Tired of the well-trodden Dales? This Yorkshire beauty spot is truly authentic

Go to Yorkshire’s Howardian Hills for country walks, Castle Howard, chocolate-box villages, Michelin stars – and no crowds

Sometimes, it’s the little things that are the most memorable. “See that man in the van? He owns the village shop. It’s closed now, but he’ll have baking paper.”
Our neighbours were concerned about my children getting their tea. I walked towards Dogh, our local café, which also doubled as the village shop. Scratching his head, the proprietor opened the shop and came out a few minutes later armed with a huge roll of baking paper and scissors. “Is this enough? Do you want it cut into pieces?” 
On the short walk home, we saw our neighbours pull out in their car. They waved cheerily: “Did you get it? We wouldn’t want you to starve!” she said, with a sarcastic eye roll. This is village life in Welburn – part of the Howardian Hills, a lesser-known part of Yorkshire that oozes authenticity, including a good dose of wry Yorkshire wit. 
Crowned an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1987, later renamed a National Landscape, the Howardian Hills National Landscape covers 79 sq miles of wild and wonderful countryside, sandwiched between the Yorkshire Wolds and the North York Moors National Park.
The famed Yorkshire Dales National Park is often the first stop for most visitors to this corner of England – featuring the magnificent yet, now, well-trodden areas of Wensleydale, Swaledale and Wharfedale. By comparison, the Howardian Hills’ kaleidoscope patchwork of green sits quietly under the radar of mass tourism and it is equally as breathtaking; there are sweeping, golden summer pastures; undulating, deep-forested hills with inspiring high-up views; grand estates and ancient, valley-rimmed Cistercian abbey ruins; fudge-stone villages and market towns that lead to bluebell-filled woods and babbling brooks. 
And friendly village shops that open for you, to lend you baking parchment for your kids’ tea. This is authentic Yorkshire, away from the tour buses – my mother grew up as the eldest of eight in Helmsley – and it is an exquisite destination for truly escaping city life.
Dating back to 1699, the stately home of Castle Howard and its grounds are a sensational starting point for exploring the area, located in the parish of Henderskelfe, 15 miles north of York. Famed as a filming location for both Downton Abbey and Bridgerton and home to the Howard family for over 300 years, the dashing property is set on a far-reaching estate that blends into the untamed countryside.
The best walks are found rimming the estate itself, where the landscape gets gradually more uninhabited. The Welburn and Castle Howard circular route is a 9km (5.6-mile) circuit of the castle boundary, taking roughly two-and-a-half hours to complete.
It passes through serene open fields, with views of Castle Howard and the Pyramid on St Anne’s Hill – one of Castle Howard’s most mysterious follies – in the distance from Welburn. A tiny, sleepy village with a church, village hall, pub and local shop, Welburn has direct access to further walking routes. While Coneysthorpe also neighbours Castle Howard with its Coneysthorpe and Castle Howard circular (12km/7.6 miles), which explores the heart of the Howardian Hills.
Bordering the Howardian Hills, the Kilburn White Horse is a 318ft-long, 220ft-tall white horse, carved into Sutton Bank near Thirsk (home of All Creatures Great and Small author James Herriot) and is the biggest figure of its kind in England. Herriot once declared the view of the soul-soothing swathe of country dales from the top of the same escarpment the “finest in England”.
The best White Horse hike starts from the car park in Kilburn Woods (2.5km/1.5 miles), and the views are lovely whatever the season. Be sure to swing by the Gothic ruins of Byland Abbey and petite Coxwold on the way out, for its fetching honey-stone and chocolate-box cottages and a snapshot of village life.
Natural assets aside, The Good Food Guide hailed Helmsley and the Howardian Hills as the most exciting food destination in the UK earlier this year – culinary superstars have worked their magic with a more sustainable, regenerative food movement, putting it firmly on the Michelin map.
After being open for seven months, Mýse in Hovingham – a cosy-cool restaurant with rooms – won its first Michelin star for its flawless, sustainably-focused tasting menu.
Bordering the Howardian Hills, Tommy Banks’s Michelin-starred Black Swan in Oldstead and newcomer The Abbey Inn, a stylish pub with rooms based opposite Byland Abbey, are focused on innovation, regeneration and farm-to-fork, while the mushroom-topped cottage restaurant Star Inn at Harome is an iconic Michelin name.
The nearby market towns of Helmsley and Malton are noted food destinations; with Malton being named “Yorkshire’s food capital” thanks to its copious food festivals.
As the perfect pairing to the region’s culinary scene, the area flanking the Howardian Hills is also home to a number of vineyards. Taking cues from Tuscany, Dunesforde is a four-acre, family-run, boutique vineyard just beyond the Hills.
The acclaimed site grows four grape varieties most visitors are surprised to see in North Yorkshire: pinot gris, bacchus, solaris and pinot noir précoce. Based at the foot of the bordering Yorkshire Wolds, 12-acre Ryedale Vineyards was voted one of the 12 best vineyards to visit in the UK – there are 15,000 vines and a vast 18 grape varieties.
In summer, Yorkshire Lavender has a Provençal feel. The family-owned lavender farm has well-kept gardens and a specialist plant nursery, plus a play area for little ones. 
Large groups can stay at the Chanting Hill Farmhouse, a luxury cottage sleeping six, just 12 miles from York in Welburn. Prices start from £350 per night. The Durham Ox in Crayke is an excellent country pub and B&B that also has self-catering cottages and a pool villa. Stay for the delicious Sunday roast, steaks and seafood platters; doubles cost from £120 per night. 
For further information, see visityork.org, yorkshire.com and visitnorthyorkshire.com/howardian-hills.
For further inspiration read our guide to the perfect holiday in Yorkshire.