Nidderdale

Nidderdale is the landscape Harrogate sits on the edge of: a designated National Landscape of river valley, moorland, reservoirs and stone villages running north-west from the town.

It is less visited than the Yorkshire Dales proper, which is much of its appeal. Highlights include Brimham Rocks, the Nidderdale Way, Gouthwaite Reservoir and How Stean Gorge further up the dale, with Pateley Bridge as the natural base.

You need a car for most of it, and a full day if you are going beyond Pateley Bridge. Even a short drive up the valley gives a completely different sense of the area than the town does.