No Hard Times in North Yorkshire

Dickens fans who want to combine a celebration of his two hundredth birthday with some Christmas festivities (not Scrooge, then) should head to Yorkshire this weekend for the Grassington Dickensian festival, a Victorian-themed event around the town’s cobbled square.

Held on the first three Saturdays in December, the festival go back in time to the Dickensian era and include street entertainment, a traditional Christmas market, craft fair, chestnut sellers and the obligatory Victorian pickpockets. Admission is free.

To stay nearby, The Bivouac in Masham has availability for the weekends of the festival in its heated woodland shack, with wood burner for heating and a gas hob and range for cooking. The shack sleeps up to seven and starts from £360 for three weekend nights, with parking for unlimited cars included.