On the southern edge of the North York Moors National Park is the prestigious market town of Helmsley. Lying in a sheltered corner of Upper Ryedale, this lovely settlement boasts a spacious market square surrounded by houses, hotels and shops as well as a 12th Century castle. English Heritage’s Rievaulx Abbey is close by too and there is a multitude of excellent walks in the near vicinity, the most well known of these – the Cleveland Way, starting in the village itself. The region’s capital of York is less than an hour’s drive to the south, whilst Scarborough and the east coast just over an hour. The famous steam railway line at Pickering is just a thirty minute drive away.
