5 Star Hotels in North Yorkshire

• Countryside Moors, monasteries and market towns
• Country life Wild and wuthering

Where wild moors and rolling dales form the backdrop to solid, greystone market towns and idyllic country villages, North Yorkshire is the UK's ultimate antidote to urban life.

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.

Do go/Don’t 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.

• Planes Leeds Bradford International Airport ( | Durham Tees Valley Airport ( and Newcastle International Airport ( are dotted around the region's edges.
• Trains The National Express East Coast train ( from London King's Cross to York takes a little over two hours. Northern Rail Lines ( can take you from York into the North Yorkshire Moors or the Yorkshire Dales.
• Automobiles Cars are essential if you want to explore North Yorkshire properly. The remoteness of its attractions and beauty spots are the area’s main selling point and you don’t want to be relying on public transport to get around.
• Taxis You’re far better off hiring your own car, but if you do want to have a pint or two of Timothy Taylor Landlord bitter when you go out in the evening, you can always get your hotel to arrange a taxi back for you.