Glamping with hot tubs in North Yorkshire

Where to base yourself

The western Dales, around Ribblehead and Settle, are Three Peaks country. The Settle to Carlisle railway crosses Ribblehead Viaduct here on 24 arches. Stay on this side if the plan is long walks.

Nidderdale, on the eastern edge of the Dales, is a National Landscape of 233 square miles in its own right. It sits outside the national park, and in our view that makes it the quieter choice.

The North York Moors cover 554 square miles. Around a third of that is heather moorland, one of the largest expanses in England and Wales.

The coast is part of the same national park for 26 miles. The Cleveland Way follows it through Whitby and Robin Hood’s Bay on its 109 mile route from Helmsley to Filey Brigg.

The Howardian Hills lie between the Moors and the Vale of York, and became an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1987. Wooded, rolling country with historic houses and their parkland. In our view it’s the most overlooked corner of the county.

Stars from the tub

Both national parks were named International Dark Sky Reserves in December 2020. On the Moors, the park centres at Sutton Bank and Danby and the observatories in Dalby Forest are Dark Sky Discovery Sites.

The Moors authority says the Milky Way is overhead on autumn and early winter evenings. That’s hot tub season anyway.

When to go

For the heather, the park authority says mid to late August and into September. From October the county quietens down, and that’s when we’d book.

Getting there

The A1(M) runs north to south through the county and the A64 heads east from York to Scarborough. York is on the East Coast Main Line, and LNER gives the average journey from London King’s Cross as 2 hours and 2 minutes.

Two slower lines are worth knowing about. The Settle to Carlisle line covers 72 miles through the western Dales and on into Cumbria. The Esk Valley line runs from Middlesbrough to Whitby through the Moors. The North Yorkshire Moors Railway, a heritage line, covers the 24 miles between Pickering and Whitby.

Good to know

The Yorkshire Dales National Park isn’t all in Yorkshire. It spills over into Cumbria and a small part of Lancashire, so check the county on any Dales listing. Hoseasons has no separate list for North Yorkshire, so its link opens the whole of Yorkshire.

Both parks are sheep country. If you’re bringing a dog, read our dog friendly page first. For the Wolds and the rest of the county, see our Yorkshire page.

Stock counts were read on 4 October 2026. The facts on this page were last checked on 4 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.