Beautiful places to visit in Northern England that you won’t find on the tourist trail.
The Lake District and York are magnets for visitors in the North – but sometimes, the quietest places have more big spaces, more character, and no queues. Once you’ve visited all the obvious stops, here’s where to go next.
## Overlooked Villages
### Hawes, North Yorkshire
Up on the quietest of walking country in the upper reaches of Wensleydale where the Wensleydale Creamery is located. Although similar in scenery, much less visited than Malham or Grassington.
### Alnwick, Northumberland
Alnwick Castle (which was used for the early Harry Potter scenes) gets the lion’s share of York’s tourists, but the town itself (which is home to Barter Books, a Victorian-era train station turned independent bookstore) receives a bit less.
### Robin Hood’s Bay, North Yorkshire
Cliff Village of narrow, winding streets just south of Whitby, which once serviced as a fishing village. Less boisterous and more mellow than its more popular counterpart.
## Landscapes Beyond the Lake District Crowds
### Nidderdale, North Yorkshire
In an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which borders on the Yorkshire Dales, reservoirs, moorland and the famous Brimham Rocks rock formations, which are visited by a fraction of the numbers of Dales’ visitors.
### The North York Moors
The largest area of heather moorland in England that changes colour to purple in late summer. Villages such as the location for the film of Harry Potter and Heartbeat, Goathland, are located within the park and untouched by all of the Lake District traffic.
### Kielder Forest and Water
The biggest man-made lake and the largest forest in England in the far north of Northumberland. One of the top stargazing sites in the country; rarely talked about beyond the realm of stargazing enthusiasts.
## Overlooked Historic Sites
### Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire
One of the biggest monastic remains in England, in a landscaped water garden, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a far more impressive site than Whitby Abbey, which is visited by far fewer people.
### Rievaulx Abbey, North Yorkshire
A dramatic Cistercian ruin which is all too easily overlooked by visitors who only stop at Fountains Abbey, nestled in a wooded valley in the North York Moors.
### Lindisfarne (Holy Island), Northumberland
A low-tide-only accessible tidal island that includes a ruined priory and castle. Crowds are naturally limited by access to the tide, so be sure to check the tide times before coming out; cars can get stuck!
## Underrated Towns
### Hexham, Northumberland
A market town built around a 7th century abbey, and a much more quiet base for exploring Hadrian’s Wall, than the more visited fort sites themselves.
### Barnard Castle, County Durham
A Georgian market town that boasts its own castle ruin and an unparalleled French-château-style building with a mighty art collection — far from the beaten track in the north.
## How to Fit These In
### Weekend Trip
Easy loop from Leeds or York to Hawes or Nidderdale and back to Fountains Abbey.
### Week-Long Loop
Alnwick (via Kielder Forest) to Hexham to Barnard Castle to Nidderdale to Hawes to North York Moors (near York).
### Getting Around
This is a car requirement — very little of these sites have any real rail access, and particularly the sites in Northumberland require traversing between distant stops by car.
## Final Word
The joys of the hidden gems of northern England are in being forced to venture into places that most tourists never go beyond the Lake District and York. Swap one day of this for either two of the norths that most travellers will never see or one day of the busiest.