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.

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In Northern England, just north of the major urban hubs of Manchester and Leeds, lies the majestic Yorkshire Dales. One of England’s many national parks; the Dales seemed to me a perfect first immersion into the English countryside. Though not far from the before mentioned large cities, The Yorkshire Dales are so peaceful and sparsely populated that it is a designated Dark Sky Reserve: a place with exceptionally low light pollution allowing for clear starry nights.

British National Parks

The Yorkshire Dales was named 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 plentiful farmland. 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.

Hawes

To get to the Yorkshire Dales, one could simply drive about 5 hours directly north from London. In my case, I took a regional bus to the nearest major city of Leeds. 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!

My destination was the quaint village of Hawes: a great base for exploring the Yorkshire Dales. The tiny town has barely 1,000 residents (even fewer when I visited all those years ago) and just a few streets tightly clustered with old stone cottages. A beautiful river runs right through the town with a rushing waterfall adding to the idyllic scene.

There were some nice local treats to savor. I loved grabbing that beloved British staple, fish and chips, at “The Chippie” in the center of town. 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.

I cannot overstate that the Yorkshire Dales really are every bit as beautiful and pristine in person as they are captured in art or 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 is Hardraw Force. It was a bit of a scavenger hunt to find it as my only directions from my inn keepers were “It’s behind a pub.” … Well, if you’re at all familiar with England, you’ll know that the British are quite fond of pubs! Even in and around a little village there were more than several.

After poking around a bit, I did discover The Green Dragon Inn. It’s behind this traditional pub and inn (for a small admission of £4) that you’ll find Hardraw Force. At about 100 feet high, it is the tallest single drop waterfall in England.

Northern England is home to a number of relics from Great Britain’s medieval past and one of them sits right at the edge of the Yorkshire Dales.

Fountains Abbey

The incredibly well preserved ruins of Fountains Abbey make for an enlightening trip through time. The nearby town of Ripon is the best base for visiting this site with less than 10 minutes driving distance or a shuttle bus for transport. As of this writing (2022), cost of admission to Fountains Abbey is £17 for adults and £8.50 for children. With this fee you can also explore Studley Royal Park, in which the Abbey is situated, with it’s beautiful rivers and ponds.

The size of the complex is quite impressive. I spent at least an hour walking through the ancient remnants of the stone cloisters and archways.

The view of the cloudy blue sky and the countryside through the old pillars and windows really added to the compelling scene.

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.

The Right to Roam

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. Many would go out of their way to help me with directions if I looked lost. I have warm memories such as a young kid in Hawes who ran from across the street to make sure I was at the right bus stop (and indeed… I wasn’t! Were it not for him, I would have missed my connecting bus back to London!)

I’m not suggesting that my mere five days in the English countryside painted a full picture of daily life there. However, I feel that part of my “mission” of sorts as an avid 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.

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!