Thornton-le-Dale
Thornton-le-Dale near Pickering in the North Yorkshire Moors is consistently voted the most beautiful village in Yorkshire, a settlement of stone cottages along a beck fringed with daffodils in spring and lined with willows in summer. A thatched whitewashed cottage by the beck is one of the most photographed buildings in the north of England, appearing on calendars and in photographic collections of English village scenes with remarkable frequency. The village has the genuine character of a working agricultural settlement rather than a preserved tourist artefact, its residents managing working farms and ordinary village life alongside the considerable visitor interest its reputation generates. The beck flowing through the centre creates the visual element that defines the scene and provides the perpetual gentle sound of flowing water that animates any visit. The stocks on the village green and the medieval market cross provide historical focal points, and the surrounding architecture of limestone and pantile roofs reflects the characteristic building tradition of the North Yorkshire Moors. The North Yorkshire Moors Railway station at Pickering nearby and Dalby Forest to the north provide excellent complementary heritage and outdoor experiences.