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Market towns and villages
Dotted throughout the North York Moors are bustling market towns and picturesque villages with warm welcomes and intriguing local tales from smugglers to industrious monks.
Timeless stone-built villages nestling in peaceful dales score highly on charm while also being living records of human habitation. Hutton le Hole is a big favourite, with wandering sheep on its pristine green and tinkling streams, Thornton le Dale is pretty as a picture, while Goathland is probably our most famous (the ‘Heartbeat’ village).
On the North York Moors' coast, undisputed best day-out for beachcombing is Runswick Bay, explore the old smugglers’ haunt and fishing village of Robin Hood’s Bay, and get creative in arty Staithes, which may seem more than a touch familiar to those whose children are fans of CBeebies' Old Jack's Boat!
Rosedale Abbey
The legendary descent of Chimney Bank leads to this pretty village, home to artisan glassmakers
Read more Robin Hood's Bay
Tight-knit alleys with red-roofed cottages, once the haunt of smugglers, now famous for fossils
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