 9pm. It is dog friendly too, and the sort of place you pop into for a coffee and end up staying for lunch.

Moore’s Deli is just down the road for freshly made sandwiches, artisan bread and good gluten-free options. The Buck Inn is a proper Yorkshire local for a relaxed dinner, Brandysnap Bistro is the place for something a bit more special, and Thornton Dale Fisheries does the kind of fish and chips best eaten by the beck on a warm evening.

Further afield, The Cayley Arms at Allerston serves an excellent Sunday roast (worth booking, and closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays), and for a special occasion the celebrated Star Inn at Harome is worth every penny.

On a rainy afternoon, Threads & Tales is a lovely independent bookshop and craft shop with a particularly good children’s section. Baldersons bakery on the Square is a village institution, and Wardill Bros sells logs and firewood alongside the papers.

the moors

The North York Moors start on your doorstep. Dalby Forest is just three miles away, with mountain bike trails for all abilities, adventure play areas, a visitor centre café and some wonderful walks through ancient woodland. It is also home to Go Ape, and it is stunning in bluebell season in late April and May.

Walking from the cottage, you are spoilt for choice. The Visit Thornton-le-Dale website has a great set of village walks, and the North York Moors National Park website includes a lovely circular walk from Thornton to Ellerburn. There is woodland right on the doorstep for dog walks too.

About twenty minutes away, Goathland is a pretty moorland village where sheep graze on the wide grassy verges. Its station famously appeared as Hogsmeade in the first Harry Potter film, and the village was the setting for Heartbeat. The real draw is the walking: an easy to moderate circular route of around 2.5 to 3 miles takes you to Mallyan Spout, the tallest waterfall in the North York Moors, and on to the hamlet of Beck Hole.

Afterwards, the Mallyan Spout Hotel is a great stop for a drink or a meal. It caters well for larger groups, has a big garden with valley views and welcomes dogs in the Spout Bar.

days out

You are incredibly well placed here, with moorland, forest, coast and heritage all within easy reach.

Castle Howard is one of Britain’s great country houses, with 1,000 acres of parkland, beautiful gardens and the brilliant Skelf Island adventure playground: treetop rope bridges, slides and climbing nets built into the trees around a story about mythical creatures called Skelves. Allow a full day.

Near Malton, Woldies Lavender & Nature Farm has twelve acres of lavender and wildflower meadows, a miniature railway, a huge willow maze, den building and plenty more. It is the kind of place you arrive thinking you will spend a couple of hours and leave six hours later.

The North York Moors Railway runs steam trains from Pickering, just 2.6 miles away, across 18 miles of moorland to Whitby, stopping at Goathland on the way. Flamingo Land theme park and zoo is only six miles away; book tickets online in advance, especially in summer.

On the coast, Whitby has the ruined abbey on the clifftop, the famous 199 steps and some of the best fish and chips in England. Filey is our favourite beach, with a long sandy bay and a gentler feel than Scarborough, while Robin Hood’s Bay, Runswick Bay and Staithes are worth the drive for the views alone.