Since I was a kid, the English Countryside has held a special place in my heart and imagination. Encapsulated in films and novels such as The Secret Garden: the rolling green hills, romantic windswept landscape and picturesque cottages seemed straight out of a fairy tale. Over a decade ago, between college and grad school, my first ever solo trip just had to be to jolly England. London may have been my first stop but a trip to the United Kingdom would have been incomplete without a venture to the beautiful English countryside from my childhood stories. Some of the most beautiful countryside in England has to be the Yorkshire Dales.
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The Yorkshire Dales became a national park in 1954. National parks as I’m familiar with in America are typically large areas of protected natural land without much (or any) human settlement. By contrast, England’s national parks, while still containing much natural beauty, may also contain small towns and farms. For a country not huge in size (compared to the United States anyway) and such a long history of urbanization and industrialization: I’ve always been impressed by the amount of beautiful landscape Britain has managed to maintain.
How to Visit the Yorkshire Dales
There are a few ways to get to the Yorkshire Dales. You could simply drive about 4.5 hours north of London. The fastest way to get to the Yorkshire Dales is to take a train to a nearby city like Leeds, York or Bradford. I always travel on a budget so I chose the cheapest method of taking the regional bus to Bradford. From there, I took a couple of local buses into the Dales. I remember the delightful bus ride taking us up the winding road into the increasingly dramatic hills. The scene became more and more pastoral and we were even briefly halted by a heard of sheep in the road!
I should say that one thing I really should have packed for traveling to England was a great pair of waterproof hiking boots. Exploring the many rural trails in England’s notoriously misty, rainy weather would have been a bit smoother had I brought proper footwear!
Where to Stay in the Yorkshire Dales
When choosing where to stay, I wanted a location that was centrally located and walkable to be able to explore the trails without the need of renting a bike or car. I found the village of Hawes to be a great base for exploring the Yorkshire Dales. This charming village of barely 1,000 residents has many beautiful old stone cottages and a waterfall in the center of town. Some other popular villages to stay in the Yorkshire Dales are Grassington and Malham.
There were some great local bites to eat in the Yorkshire Dales! I loved grabbing that beloved British staple, fish and chips, from “The Chippie” in the center of Hawes. You should certainly visit the Wensleydale Creamery to try the delicious local Wensleydale cheese: a white crumbly variety that I find particularly tasty paired with fruit or jam.
Exploring with Ease
Hawes’ central location within the region makes it perfect for accessing the many hiking trails. My bed and breakfast had plenty of maps and guides but the trails were also well marked on the roads leading into town. Just a short walk down the main road of Hawes and I had a number of directions to choose from that took me into the beautiful surroundings. For a very novice traveler at the time, I found the English countryside quite easy to navigate and explore.
While sometimes the media can give an unrealistic romanticized image of a place, I have to say: for me, the Yorkshire Dales really are every bit as beautiful in person as they are captured in art and film. The dry stone walls laced across the hills made those characteristic “patchwork fields” all around. The air quality is, to this day, some of the cleanest I have ever experienced and I don’t recall a speck of litter.
England is known for being at least a bit rainy through most of the year but when the sun did come out, there were moments when the light would touch the hills that was simply magical. Not that I mind the rainy English weather! The misty air gave the landscape a dreamy, ethereal quality.
Hardraw Force
There are a number of beautiful waterfalls to see in the Yorkshire Dales such as Aysgarth Falls and Janet’s Foss. One impressive waterfall conveniently near my base of Hawes was Hardraw Force. At about 100 feet high, it is the tallest single drop waterfall in England.
Hardraw Force is located behind The Green Dragon Inn, a lovely traditional pub and inn. When you enter the pub and ask any attendant, you will be allowed through the back entrance to a short trail to access the waterfall for a small fee (£4 at the time but the price may have increased over the years).
Fountains Abbey
On my way back to London, I made a stop by one of the greatest historic sites in Northern England on the edge of the Dales: Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Park. The best place to stay near Fountains Abbey is the town of Ripon just 5 miles away. As of 2025, the cost of admission to Fountains Abbey is around £23 for adults with discounts for children and groups.
The size of the complex is quite impressive. I spent about an hour exploring the Abbey ruins and another hour exploring the lush grounds of Studley Park.
The view of the cloudy blue sky and the countryside through the old pillars and windows really added to the compelling scene.
The History of Fountains Abbey
Fountains Abbey was founded in the year 1132. It operated for over 400 years until Henry VIII dissolved it. The Abbey was later included in the National Trust: an organization dedicated to the preservation of historical sites in Great Britain. It is also, along with Studley Royal Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. From castles to churches to some of the oldest surviving universities in the world; Great Britain is a country filled with surviving pieces of important history. Fountains Abbey is a great example of such resilient architectural feats.
Solo Travel in England
Though you may not be able to see from the photo selection for this particular story, I myself am a “melanated lass”. As a black woman moving about the world, I’m familiar with feeling nervous that I’ll be met with rudeness or even hostility in the more homogeneous areas of the globe. Rural England is not exactly known for its racial diversity to put it lightly. So… what was it like traveling in rural England as a solo black woman?
I’m happy to say… pretty great for the most part! Though I stuck out amongst the locals, there wasn’t much staring. Shop owners and fellow hikers on the trails were keen to ask me where I was from and how I liked England. Save for one tipsy fellow outside of a pub sort of… jeering in my direction, I was treated with warmth and kindness by the vast majority of English people and I found that true in other British locations as well.
I’m not suggesting that my mere five days in the English countryside painted a full picture of daily life there and I am of course aware of racial discrimination in England. However, I feel that part of my “mission” of sorts as a solo black female traveler is exploring the world unapologetically. Travel respectfully and safely of course but don’t let the possibility of encountering prejudice embed fear into your journey.
The Best of the English Countryside
When I remember those charming cottages and abbey ruins straight out of a fairy tale, the clean crisp air in my lungs, the ethereal beauty of that countryside, the smiles of each passerby on the trails; I think to myself: “Imagine if I let one silly drunkard stop me from experiencing such beauty”. I will keep unapologetically seeing the world and I can’t wait to return to the English countryside someday to walk amongst those green hills once more.
Thank you for reading and viewing! I love to explore and share the beauty of the world through my stories and photos. If you would like to know what essentials I travel the world with, you can check out my Digital Nomad packing list here. If you found this guide guide helpful, feel free to share this post via the social media icons below!
