I love 'hidden mini-worlds': corners of undulating landscape on less-travelled lanes, with small distinctive buildings, babbling becks and somewhere good to eat, whether it's a perfect tea-room, pub or picnic spot. These special places are usually close to somewhere much better known, so they're largely left to just be, an oasis of calm and comfort in a busy world.
Tucked just inside the North York Moors National Park, close to Thirsk and Helmsley, the area around Hawnby and Boltby is one of those lovely mini-worlds, in a moorland dale by the River Rye. The landscape is gentle, curved, wooded and interesting with surprising views and a mass of footpaths. Buildings feel harmonious with sandstone walls and pantile roofs. Lush well-kept gardens, mini greens, and grass verges all add to the reassuring, calming feel. Apparently John Wesley suggested that Hawnby was ‘one of the pleasantest parts of England’. That was in 1757 and it's still true today.
Hawnby is split in two, with the Owl pub at the top of the steep hill and the Tea Room and Village Stores at the bottom. There are few better spots for a cosy tea room, lovely garden setting and well-stocked village store, full of high quality ingredients such as Reunion Coffee Roasters. The business is run by the seemingly ever-smiling Oli Nicholls
Hawnby's history dates back to the Domesday Book so it's perhaps surprising that this small split-level village is leading the way in the world, but it is - it's become the first dark skies village, a place where you can enjoy the wonderful night sky.
A short distance from Hawnby on the way down to Boltby is the ancient church of All Saints, part of the St. Aelred's Pilgrim Trail, a 41 mile long pilgrimage route accessible to walkers, cyclists and horse riders linking the churches of Upper Ryedale and Helmsley with Rievaulx Abbey.