Bedale

The market place has run since a charter of 1251 and stalls set up along the cobbled slope from mid-morning. It is a food and household market rather than a craft one, which makes it more interesting. Combine it with the shops on Emgate and a pie from the butcher, then climb to the market cross at the top.

Two miles south on the Snape road. A hundred acres of mature trees, five national plant collections, a lake and a bird of prey centre with flying displays two or three times a day. Around £10 to £12, open daily from 10am. Best in May for the bluebells and late October for the leaf colour.

Two miles east, the terminus of the heritage line towards Leyburn. Diesel and occasional steam services run on selected days in season and hardly at all in winter, so check dates before planning around it. A return takes most of the afternoon with a stop at Bedale's own restored station on Aiskew Bank.

At the top of the market place beside St Gregory's church, a Georgian house with a startling ballroom ceiling, now home to the town's museum and offices. Free entry, weekday opening hours only, and the grounds behind it are a public park with the beck running through. Twenty minutes indoors, longer if the museum room is staffed.

Two miles west on the A684 towards Leyburn, one of the biggest village greens in the county, with a restored water-powered corn mill that still grinds flour on its open days. Opening is limited to selected afternoons in summer, so ring ahead. The Bay Horse on the green does lunch and the cricket is played on the green itself.

Twelve miles west via Crakehall and Constable Burton, about 25 minutes. Be on the moor above Middleham by 7.30am and racehorse strings work past in the half-light; afterwards the castle, Richard III's northern base, opens at 10am for around £8. Breakfast in the village square before you drive back.

Northallerton is seven miles east on the East Coast Main Line — 2h20 from London King's Cross, 20 minutes from York — and buses run into Bedale market place roughly hourly on weekdays with a thin Sunday service; a taxi is about £16. Junction 51 of the A1(M) at Leeming Bar is two miles away, which is what makes Bedale worth booking: you are on the country's main north-south road in four minutes. Teesside International is 30 minutes, Leeds Bradford about an hour. In town everything is on one street and level. Parking is free in the market place outside Tuesday market hours and in the car park behind Bedale Hall.

For a driving trip, yes, and it is the cheapest option here. Leyburn is 25 minutes, Masham 20, Richmond 25, Aysgarth Falls 40. You are trading scenery outside the window for roughly £20 a night and much easier parking. Without a car it is a poor choice, because the bus network from Bedale is built around Northallerton commuting rather than sightseeing.

Junction 51 at Leeming Bar is two miles east, about four minutes, and Scotch Corner is fifteen miles north up the A1(M), roughly 18 minutes. That makes Bedale a genuinely sensible overnight stop breaking a long drive between London and Scotland, at £60 to £85 for a room in a real town rather than a motorway lodge.

Thorp Perrow's bird of prey displays two miles south, Big Sheep Little Cow farm at Aiskew just across the beck, and the Wensleydale Railway from Leeming Bar on its running days. The Bedale Hall park and the beck path fill an hour cheaply. For a wet day you will be driving — Northallerton's leisure centre or the Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington, an hour south.

Tuesday, running since 1251, setting up mid-morning and packing away mid-afternoon. It is a genuine food and household market rather than a tourist craft fair, which is why it is worth catching. Parking on the market place is unavailable that morning, so use the Bedale Hall car park behind the church and walk down.